Like another road loss to a ranked
team, the sight of a Michigan
quarterback running for dear life
is nothing new. Last year, it led to
injuries for Wilton Speight and
Brandon Peters. It nearly did the
same to Shea Patterson on Saturday,
as the junior quarterback missed
parts of the fourth quarter with
cramps after being pressured all
night.
Officially, Patterson was sacked
three times and hurried on another
six occasions. In reality, though, it
was much worse.
The Wolverines’ offensive tackles
looked almost helpless. Patterson
rarely received a clean pocket to
throw from — pressure from the
edge or Notre Dame stunts came
almost instantaneously. It showed
in Michigan’s offense: quick throws
were its only reliable way of moving
the ball, and the Wolverines had just
three plays of 15 yards or more with
one offensive touchdown.
But
during
Monday’s
press
conferences, coach Jim Harbaugh
said he wasn’t concerned — and
rather encouraged — by his offensive
line’s performance.
“I thought it was improved,”
Harbaugh said. “We look at it and
there was quite a few boxes that
were checked (as) this is improved.
We’ll continue to get better, but it
was one of the areas I think we’re
improving in.”
Michigan started Jon Runyan Jr.
and Juwann Bushell-Beatty at tackle,
along with Ben Bredeson, Cesar Ruiz
and Michael Onwenu — left to right
— on the interior Saturday. Despite
a plethora of glaring mistakes and
the presence of reserves like redshirt
freshman tackle James Hudson
and junior guard Stephen Spanellis,
Harbaugh said he’ll stick with the
same group next week against
Western Michigan.
“I think the way we played this
week is the way we’ll play the next
game with the offensive line,”
Harbaugh said.
Junior tight end Sean McKeon
and sophomore wide receiver Nico
Collins echoed similar positive
sentiments about the group, noting
that fall camp isn’t the same animal
as the Fighting Irish’s elite front
seven.
“I thought (the line) looked good,”
McKeon said. “The offensive line,
obviously, they gotta work to build
chemistry maybe even more than
they tried to build in camp. So just
got to build more chemistry up
front.”
Added Collins: “(It’s a) great
o-line. I feel like the criticism they
(get) shouldn’t be talked about
because I know how hard they
work.”
Harbaugh
and
his
players’
comments heavily contrast what’s
being said outside Schembechler
Hall.
Fans,
understandably
frustrated by Michigan’s fourth-
straight loss dating back to last
season, were quick to scapegoat the
offensive line for Saturday’s results.
And while there were other
issues — defensive penalties and
the spectacular play of Notre Dame
quarterback
Brandon
Wimbush
— the offensive line was the most
detrimental by far. It cost the
Wolverines the ball or points on four
separate occasions.
In the first quarter, Patterson took
a 17-yard sack that pushed Michigan
out of redshirt sophomore kicker
Quinn Nordin’s range. Later, on
second-and-goal at the two, Notre
Dame got to Patterson again, forcing
the Wolverines to settle for a field
goal. The Fighting Irish’s pressure
was also pivotal to Patterson’s
interception and fumble — though
both were partially avoidable.
Despite those plays, however,
Harbaugh was encouraged by his
quarterback’s performance.
“The thing that stood out the
most was his accuracy, location of
the balls,” Harbaugh said. “He was
accurate all game.
…
First time in a
game
situation,
I thought he
ran (the offense)
extremely well.”
That’s
precisely
why Michigan’s offensive
line play is so frustrating for fans.
For all the flashes Patterson showed
Saturday, he won’t realize his
potential if a defensive lineman
is constantly in his facemask
two seconds after the snap. And
it certainly won’t be realized if
Patterson’s hurt.
Harbaugh said his line has
“improved”, and to be fair, that’s a
relative word. He could genuinely
feel like it has taken a step up from
last year.
But it wasn’t good enough
Saturday. Not even close.
Michigan’s offensive
line has a long way to
go. And no amount
of
Harbaugh
and his players
singing kumbaya
changes that.
Saying or Doing?
Michigan has talked about
its positives from Saturday’s
game, but the product on the
field wasn’t so sterling.
» Page 2B
A different kind of pain
After all of the hype for
Michigan’s 2018-19 season,
Saturday’s loss caused a new
level of heartache.w
» Page 4B
Design by Jack Silberman
Evan Aaron / Daily
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | September 4, 2018
B
SPORTSTUESDAY
LINE OF INQUIRY
MICHIGAN 17
NOTRE DAME 24
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
A week ago, sophomore center Cesar
Ruiz stood in front of reporters and made
a proclamation.
