$5 Burger
(1/2lb With Cheese, Lettuce & Tomato)

Every Monday 5-11pm
(Dine-In Only)

Plus...Late Night Happy Hour:
$4 Michigan Draughts (Some Exclusions)
$4 Well Drinks
$1 Off Glasses of Wine
10pm-2am

338 S. State St. 734.996.9191 www.ashleys.com
Michigan’s Premier Multi-Tap

2B — October 9, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday

The monkey on Jim Harbaugh’s back

T

he answer provided 
little clarity. 

Jim Harbaugh was 

asked for his reaction to his 
current record against Michi-
gan State 
and Ohio 
State, 
fresh off 
a rain-
soaked 
grudge 
match 
that saw 
his then-
seventh-
ranked 
Wolverines lose, 14-10.

“I don’t know,” he said. 

“We’re bowing our necks, get-
ting ready for the next game. 
That’s our reaction.”

The fact is, though, that 

it’s a fair question to ask after 
Saturday night. After all, it’s 
one of the only ones left unan-
swered after he has brought 
Michigan back to national 
prominence. But for the first 
time since he arrived in Ann 
Arbor, fans were given reason-
able cause to doubt what the 
outcome of Harbaugh’s grand 
vision for the program will be. 

Tim Drevno may be the 

offensive coordinator and Pep 
Hamilton may be the passing 
game coordinator, but this is 
Harbaugh’s offense.

And that offense didn’t just 

sputter, as it has all season. 
Saturday night, it came to a 
screeching halt.

It was the lowest scoring 

output of Harbaugh’s tenure. 
The Wolverines posted 4.1 
yards per play. They averaged 
just 2.6 yards per carry. They 
ran 40 different formations 
in the first half, according to 
Michigan State coach Mark 
Dantonio, to the tune of just 
three points.

As for the second half, it was 

an unmitigated disaster.

Michigan completed less 

than 50 percent of its passes, 

and after torrential rains hit 
Ann Arbor midway through 
the third quarter, it became 
baffling why Michigan was 
throwing so much in the first 
place. As for the most offen-
sive instance — the Wolverines 
dared to go five-wide from the 
shotgun on third-and-short 
early in the fourth quarter.

In the Wolverines’ first 

drive after the storm started, 
they appeared to adopt the 
logical approach. Junior run-
ning back Karan Higdon got 
the ball four times, giving 
Michigan two first downs on 
23 yards.

Then the Wolverines called 

three straight pass plays. The 
third became fifth-year senior 
quarterback John O’Korn’s 
first interception.

On the next drive, Michi-

gan ran the ball once for a 
yard. O’Korn was sacked, 
then completed a screen pass 
to sophomore tight end Sean 
McKeon for 12 yards. After 
an incomplete pass, Higdon 
rushed for seven yards. But on 
third-and-three, O’Korn was 
picked again.

During the following offen-

sive possession, the Wolver-
ines clearly didn’t learn their 
lesson. After an incomplete 
pass and another one-yard 
rush, the Spartans nabbed 
their third interception in as 
many possessions.

And if the play calls weren’t 

questionable already, who was 
on the field for them was. The 
Wolverines stuck to their run-
ning back rotation, despite the 

fact that Higdon was clearly 
their most effective rusher.

Sophomore Chris Evans 

averaged negative yardage on 
four second-half carries. Isaac 
did the same with two. Hig-
don, on the other hand, aver-
aged 5.9 yards on eight carries.

After the game, Harbaugh 

said himself that it was fair to 
criticize the play calling. He 
said that Michigan was trying 
to run the ball. The in-game 
product said otherwise.

He said that the Wolverines 

were trying to piece drives 
together. They failed by a long 
shot.

As for Michigan’s offen-

sive unit, it said all the right 
things. They wouldn’t lean on 
the weather as a crutch, and 
yet there was an underlying 

truth to their answers.

“It was different at different 

points,” O’Korn said. “There 
was one point where it was a 
torrential downpour and it was 
tough to throw the football, 
but there’s no excuses. You’ve 
gotta do what you’re coached 
to do and you have to complete 
the passes that are called.”

