2B — Wednesday, January 3, 2018 
SportsWednesday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan offensive miscues due to 
poor execution and predictability

TAMPA, Fla. — There’s a lot of 

blame that can go around when 
an offense performs the way 
Michigan’s did in its 26-19 loss 
to South Carolina.

203 passing yards on 45 

attempts 
with 
two 
crucial 

interceptions. 33 carries for 74 
yards with two backbreaking 
fumbles.

Those four turnovers, along 

with a muffed punt by freshman 
receiver 
Donovan 
Peoples-

Jones, helped the Gamecocks 
erase a 16-point deficit in nearly 
the blink of an eye. And, as the 
old adage goes, once it started 
raining, it simply began pouring.

“They just grabbed ahold of 

that momentum and it just never 
really came back our way,” said 
senior left tackle Mason Cole. 
“When things like that are 
happening, you’re just waiting 
for that big play to happen and 
stop their momentum. It just 
never really did.”

Of course, most mistakes 

don’t just happen on their own. 
It takes a collective effort, like 
on a fumbled handoff exchange 
between Brandon Peters and 
Sean 
McKeon. 
It 
seemed 

peculiar that McKeon, a redshirt 
freshman tight end without any 
previous carries, would get the 
call on a crucial third-and-one.

Perhaps 
that 
was 
never 

supposed to be the case. After 
the game, Jim Harbaugh blamed 
the miscue on the coaching staff, 
noting that they had the wrong 
personnel in the game. It was 
a mistake that Peters realized 
as well. Yet it went unchecked, 
and the result was costly for the 
Wolverines.

“Yeah, I did realize it, but I 

thought (McKeon would) know 
what to do,” Peters explained. 
“When I snapped the ball, he 
seemed a little surprised that 
I was handing him the ball. I 
should’ve seen that and made 
sure he knew what he was 
doing.”

Similar 
miscues 
plagued 

Michigan’s drives throughout 
the second half. A missed block 
on a wide receiver screen. 
A missed block on the edge. 
A fumble from a normally 
dependable ball-carrier on the 
opponent’s four-yard line.

So as Peters framed it, yes, a 

lack of execution on offense did 
play a role in the team’s collapse.

But — if South Carolina’s 

defensive players are to be 
believed — Michigan’s issues 
weren’t just in execution. They 
laid in preparation, as well.

When asked if there was a 

moment where the Gamecocks’ 
defense felt they had solved 
the 
Wolverines, 
cornerback 

JaMarcus 
King 
gave 
an 

affirmative answer. He felt that 
way after Michigan’s first two 
drives.

“They gave us everything,” 

King said. “After that, we knew 
we could stop everything.”

Why? King felt the Wolverines 

were playing to their tendencies 
— running a lot of the same 
routes over and over again.

“The choice route where the 

receiver runs a mesh and the 
tight end runs a dig,” King said. 
“So they ran that probably 85 
percent of the time, and they ran 
a lot of stop routes on the back 
side.”

Given 
King’s 
answers, 

perhaps it should be no surprise 
that it was he who intercepted 
Peters on a third-and-goal from 
South Carolina’s five-yard line.

A mistake in judgement on 

Peters’ part, yes; the ball was 
clearly late. But what King saw 
on film had a lot to do with it.

Similar 
answers 
were 

provided 
by 
linebacker 
TJ 

Brunson and defensive tackle 
Javon Kinlaw.

Brunson knew from certain 

formations whether Michigan 
was going to run the ball and 
where the Wolverines would 
run it. He could also tell what 
to 
expect 
from 
personnel 

groupings. That allowed the 
defense to simply read their keys 
and “make plays, execute.”

“We got in the right calls in 

the right positions,” Brunson 
said, “and everyone executed for 
the most part.”

Similar to King, Kinlaw felt 

early on that his team held a 
clear advantage, even if the 
Gamecocks trailed by as much as 
16 points in the second half.

“I knew from the first play 

that we were going to win that 
game,” Kinlaw said. “I could tell 
from a physical standpoint.”

Calling Michigan’s offense 

predictable, Kinlaw — similar to 
Brunson — had an idea of when 
the Wolverines would run the 
ball and when Peters would drop 
back to pass.

As the game went on, he 

noticed something else as well 
— a change in Michigan’s body 
language.

“When I see body language 

switch, heads moping,” Kinlaw 
said, “that makes me want to 
turn it up even more.”

And by that point, it was 

clear that Michigan’s continued 
mistakes on offense had pulled it 
into a downward spiral it would 
not escape.

“If you have a guy beat 

mentally, a lot of good things can 
happen for you,” Kinlaw said.

“Probably 
when 
all 
the 

turnovers started happening — 
that’s when I feel like we had 
them mentally beat.”

ORION SANG

Managing Sports Editor

Brandon Peters fails to impress in 
opportunity at the Outback Bowl

TAMPA, Fla. — Brandon Peters 

could have showed everyone why 
he deserves to start next season.