“Our offensive line will be the one
strength of our offense this year,” Ruiz
said. When pressed with a follow-up, he
doubled down.
“You’ll see.”
Saturday night, in Michigan’s 24-17
season-opening loss to Notre Dame,
anyone with two eyes and a television
set saw plenty. They saw a quarterback
constantly needing to evade oncoming
rushers. They saw a normally potent
rushing attack held to 58 yards on 33
carries. They saw a group incessantly
blown around like a tin roof in a
hurricane.
For months, anyone who walked
through
Schembechler
Hall
was
inundated with buzz about a new
offensive line. Simplication from new
offensive line coach Ed Warriner, they
were told, was going to cure all ills from
a group that finished 117th in adjusted
sack rate.
So much for that.
“They brought a lot of blitzes at first,”
reasoned junior running back Karan
Higdon, “brought more guys than we
can block.”
The
statement
—
while
mathematically true — belies the scarred,
fatal flaw plaguing this program. The
Wolverines’ offensive line is a problem
that has no answer.
It will hold back an offense that is
otherwise filled with playmakers. It will
force schematic changes that mask its
weakness. It could get its quarterback
— who showed flashes of brilliance —
injured.
With Michigan in opposing territory
at the end of the third quarter, hoping to
close a double-digit gap, Notre Dame got
a free rusher to junior quarterback Shea
Patterson’s blindside. Patterson showed
his elusiveness, evading a crunching hit,
and scrambling for nine yards.
One play later, the Fighting Irish ran a
simple stunt, freeing a defensive lineman
past Ruiz, and barreling through Higdon.
Forced to release the ball early, Patterson
heaved up a prayer as he was hit. Notre
Dame defensive lineman Julian Okwara
was waiting for the easy interception.
As he learned quickly, evade the
swarming rush on one play, it’ll just be
back the next.
“They got us on that one inside blitz
that we didn’t pick up,” said Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh. “It was a good
impression that their front was bringing
the entire night. Some we blocked, yeah.
Could we be better? Yes. We’ll work to
improve.”
Added fifth-year senior defensive
lineman Chase Winovich, when asked
about the struggling unit: “I know
they’re working hard. Just like myself
and everybody else on this team, we’ve
got corrections to be made. They’re a
well-coached group of individuals and
they’re going to be sure to leave those
corrections moving forward.”
On this night in South Bend, the
offensive line was far from the only
reason for the loss. The defense over-
pursued on nearly every play in the first
half, and paid dearly for it. Penalties
mounted up — on both sides of the ball —
to derail any semblance of momentum.
At times, the offensive scheme looked
familiarly bland. Notre Dame executed
its game plan to perfection, pushing
around the interior of Michigan’s defense
like rag dolls.
There is reason to believe this team
can mend those issues as the season
progresses. There is no such reason to
believe the offensive line will do the
same.
Redshirt freshman James Hudson
will undoubtedly see time as early as
next week at one of the tackle spots, if for
no other reason than there’s nothing to
lose. Coaches and players have been sure
to commend his talent during spring,
with the competition for a starting spot
coming down to the wire. He has the
frame and athleticism.
Freshman Jalen Mayfield might also
get a shot, under the same whimsical
rationale. He’s drawn rave reviews from
the coaching staff and players.
But Harbaugh, Warriner and the
rest of the coaching staff spent weeks
of spring practice, offseason workouts
and then fall practice, only to conclude
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
that these were the five best offensive
linemen to combat a formative Notre
Dame front seven. To expect Hudson,
Mayfield or any replacement to be a
magic elixir would exceed naivety.
Help will come the next couple
weeks in the form of Western Michigan
and SMU. Neither foe will offer
Michigan anything resembling Notre
Dame’s talented front seven. It could
be a time to grow. It will certainly be a
chance to see what the younger options
have to offer.
“It’s the beginning,” Harbaugh said,
when asked about his level of concern
with the offense. “It’s the beginning for
us. We’re not treating it like the end.”
But Saturday was a chance to back
up the talk against a real opponent in a
real environment against a real defense.
Fans waited to see what Ruiz and the
offensive line had in store. Saturday
night, they got their fill. What they saw,
though, was just more of the same.
The offensive line is not a strength,
at least not yet. It is the common
denominator luring an offense back into
the familiar confines of mediocrity.
Far from promised improvement, o-line shows more of the same
Harbaugh, players defend offensive line