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.”

For more football coverage
Check MichiganDaily.com 
throughout the week

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