MOVING IN
4B — September 8, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Back to school
S
ALT LAKE CITY —
Sorry folks, summer’s
over.
The
return to
school is
a tough
time for
everyone,
and the
Michigan
football
team is no
exception.
It happens
every
September: The radiant
sunshine of summer is
replaced with humming
fluorescent lights, the freedom
and optimism crushed with a
strong dose of reality.
This change often produces
back-to-school moments that
serve as a stark reminder that
it isn’t summer anymore. It
can be misspelling an easy
word after three months off,
struggling with basic math,
forgetting your notebook
or, as many cartoons depict,
forgetting to put on your pants.
Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh didn’t forget his
pants — it’s nearly impossible
to forget those enormous
khakis at this point — but
back-to-school moments were
aplenty for the Wolverines on
Thursday.
After a summer glimmering
with good times and optimism,
it felt like the first day of
school prior to kickoff. Over
1,100 Michigan fans from
all over the country came
together at the Michigan
Alumni Salt Lake City
chapter’s tailgate, giddily
discussing their summers,
Jim Harbaugh and the endless
hope of Michigan football.
But class had been in session
for mere minutes before the
Wolverines found themselvews
on their heels with an early
test against Utah. And from
the opening drive to the onside
kick that flew out of bounds,
the back-to-school moments
proved to be the difference
between passing and failing.
The offensive line, returning
all of its starters, committed
critical false starts in its
first time playing in front
of a crowd since November.
Sophomore safety Jabrill
Peppers blew coverage in
the second quarter that
resulted in a 20-yard gain.
Freshman receiver Grant
Perry miscommunicated with
graduate
transfer
quarterback
Jake Rudock,
resulting in
two first-half
picks.
Rudock
had the
strongest
reminder
of all how
quickly
a summer’s worth of
anticipation can disappear.
Midway through what looked
to be a game-tying drive
with eight minutes to go in
the fourth quarter, Rudock
targeted Perry again on third
down, but Utah cornerback
Justin Thomas took it to the
house instead.
The potential 14-point swing
from that play alone could be
seen as the difference in the
game.
The silver lining for
Michigan fans is that, this
year, the mistakes at Utah
were simply that — mistakes.
A bad team wouldn’t have
outgained the Utes; a lazy
team wouldn’t have pieced
together a touchdown drive
when everyone else in the
stadium thought it was over; a
poorly coached team wouldn’t
have played better with each
passing quarter.
Speaking of coaching,
Harbaugh — who had been
away from the college game
longer than anyone else in
the program — had his share
of back-to-school moments
as well. There were few
controversial decisions or
missteps, but with each
barking order and each time
he placed his hands on his
hips came a reminder that he
works with the same mistake-
prone, wide-eyed students
who went 5-7 last season, not
freshly picked professionals
who can
be signed,
released and
traded away
on a whim.
Harbaugh
may have
been the
biggest name
in college
football all
summer, but
dominating
school is a different beast, and
it doesn’t happen overnight.
There’s no shame in a one-
score loss on the road to the
Utes — a borderline top-25
team that won nine games last
year — but it’s clear that the
Wolverines have homework
to do.
“For our football team,
there were a lot of positives,”
Harbaugh said. “(But also)
some things to build on, some
things to grow from in a lot
of areas. I’m already thinking
about them, ready to attack
them.”
That’s good for the
Wolverines, because though
school doesn’t officially start
until Sept. 8, the next test is in
nine days.
Shaw can be reached at
zachshaw@umich.edu or on
Twitter @_ZachShaw.
ZACH
SHAW
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh lost his highly anticipated Michigan coaching debut Thursday at Utah.
Utah spoils Harbaugh’s
debut in Salt Lake City
By JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
SALT LAKE CITY — Six
Michigan fans spanning three
generations sat around a table at
the Alumni Association’s tailgate
before the football team opened
its
2015
season
Thursday
night.
The
youngest
was
Jason Liess, a junior at the
University. The oldest were
his grandparents, Jerome and
Enid. Jerome sat reminiscing
about two glorious memories of
Michigan football: one 29 years
ago, and one 39 years before that.
Jerome
witnessed
both
memories, retelling them to the
family and friends sitting next
to him. Together, they thought
maybe, just maybe, Thursday
night would be one of those
nights they would talk about
while sitting around a table 29
years from now.
