The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
December 4, 2017 — 3B
FOOTBALL
Michigan picked to face
Cocks in Outback Bowl
Remember that time Jadeveon
Clowney knocked a helmet off
Michigan running back Vincent
Smith? Play it back a few times in
your head, because the Michigan
football team has a rematch in
the same bowl game this year
against the same opponent.
Jim
Harbaugh
and
the
Wolverines are Florida bound —
again — this time to face off with
South Carolina.
They aren’t playing in the
College
Football
Playoff
or
even in a New Year’s Six bowl
game, but it’s a postseason game
nonetheless.
On Jan. 1, the Wolverines
and Gamecocks will meet in
the Outback Bowl at Raymond
James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
“We are honored to represent
our university and the Big Ten
Conference in the tradition-
laden Outback Bowl in Tampa,”
Harbaugh said in a press release.
“Our players and staff are
excited to face an excellent SEC
opponent in South Carolina and
look forward to the competition
on New Year’s Day.”
The
game,
which
will
kickoff at noon eastern time,
pits Michigan against an SEC
opponent in a bowl game for the
second time in Harbaugh’s three
seasons. This matchup will also
be the Wolverines’ third-straight
bowl game in Florida.
Michigan lost in the Orange
Bowl last year to Florida State,
33-32, and the Wolverines beat
Florida the prior year in the
Citrus Bowl, 41-7.
Michigan’s roster is laden
with Florida natives. They all
said they were excited to play the
Gators to open up the season, and
once again, those same Florida
guys are excited to play close to
home.
“I’m
sure
we’ll
have
some family come down for
Christmas,” said senior tackle
Mason Cole, who is from the
Tampa area. “I have so many
friends that just haven’t been
able to make it up to games, but
now they’ll be able to make it to
a game easily. I think everyone’s
just excited.”
The Wolverines (5-4 Big Ten,
8-4 overall) finished fourth
in the Big Ten East, while
the Gamecocks (5-3 SEC, 8-4
overall) finished second in the
SEC East behind No. 3 Georgia.
The last time the two teams
met was in the 2013 Outback
Bowl, when the Gamecocks won
on a late touchdown, 33-28.
Michigan’s
bowl
selection
came after a shakeup among
college football’s top programs.
Despite winning the Big Ten
Championship
on
Saturday
night, Ohio State couldn’t sneak
into the Playoff. Instead, the
committee chose a one-loss
Alabama team — that didn’t play
for its conference championship
— to fit in at the No. 4 spot.
Leaving Ohio State out of
the top four pushed all the
bowl-eligible Big Ten teams
down in the selection process.
Nonetheless, the Wolverines will
get to play in the Outback Bowl
ahead of both Michigan State
and Northwestern, both of which
finished with better records at
9-3, and the latter of which beat
the Wolverines at home.
The rival Spartans ended up
with the Holiday Bowl in San
Diego. Speaking to media Sunday
afternoon,
Michigan
junior
safety Tyree Kinnel talked about
his immediate reactions to the
news.
“You can’t win or lose out with
California or down in Tampa,
but we know the Outback’s the
bigger bowl, so we’re definitely
excited for this one,” Kinnel said.
“We definitely want to get this
win for our seniors.”
Patterson would make difference for ‘M’
S
hea Patterson played eight
games this year before
suffering a season-ending
injury. In those eight games,
he threw for 2,259 yards and 17
touchdowns.
Michi-
gan’s rotat-
ing trio of
quarter-
backs? Well,
they threw
for a com-
bined 2,023
yards and
nine touch-
downs — in
12 games.
There
shouldn’t be any debate. If it’s on
the table, Patterson and the Wol-
verines should get hitched.
And it certainly seems like
there’s a chance that could hap-
pen — maybe even more than just
a chance at this point.
Yesterday, the Ole Miss Spirit
of 247Sports reported that the
Rebels granted their star sopho-
more quarterback permission to
contact other teams about trans-
ferring, with both parties signing
a “permission to contact” form.
That means that Patterson can
reach out to teams like Michigan
— and in turn, teams like Michi-
gan can reach out to him.
The Spirit also reported that
the Wolverines are “probably the
favorite” for Patterson, if he does
indeed decide to transfer.
Of course, Patterson’s deci-
sion to transfer is likely contin-
gent on whether he’ll be eligible
immediately. In fact, one of his
teammates has already retained
a lawyer to petition the NCAA
for immediate eligibility. So for
the sake of this exercise, let’s
assume Patterson won’t have to
sit out a year — giving him status
as a coveted free-agent for any
quarterback-starved teams.
Hello, Michigan.
As we all saw throughout the
year — whether it was against
Michigan State or Ohio State —
the Wolverines have been in need
of better quarterback play. One
might argue Brandon Peters has
done enough to prove he should
be the team’s quarterback of
the future, or that the praise for
Dylan McCaffrey shows he could
start next year. Maybe bring-
ing in a hired gun like Patterson
would ruffle a few feathers.