Added fullback Khalid Hill: 

“I mean, the gloves weren’t 
even helping. We had gloves 
that we can wear to help with 
the rain. Those were drenched 
by the time we was going on 
the field. The rain played a big 
part, but still … the mistakes 
that we made also played a big 
part.”

That they did, and now 

Michigan would need to win 
out to concretely improve upon 

the last two years — a daunting 
task given that the Wolver-
ines still need to travel to No. 
7 Wisconsin and No. 3 Penn 
State before facing the ninth-
ranked Buckeyes at home.

Make no mistake, the Sat-

urday night’s outcome is in no 
way grounds for a coaching 
change. It wasn’t long ago that 
Harbaugh resurrected a pro-
gram that finished 5-7 before 
his arrival.

But on the last play of the 

game, O’Korn took the snap 
on first-and-10 at Michigan 
State’s 37-yard line. He danced 
around the pocket and sent 
a prayer to the end zone in a 
game that the Wolverines had 
plenty of opportunities to win 
far earlier.

As the ball hung in the air, 

those who stayed through a 
torrential downpour held a 
sliver of hope that this time, 
the Michigan football team 
would end up on the right side 
of a miracle at Michigan Sta-
dium.

Seconds later, they were left 

sorely disappointed. Donovan 
Peoples-Jones had a chance, 
but that was all it was. Three 
Spartans surrounded him in 
coverage, and the ball hit a 
mass of eight hands all clawing 
at the chance to put their team 
on the right side of a rivalry. 
The ball hit the turf.

Those who stayed, well, they 

were left to watch as Michigan 
State rushed the field. They 
were left to watch as the Wol-
verines walked off it, heads 
bowed in disappointment.

More than anything, 

though, they were left with 
this stark reality: Jim Har-
baugh is now 1-4 against the 
Wolverines’ two biggest rivals, 
and he was outcoached Satur-
day night.

Santo can be reached at 

kmsanto@umich.edu or on 

Twitter @Kevin_M_Santo. 

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is now 1-4 against the Wolverines’ biggest rivals, Michigan State and Ohio State, in his third year at the helm of the program.

KEVIN 
SANTO

football, 
but 
there’s 
no 

excuses. You’ve gotta do what 
you’re coached to do and you 
have to complete the passes that 
are called.”

But there was, at the very 

least, one too many mistakes.

In the first quarter, the 

Wolverines 
were 
driving, 

threatening to score twice in as 
many drives to open the game. 
Fifth-year senior running back 
Ty Isaac was given the ball 
on first-and-10 near midfield. 
He failed to protect the ball, 
though, and Michigan State’s 
Joe Bachie forced a fumble that 
the Spartans recovered.

Michigan State quarterback 

Brian Lewerke rushed for a 
14-yard touchdown to cap off 
a 46-yard drive following the 
fumble recovery, and later found 
Madre London on a screen in 
the second quarter. The junior 
running back coasted to the 
corner of the end zone to take a 
14-3 lead at Michigan Stadium.

For a fleeting moment, it 

looked like Michigan would 
reclaim a grip on the game 
before the half concluded — the 
same one they had on the first 
offensive and defensive series 
of the game.

O’Korn 
found 
sophomore 

tight end Sean McKeon for a 
36-yard reception that would 
have put Michigan on the 
Spartans’ 27-yard line with 
31 seconds to play. Instead, 
McKeon 
fumbled, 
and 
the 

Wolverines went into halftime 
trailing by 11.

Michigan managed to reach 

the end zone with just over 
eight minutes left in the third 
quarter to cut Michigan State’s 
lead to four.

But the rest of the game was 

the byproduct of carelessness, 
and the Wolverines didn’t score 
another point.

Michigan turned the ball 

over too much, even for its 
defense 
to 
counteract. 
It 

adopted a nonsensical game 
plan, as rain poured down in 
sheets.

Now, Paul Bunyan is going 

back to East Lansing, and the 
Wolverines have no one to 
blame but themselves.

GAME
From Page 1A
The good, the bad and the ugly: Michigan State

It was a long night for the 

Michigan football team.

