SEATTLE — Everything was going wrong for Michigan football, which left head coach Sherrone Moore with little choice.

His team fell into an early two-touchdown hole after three short, sputtering offensive drives to open the game, when he turned to seventh-year quarterback Jack Tuttle to replace Alex Orji in search of an offensive spark.

To say it worked would be an understatement. Tuttle, 25, not only led Michigan to a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on his first possession, but later put U-M ahead by three in the third quarter after he led an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended when he found Colston Loveland on an 8-yard touchdown strike.

Washington tied the game with a 29-yard field goal with 13:38 left in the fourth quarter, but after Ernest Hausmann came away with a key interception of Will Rogers deep in Michigan territory to seemingly flip the momentum again, U-M gave it back five plays later on a Tuttle fumble.

Four plays after that, Washington running back Jonah Coleman leapt over the pile for a one-yard score and a late Tuttle interception sealed U-M's fate as the Huskies prevailed for a 27-17 win after one final field goal.

"I've got to be better at protecting the ball, can't fumble, can't do that, that's completely on me," Tuttle said. "Can't put the team and the defense in the situation. Then, the last drive, can't put the ball in danger obviously — that's it."

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Michigan's 27-game Big Ten win streak is over.

Tuttle was intercepted by Kamren Fabiculanan to crush U-M's comeback attempt. Washington put the game away thanks in part to a pass interference by Will Johnson and a roughing the passer penalty on Brandyn Hillman, which led to a late chip-shot kick.

Despite the result, the Wolverines seemed to take a step forward on their search for a balanced attack. It was far from perfect, but Tuttle completed 10 of 18 passes for 98 yards, one TD and one interception, while the rushing attack churned out 37 carries for 174 yards and one touchdown.

Michigan (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) has its bye upcoming, then returns to action on the road Oct. 19 at No. 25 Illinois (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten).

"We're a really freaking good team, I don't think this should've happened at all," Tuttle said. "Yeah, it's frustrating."

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State of the offense

The first three drives were anemic, as they lasted 16 plays and combined to pick up just 47 yards (2.9 per play) and as many punts (three) as first downs.

That's when Tuttle came in and immediately changed the tone of the game.

After a 4-yard run by Donovan Edwards, Tuttle found Max Bredeson on a gain of 5 before Kalel Mullings plowed ahead for a first down. Tuttle then showed his legs with a 7-yard run, which opened up a lane for Edwards to gain 9 and then Tuttle to pick up 7 one more time. That's when Edwards hit a cut-back behind a double-team block and ran 39 yards untouched for Michigan's first score.

"Just got us all excited," Loveland said of when Tuttle came in. "Once we put a drive together, everyone is excited, everyone is feeling good. We've just got to sustain that."

Michigan added a field goal on its next possession when on third-and-2, left tackle Jeff Persi (replacing Myles Hinton) got beat off the ball and a defender dropped Mullings for a loss. Dominic Zvada drilled a 45-yarder to make it 14-10.

The first drive out of the half was perhaps Michigan's best of the season. It went 11 plays, covered 75 yards, chewed up nearly seven minutes off the clock and had six run calls and five passes.

The best play came on third-and-10, when Tuttle dropped back in the pocket, moved through his progression and then ripped a ball up the middle for a 22-yard strike to Amorion Walker (the longest catch of his career) to keep the drive alive. Tuttle found Loveland later on a scramble for the lead.

The next three drives, however, left more to be desired. U-M went three-and-out on consecutive possessions, gaining a total of 5 yards, before Hausmann's interception set up a potential go-ahead score. Instead, Tuttle fumbled, which set up the Huskies with a short field.

"They got 10 points off of short field turnovers," Moore said. "Fourth quarter, those two turnovers were huge, they got 10 points off them. We've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball in all aspects — Jack's going to beat himself up about that but we can't let him do that. We've got to uplift him and as a team, take care of him."

When Michigan got the ball back with 6:22 to play, Mullings converted on fourth-and-inches. But after a false start (on Josh Priebe), Tuttle threw an interception on a ball behind Loveland on an out-route with 3:24 to play.

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Defense picked apart through the air

The defense was similarly slow to settle in.

Washington had its way early, with three of its first four drives picking up 50 yards or more. It started early, when Rogers found Denzel Boston on a 36-yard double move against Jyaire Hill (a frequent occurence) on the first play of the game. Coleman ripped off a 10-yard rush on the next play, but U-M's defense forced a 42-yard Grady Gross field goal attempt, which he pulled wide left.

The next drive didn't go as well for U-M. After an early third-and-11, Rogers found former Michigan wideout Giles Jackson for a deep gain of 41 after he ran by Makari Paige. Michigan gave up another third-and-7 when Rogers found Boston on a slant in front of Hill. Five plays later, Rogers found Boston on a fade for a touchdown.

"They did a great job scheming it up," Moore said of the early scores. "Thought our guys settled down really well in the second half, limited those explosive plays. ... Just got to do it in the first half."

Two drives later, the Huskies went 75 yards on seven plays, including a sweet double pass from Rogers to backup QB Demond Williams Jr. to Cameron Davis for a gain of 37. On the next play, Rogers found Jackson for a 17-yard score to put Washington up 14-0.

Rogers finished 21-for-32 for 271 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Michigan awoke after the Wolverines' QB change and ended the first half by forcing a punt and then blocking a short field goal attempt as time expired. The Wolverines also forced a punt on Washington's first drive of the second half after U-M took a 17-14 lead on its opening drive.

After Washington tied the game and marched into U-M territory midway through the fourth quarter, Rogers threw a pass over the middle to his tight end, but Hausmann made a leaping interception to get U-M the ball back. Michigan didn't capitalize, however, as the defense allowed 13 fourth-quarter points.

"Right now, we're at 4-2," Moore said. "Our job now is to play the second half of the season and go try to win every game. Work our tails off. We got an opportunity to get better this week, get better next week and then get ready for Illinois."

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan crumbles vs Washington, 27-17, snaps 27-game Big Ten streak