But when he had the chance 

to lead a game-winning drive in 
a New Year’s Day 
bowl game against 
an SEC opponent, 
he turned the ball 
over. Twice.

Late 
in 
the 

fourth quarter, he 
stood alone on the 
sideline, 
hands 

on his hips and 
kicking the dirt off 
his cleats. Kicker 
Quinn 
Nordin 

patted him on the shoulder 
first, and then punter Will Hart 
walked over as well. Just two 
minutes remained on the clock, 
but Michigan’s defense made 
another stop. Sophomore VIPER 
Khaleke Hudson came over to 
Peters, put his arms around him 
and spoke into his ear.

“It’s the last drive. C’mon. We 

need you,” Hudson said to Peters. 
“Just go out there and try your 
best.”

Peters trotted out, but four 

plays later threw his second 
interception of the fourth quarter. 
South Carolina took a knee, and 
time winded down.

Michigan lost the Outback 

Bowl, 26-19, and Peters lost 
his last chance to impress the 
coaches, media and fans before 
the offseason.

Peters finished the day with 

186 passing yards. He threw two 
interceptions and completed just 
20 of his 44 passes, more attempts 
than any Michigan quarterback 
threw in a game this season.

In light of the recent news 

about Shea Patterson’s transfer 
from Ole Miss to Michigan, Peters 
said earlier this week that the 
Outback Bowl could be his own 
“breakout game.” He compared 
Patterson’s transfer to Michigan 
to the likes of someone stealing 
something from your house — 
and Peters said he wouldn’t let it 
happen.

The Outback Bowl was Peters’ 

first audition, though, and it 
didn’t start out very well.

Peters went 11-for-23 in the 

first half for just 76 yards. The 
second half’s first drive seemed 
more promising — he went four-
for-four on a touchdown drive, 

completing 
deep 
passes, 

slants and fades 
to 
multiple 

receivers.

After 
the 

game, 
Jim 

Harbaugh 
said 
there 

were 
“some 

good” 
parts 

from 
Peters’ 

performance, 

but there were also some plays 
that he knew Peters would “like 
to have back.”

“He was battling just like the 

rest of the guys,” Harbaugh said. 
“There was some error there. 
A little too much at the wrong 
time.”

Even if Peters had put on 

an impressive performance, it 
wouldn’t have put next year’s 
quarterback battle to rest, but 
he would’ve at least provided 
some positive game film against 
a decent opponent — albeit not a 

great team in South Carolina — 
but a team with a winning record 
nonetheless.

“It does light a fire under me,” 

Peters said. “I want to be the best 
I can possibly be. I’ll just take 
everything that’s happened this 
year and learn from it and take it 
into next year and be better.”

In the next few weeks, Shea 

Patterson will join the team in 
Ann Arbor and start his Michigan 
career. With his move, the next 
quarterback competition of the 
Harbaugh era begins. Harbaugh 
has had one in each of his last 
three seasons, and 2018 won’t be 
any different.

Patterson, 
Peters 
and 

freshman 
Dylan 
McCaffrey. 

That’s what the quarterback 
competition looks like right 
now. One of them hasn’t played 
a collegiate snap, one of them 
struggled on the biggest stage 
yet and the other one led the 
SEC conference in passing yards 
halfway through the season.

Harbaugh said he wasn’t sure 

how much these bowl game 
performances 
impact 
those 

quarterback competitions, but if 
Peters turns out to be the starter 
next fall, it definitely won’t have 
to do with the bowl performance 
in Tampa.

TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

“He was 

battling just 
like the rest of 

the guys.”

O

n the first day of 2018, 
the story of the 2017 
season played out for 

the Michigan football team.

Four 

months 
of 

frustration 
summed 
up 
in 
four 

quarters.

After 

returning 
just 
five 

starters — the 
fewest 
total 

in the nation 
— from a team 
that finished 10-3 a year ago, 
the inexperienced, yet talented, 
Wolverines set out on a mission 
to show the country that this 
wouldn’t be a rebuilding year. 

But that’s exactly what the 

season became for Michigan.

The Wolverines opened the 

Outback Bowl on a high note, 
as the defense forced a trio of 
three-and-outs and held South 
Carolina to just 13 yards in the 
first quarter. Redshirt junior 
defensive end Chase Winovich 
even recovered a fumble, as did 
freshman defensive back Ambry 
Thomas on special teams. 

But 
Michigan’s 
offense 

couldn’t take advantage of either 
opportunity, failing to reach 
the end zone despite starting 
at the Gamecocks’ 31-yard and 
46-yard lines, respectively. In 
both cases, redshirt freshman 
kicker Quinn Nordin hit a field 
goal to put the Wolverines on 
the board. 

Their 6-0 lead was just as 

unconvincing as their 4-0 start 
to the season. 