But it wasn’t. A day that
began with celebration ended
with a thud, and the team
slowly walked off the field after
a 24-17 defeat, with Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh and four
players taking
questions in a
cramped, dim
room at the
stadium.
The
Liess
family
got
tickets
for
the
game
from
Mark
Messner,
a
two-time
All-American defensive tackle
who played with Harbaugh on
Bo Schembechler’s Michigan
teams in the 80s. Jerome told
the story of when Messner
recovered a fumble to help the
Wolverines win the Fiesta Bowl
in 1986.
Thirty-nine years before that,
Jerome, then in high school,
went to see Michigan play
Wisconsin in Madison the year
Fritz Crisler’s “Mad Magicians”
went undefeated and won the
national
championship.
On
a rainy day at Camp Randall
Stadium, the Wolverines, led
by Bob Chappuis and Jack
Weisenburger, stormed past the
Badgers, 40-6.
In the present, when the pack
of Michigan fans walked to Rice-
Eccles Stadium to watch the
Wolverines play Utah, there was
no magic to be had. Michigan
had every chance to pull ahead
for good, but never did.
Ultimately, it ended when
fifth-year senior Jake Rudock
threw his third interception
of the night into the hands of
Utah’s Justin Thomas, who ran
it back 55 yards for a touchdown.
The score then stood at 24-10,
Utah, with just 7:58 to play.
“I thought I could get it to
him, but it kind of jumped on
me,” Rudock said. “Should have
obviously, in hindsight, thrown
it away. I thought I could get it
in there.”
The
Wolverines
couldn’t
score on their next possession,
and though they added a
consolation touchdown with 54
seconds to play, they couldn’t
recover the ensuing onside
kick.
Michigan trailed by seven at
halftime, and though both teams
went on long drives to start the
second half, Michigan’s ended
in
a
missed
field goal and
Utah’s ended
in a perfect
fake jet sweep,
allowing
quarterback
Travis Wilson
to
stroll
untouched
into the end
zone
and
double the lead.
Still, the Wolverines marched
75 yards down the field on their
next drive, finishing with a
19-yard touchdown toss from
Rudock to junior tight end Jake
Butt through double coverage.
The record crowd of 47,825 at
Rice-Eccles Stadium quieted
down, and Michigan saw an
opportunity.
“It just fueled us up more to go
out there and get a stop on third
down,” said senior defensive
lineman Chris Wormley. “We
were right in the game up until
that last drive, so I don’t think
there was ever a point where we
thought, ‘Oh, man, here we go
again.’ ”
Utah moved the ball on the
ensuing series, but kicker Andy
Phillips missed a 46-yard field
goal. It was a rare second miss
of the night for Phillips — giving
the Wolverines the ball back,
giving them an opportunity for
a magical moment in a sloppy
game. But the pick-six followed
soon thereafter.
It was a rocky Michigan
debut for Rudock, the graduate
transfer
from
Iowa,
who
finished 27-for-43 with 279
yards, two touchdowns and
three
interceptions.
His
yardage total was the highest
for a Michigan quarterback
since 2013, but the turnovers
proved to be his downfall.
The
Wolverines’
defense,
expected to be even more
reliable than Rudock, also had
some miscues. Utah cruised
down the field for 63 yards in
nine plays and a 30-yard field
goal on the opening drive, then
did so again to retake the lead
with a touchdown drive in the
second quarter. Utes running
back Devontae Booker carried
22 times for 69 yards and a
touchdown, Wilson 12 times for
53 and another score. The only
turnover Michigan forced was
an interception on a Hail Mary
at the end of the first half.
“For the defense, nothing
really
surprised
us,”
said
senior defensive lineman Chris
Wormley. “They did exactly
what we scouted for the last two
weeks.”
Butt and redshirt junior
Amara Darboh each caught
eight
passes
and
one
touchdown, Butt for 93 yards
and Darboh for 101.
Now they head home after a
game so many had anticipated
for so long, the team included.
“Every game, the goal is to
win the next game, and that
was our next game,” Harbaugh
said. “We prepared well for it,
worked hard for it — it was a
pinnacle. That’s your next game.
You build for that. We’ll do the
same next week, and everything
that happens from here on in is
what matters the most, so that’s
how we’ll approach it.”
“They did
exactly what we
scouted for the
last two weeks.”
