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.”