But Patterson would supply
what the Wolverines have need-
ed. He’s got a pedigree unlike
that of any other quarterback on
the roster.
People have been talking about
him for years, long before he even
joined the college ranks. He was
ranked as the No. 4 overall pros-
pect and the No. 1 pro-style quar-
terback in his recruiting class. He
won a pair of national champion-
ships playing for Calvary Baptist
Academy in Louisiana. Then he
transferred to IMG Academy for
his senior year, a football factory
that plays top teams from across
the country every year. All Pat-
terson did was lead them to a
perfect 9-0 record.
He didn’t face much of a learn-
ing curve once he got to Ole
Miss, either. After Chad Kelly
went down with a season-ending
injury, Hugh Freeze chose to lift
Patterson’s redshirt and start him
on the road against then-No. 8
Texas A&M.
That stage wasn’t too bright
for the highly-touted freshman.
Patterson led the Rebels to a
29-28 upset win, throwing for 338
yards and two touchdowns and
adding 64 yards on the ground.
In College Station, he looked
every bit the dynamic player he
had been hyped up to be.
Patterson was well on his way
to taking the proverbial next step
this year, too, before a PCL injury
against LSU ended his season
prematurely.
Make no mistake about it: Pat-
terson would be a perfect fit for
Michigan. Watch the highlights,
and you’ll see.
Patterson can hit all the
throws required in Jim Har-
baugh’s offense. The Wolverines
couldn’t complete a deep ball
this year. Patterson averaged 8.7
yards per attempt this year and
averaged 33.1 yards per touch-
down pass, a mark that ranked
third-best in the nation according
to Pro Football Focus.
He also brings more to the
table than your typical pocket-
passer. At times, Patterson looks
like the second coming of Johnny
Manziel, displaying an innate
ability to feel pressure, dodge
pass rushers and deliver catch-
able balls on the run. Consider
him already well-equipped to
deal with Michigan’s issues in
pass protection.
It’s possible that Peters or
McCaffrey could still lead the
Wolverines to the promised land.
But projecting that requires some
squinting. You have to imagine
one quarterback with 64 career
attempts making a huge leap,
or a quarterback who has never
even attempted a throw in college
doing the same. The man under
center would still be a question
mark, less of a sure thing.
And therein lies the difference
between Patterson and Michi-
gan’s current options. Shea Pat-
terson doesn’t project to be good.
He is good.
Add him to the roster, and
you’ve got a winning equation.
There’s no squinting required to
predict a season that ends with
Michigan’s first appearance in
the College Football Playoff.
Sang can be reached at
otsang@umich.edu or on
Twitter at @orion_sang.
FOOTBALL
Harbaugh talks Playoff
format, Speight, Peters
If you haven’t heard already,
no Big Ten team made the College
Football Playoff.
Instead, the Playoff committee
opted for a one-loss Alabama
team.
It didn’t take long for Jim
Harbaugh to be asked about his
reaction to the lack of conference
representation in the Playoff
when he was featured on the
Outback
Bowl
teleconference
Sunday night.
And
his
answer
didn’t
disappoint, as he stressed that a
16-team playoff would be ideal in
his mind.
“My reaction is that there
should be more than four teams in
the Playoff,” he said. “Again, just
reiterate — eight teams, 12 teams,
16 teams. … That would make it
more like every other sport. … I
think it’s the ideal way to do it.”
PETERS
THE
NO.
1:
According
to
Harbaugh,
the
Wolverines are set to resume full
team practices Monday.
And when that time comes,
redshirt
freshman
Brandon
Peters will be Michigan’s starting
quarterback.
“We’ll
start
practice
with
Brandon as the No. 1 quarterback,”
Harbaugh said.
Peters took over the starting
reigns
midway
through
the
Wolverines’
matchup
against
Rutgers, but was injured against
Wisconsin and subsequently went
through
concussion
protocol.
Though he wasn’t cleared in
time to face the Buckeyes, he did
resume practicing last Tuesday.
Of course, the current certainty
to start Peters comes in the wake
of redshirt junior Wilton Speight’s
announcement that he will be
transferring to play out his final
year
of
eligibility
elsewhere.
Harbaugh, though, has no hard
feelings about Speight’s decision.
“I just support him, like all the
guys on the team. I support what
they think is best for them. … I’ve
always had a good relationship
with Wilton, and I was … just
happy that he came in to talk to
me.
“We had an honest discussion
— always strive for that with all of
our players — and just know what’s
on his mind. Nothing secretive,
nothing’s coming from the dark
shadows. It doesn’t have to be that
way — just good, upfront, honest
dialogue. And I appreciate those
kind of relationships the most.”
“NOT
GOOD
ENOUGH”:
As is customary, the preparation
leading up to the Wolverines’
bowl
game
provides
players
— especially those who didn’t
receive significant reps during the
regular season — with nearly a full
month to improve.
And Harbaugh was quick to
acknowledge that the practice
time will help Michigan reach a
level it has failed to attain thus far
this season.