UTAH
MICHIGAN
24
17
Turnovers plague Rudock
in season-opening defeat
Grad transfer
throws three picks,
one returned for
game-clinching TD
By MAX COHEN
Managing Sports Editor
SALT LAKE CITY — Jake
Rudock did not remove his
helmet as he walked off the
field when the clock hit zero in
his Michigan football debut. He
traveled alone, acknowledging
none of the chaos behind him
as Utah celebrated its 24-17
victory.
Rudock,
who
threw
just
five interceptions last season
in 345 attempts for Iowa, had
just thrown three picks in
43 attempts the first time he
donned the Michigan uniform
in a game. The debut was not
the one he had hoped for.
Rudock did not emit anything
vaguely resembling a smile in
his postgame press conference.
He had been informed just
days earlier that he would
start the season opener, having
defeated junior Shane Morris in
a battle that lasted almost the
entirety of fall camp. Rudock
had widely been considered the
safe choice, sure-handed with
the ball and unlikely to turn it
over. But after his first game as
a Wolverine, Rudock was left to
explain his mistakes.
The
fifth-year
senior
characterized
each
of
his
interceptions
differently.
The first, a pick that ended a
54-yard drive when Michigan
had marched to Utah’s 21-yard
line,
was
the
result
of
a
miscommunication
between
himself and freshman wide
receiver Grant Perry. As the
veteran in the situation, Rudock
was willing to shoulder most of
the blame.
“Part
of
your
job
as
quarterback is to protect the
ball, protect the ball and manage
the game, however cliché you
guys like that,” Rudock said.
“It’s just, obviously, you don’t
want to throw picks.”
Rudock classified the second,
also intended for Perry, a
“bad ball,” a mistake that was
completely his fault. The third
interception, when Rudock’s
intended target was in man
coverage, was different. Before
he threw the ball, which Utah
cornerback
Justin
Thomas
returned
55
yards
for
a
touchdown,
Rudock
thought
he
was
making
a
sound
decision.
In
hindsight,
he
said,
he
wished he had
thrown
the
ball away.
After that final pick, the
one that seemingly crushed
Michigan’s chances for victory
by allowing the Utes to extend
their lead to 14 once again,
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh,
making a debut of his own,
albeit a more publicized one,
wrapped his arm around his
quarterback
as
they
stood
alone on the sideline. Harbaugh
consoled Rudock, assuring him
that Thomas had merely made a
good play.
“He tried to stick it in there,
and it went the other way,”
Harbaugh said. “Welcome to
football.”
After the game, Harbaugh
said
he
considered
only
Rudock’s second interception
to be a bad throw. Otherwise,
he believed his quarterback
had made the right plays.
What
impressed
Harbaugh
most, though, was how Rudock
reacted to his pick-six.
“I’ll say this about Jake —
you throw an interception for a
touchdown and then you come
back and lead a touchdown
drive, I thought that was
outstanding,” Harbaugh said.
Two
drives
after
his
final
interception,
Rudock
completed six of eight passes
in orchestrating a nine-play,
80-yard
touchdown
drive.
Though it was meaningless
after Michigan’s unsuccessful
onside kick attempt with 54
seconds left, it allowed Rudock
to further his rapport with the
receivers.
He connected with Perry
three
times
for 41 yards
on the drive,
and fed both
redshirt
junior
wide
receiver
Amara
Darboh
and
junior
tight
end Jake Butt
their
eighth
receptions of
the game.
After just one summer with
his new receivers because of his
transfer, Rudock, for the most
part, appeared to be in sync
with Butt and Darboh for most
of the night. With their eight
receptions, each accumulated
more than 90 yards receiving.
Rudock’s
mentality,
despite
the apparent struggles that
also included a couple of costly
overthrows, impressed Butt.
“He’s a fighter,” Butt said.
Rudock, still stone faced
after he gathered his belongings
to head to the team bus, looked
straight ahead and spoke to
nobody as he left Rice-Eccles
Stadium.
Michigan
football
recruiting
coordinator
Erik
Campbell watched as he walked
by and whispered into Rudock’s
ear.
Then, the quarterback, after
a debut to forget, disappeared.
The quarterback,
after a debut
to forget,
disappeared.
FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL
“I’m already
thinking about
them, ready to
attack them.”
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