Back 
in 
September, 

Michigan’s double-digit wins 
over 
then-No. 
17 
Florida, 

Cincinnati, 
Air 
Force 
and 

Purdue were marred by a 
tendency to wait until late 
in the second half to put the 
game away, mainly due to 
the 
prevalence 
of 
mindless 

turnovers.

That should sound familiar. 

The difference is that the 
Wolverines still managed to put 
those games away.

The second quarter showed 

more stagnation, as Michigan’s 
defense kept South Carolina at 
bay while its offense struggled 
to move the ball. Nordin and 
Gamecock kicker Parker White 
traded 40-plus-yard field goals 
to make it, 9-3, at halftime. 

And at the end of October, the 

Wolverines had dropped to 6-2, 
with two reasonable victories 
over 
Indiana 
and 
Rutgers 

and two devastating losses to 
Michigan State and then-No. 2 
Penn State. 

Still, Michigan had control 

of its own destiny. As unlikely 
as it may have seemed, if the 
Wolverines won out — their 
stated goal at the time — a Big 

Ten championship berth could 
have been in the cards.

In 
the 
third 
quarter, 

Michigan began to make its 
move, scoring a 
touchdown on its 
first possession 
after the break. 
Redshirt 
freshman 
quarterback 
Brandon Peters 
put 
together 

a 
six-play, 

72-yard 
drive 

capped off by a 
one-yard 
rush 

from 
freshman 

fullback Ben Mason. 

On the very next series, 

redshirt 
junior 
linebacker 

Noah Furbush picked off South 
Carolina 
quarterback 
Jake 

Bentley and returned it 27 yards 

to the Gamecocks’ 27-yard line. 

The Wolverines had their 

chance to put the game away. 
But they only made it to the 

four-yard line. 

Junior 

running 
back 

Karan 
Higdon 

was 
stripped, 

and 
South 

Carolina 
pounced on the 
loose ball. 

“(We) 
gave 

up 
too 
many 

opportunities,” 
Higdon 
said. 

“We had them 

right where we wanted them. … 
We just didn’t capitalize.”

After that play, the momentum 

shifted 
dramatically. 
Aside 

from a 48-yard field goal from 
Nordin, it never swung back in 

Michigan’s direction. 

In November, the Wolverines 

beat Minnesota and Maryland 
handily. They were riding high 
at 8-2 with two games left to 
play. But down by just four 
points to then-No. 5 Wisconsin, 
Peters suffered a concussion 
and left in an ambulance.

Michigan lost that game, as 

well as its next game against 
then-No. 8 Ohio State, and 
finished the regular season 
with an 8-4 record.

Suffice to say, it wasn’t the 

ending 
the 
Wolverines 
had 

imagined.

By the end of the Outback 

Bowl, Michigan turned the 
ball over four more times. 
The 
Gamecocks 
scored 
20 

unanswered 
points. 
South 

Carolina, which entered the 
game as a seven-point underdog, 

went on to win by that margin 
instead in a 26-19 loss for the 
Wolverines.

In 
the 
fourth 
month 
of 

Michigan’s 2017 season — bowl 
month — the same problems 
that haunted it all year came 
to the forefront and sent the 
Wolverines into 2018 with a 
sour taste in their mouths.

“We have to finish games, 

and we just didn’t today,” said 
senior left tackle Mason Cole. 
“ … When things like that are 
happening, you’re just waiting 
for that big play on us to stop 
their momentum, and it just 
never really did.

“It’s tough, especially for 

younger guys. They handled 
it fine, but sometimes when 
things aren’t going your way, 
you get emotionally hijacked or 
whatnot, and it’s just a learning 
lesson. 
Obviously, 
we 
wish 

it went the other way, but it 
didn’t.”

And 
because 
it 
didn’t, 

Michigan has a long offseason 
ahead. Its young core, thrown 
into the fire this year, performed 
about as well as could have been 
expected. 

But 
the 
Wolverines 
have 

plenty of room to grow. They 
already know. 

Asked how long the bitter 

feeling of an 8-5 season will 
linger, Higdon cut to the chase: 
“Until we play Notre Dame.”

While the 2018 season opener 

is eight months away, he and his 
teammates have their work cut 
out for them.

“You gotta go into it now 

with a more serious approach 
because now we know we 
have real issues that we gotta 
fix,” 
Higdon 
said. 
“If 
we 

wanna be great and we wanna 
be a national championship 
contender, those are mistakes 
that we can’t have.”

Four quarters in 2018 and 

four months of 2017 showed 
Michigan there’s a lot to learn 
from a rebuilding year.

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters struggled against South Carolina, throwing two interceptions.

Four months summed up in four quarters

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Junior running back Karan Higdon believes the feeling of Michigan’s 8-5 season will linger until next year’s season opener at Notre Dame.

BETELHEM
ASHAME

“We have to 
finish games, 
and we just 
didn’t today.”