“We look at it right now (as)
we’re not good enough. Not good
enough to win all of our games
and we need to be better. We need
to be good enough. And that starts
now. That really started last week,
as we go forward, building and
attacking.”
MISCELLANEOUS:
Tyree
Kinnel said Sunday afternoon that
he is “100 percent” healthy, after
suffering his first ever concussion
against Ohio State. He went
through concussion protocol for a
week before being cleared.
Harbaugh said he was “leaning
toward” preserving Tarik Black’s
medical redshirt by not playing
him in the Outback Bowl. Black
played in four games this year
before suffering a broken foot,
and according to NCAA rules four
games is the maximum a player
can play to qualify for a medical
redshirt. According to Harbaugh,
Black will most likely resume
practicing.
Michigan’s starters did not
practice last week, but did have
weight room sessions. Backups
practiced last Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday. Harbaugh said that
full team practices will resume
tomorrow.
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
Wolverines surrender momentum at USNTDP
It
would
have
been
understandable if fans had walked
out of USA Hockey Arena on
Saturday night just 25 minutes into
the game. The Michigan hockey
team led the U-18 U.S. National
Development Program, 4-0, after
senior
forward
Dexter
Dancs
tapped in a power play goal just
over five minutes into the second
period.
But leaving, of course, would
have been a mistake. Masked
behind the Wolverines’ statistical
rout of the USNTDP was the fact
that a shift in momentum would
soon make the game a lot closer
than could have been anticipated
from Michigan’s flying start.
Two minutes after Dancs’ goal,
the USNTDP began to chip away
at the Wolverine lead. On a power
play, forward Oliver Wahlstrom
was the first to knock the puck past
sophomore
goaltender
Hayden
Lavigne.
And in the blink of an eye, the
USNTDP had cut its deficit to
two. Under two minutes after the
first goal, forward Patrick Giles
found the back of Michigan’s net,
too. With just over three minutes
remaining in the period, Giles
fired again, successfully evading
Lavigne’s gloves for the second
time of the night.
In the course of 13 minutes,
within a sole period, the Wolverines
went from unevenly dominating a
game to almost surrendering their
edge.
“I think this is one of the biggest
games on (USNTDP’s) schedule,”
said
senior
forward
Tony
Calderone. “They wanted to bring
it to us, so we had to match that.”
A common theme in Michigan’s
games this season have been big,
late-game
comebacks,
leaving
fans on the edge of their seats
throughout the second and third
periods.
But
Saturday
night’s
exhibition
match
saw
almost
the reverse for the Wolverines.
Michigan began with a sizable lead
but almost lost it, and was outshot
by the USNTDP over the final two
periods of the game.
And the Wolverines attributed
their second period energy shift to
easing up on offensive intensity.
“I think we get too comfortable,”
Calderone said. “We get a couple
goals up, and everyone kind of sits
back. It’s something we need to
work on going forward.”
Michigan coach Mel Pearson
echoed
these
sentiments,
highlighting the danger of getting
comfortable with your position in a
game no matter the score.
“We got comfortable with a big
lead tonight,” Pearson said. “And
it’s easy to think you have the game
where you want it, and just relax a
little bit. And the other team, I’m
sure the coach is getting after them
a bit, and that’s the difference. We
even scored the first goal in the
second to make it 4-0.
“It’s like if you’re going up a hill
and you have to keep your foot on
the gas pedal. But if you take it off
you’re not going to keep climbing
up that hill, you’re going to start
going backwards. And I think
that’s part of what the problem was
tonight, anyway.”
The “second period slump” is a
concept that the Wolverines have
been familiar with recently, unable
to keep up with the pace set by the
opposition during the period.
In four of its last six games,
Michigan has been outscored in the
second period. And this exhibition
was a continuation of that trend —
something the Wolverines would
like to see altered before returning
to their conference schedule.
Pearson attributes Michigan’s
difficulty to keep its large lead in
the second period to the pace of
line changes. Due to the nature
of the exhibition, the rotation of
line changes was slower, as every
Wolverine had the opportunity to
see ice time in the match.
“We just wanted to try some
different things tonight,” Pearson
said. “We dressed everybody, and
that’s one of the things that made it
difficult, as players were not getting
on the ice as much as you would
like.”
Despite
Michigan’s
sluggish
display in the second period, the
Wolverines were able to compose
themselves in the final stanza,
tacking on three insurance goals
while sacrificing none.
But the second period should
act as a cautionary tale for
Michigan as it moves forward
with Big Ten matchups. The
exhibition highlighted how quickly
momentum can shift when one
team’s offense starts getting hot
and the other stays idle.
ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer
EVAN AARON/Daily
Senior forward Dexter Dancs scored just five minutes into the second period to give Michigan a four-goal lead, but the Wolverines still surrendered momentum.
EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh may have an opportunity to pursue Shea Patterson, if he so chooses, this offseason.
ORION
SANG