Under the lights at Michigan 

Stadium for the first time in the 
history of the in-state rivalry, the 
now-17th-ranked Wolverines lost 
their illustrious unbeaten status 
in a 14-10 loss to Michigan State. 
Saturday night, Michigan dropped 
a game it should never have been in 
a position to lose to the unranked 

Spartans — putting its College 
Football Playoff aspirations on life 
support in the process.

As 
a 
torrential 
downpour 

engulfed 
Ann 
Arbor, 
the 

Wolverines couldn’t climb out of 
the hole they had dug themselves 
into during the first half. The Daily 
breaks down the good, the bad 
and the ugly from Saturday night’s 
game.

The good
On 
a 
night 
when 
almost 

everything went wrong, Michigan’s 

only 
redeemable 
quality 
was 

the performance of its stalwart 
defensive unit.

As has been the case throughout 

the 
season, 
whenever 
the 

Wolverines have faltered, their 
defense has swooped in to save 
the day. But against Michigan 
State, there was simply too much 
overcome.

The 
defense 
was 
spread 

thin all game, forced to spend a 
considerable amount of time on the 
field due to a number of mistakes on 
the offensive side of the ball.

Though the defense gave up 

two touchdowns in the first half, it 
would shut the door in the second 
half, not conceding a single point 
after the break.

The opening score could be 

chalked up to favorable field 
position. On Michigan’s second 
offensive drive, fifth-year senior 
running back Ty Isaac fumbled the 
ball, and the Spartans recovered it 
at the Wolverines’ 46-yard line. 

The second score came down 

to a fortunate 30-yard completion 
and a well-executed screen pass. 
Spartan wideout Darrell Stewart 
Jr. caught a deep ball that had 
been tipped by senior cornerback 
Brandon Watson, and Michigan 

State quarterback Brian Lewerke 
caught 
Michigan’s 
defense 

completely off guard on a 16-yard 
trick play.

The one noticeable shortcoming 

on the defensive side of the ball was 
that the Wolverines failed to record 
a sack after leading the nation in the 
category prior to the contest.

The bad
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh 

summed it up after the game: “Too 
many turnovers.”

As it turned out, Isaac’s fumble 

was only the beginning of the 
Wolverines’ 
troubles 
Saturday 

night. Michigan turned the ball 
over a total of five times against 
the Spartans, including another 
fumble and a whopping three 
interceptions.

Worse yet, all three picks came 

in consecutive possessions in the 
second half. After the rain had 
begun to pour down, it would have 
been expected for Michigan to 
transition its game plan accordingly 
and rely more heavily on the run 
game. Suffice to say, that’s not what 
happened.

The Wolverines tested fate 

by electing to keep throwing 
the ball, and then suffered the 
consequences. Fifth-year senior 
quarterback John O’Korn threw 
three straight interceptions.

At 
that 
point, 
Michigan’s 

comeback attempt lost all of 
the steam it had gained from its 
touchdown drive halfway through 
the third quarter.

In a game that ultimately came 

down to a four-point differential, 
the Wolverines shot themselves 
in the foot one too many times to 
escape unscathed.

The ugly
There is a lot that could go in 

this category, but the overriding 
sentiment from this game is that, 
yet again, Michigan lost a rivalry 
game to Michigan State in front of 
a home crowd.

With the wounds from 2015’s 

infamous fumbled punt still fresh 
in the minds of Wolverine fans, 
this game was supposed to be 
redemption.

Despite 
the 
fact 
that 
the 

Spartans were unranked while 
Michigan was No. 7 — in contrast to 
when Michigan State was No. 7 and 
the Wolverines were ranked 12th — 
their respective rankings went out 
the window with the Paul Bunyan 
trophy on the line.

Despite taking home a victory 

in 
East 
Lansing 
last 
season, 

Michigan’s win seemed to be 
overshadowed by the Spartans’ 
2-5 record at the time. This year 
was the win the home crowd really 
wanted.

That’s why the student section 

stuck it out through the storm 
as the rain drenched them from 
head to toe. They eagerly awaited 
a chance to ease the pain many of 
them had suffered in that same 
student section two years ago.

The Wolverines delivered yet 

another disappointment instead.

BETELHEM ASHAME

Managing Sports Editor

EMMA RICHTER/Daily

Fifth-year senior running back Ty Isaac fumbled on Michigan’s second drive.

