4B — Monday, September 10, 2018
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
What you missed when you left at halftime
It didn’t take long for the
Michigan
football
team
to
dominate Western Michigan.
After a punt on the game’s
opening drive, the Wolverines
racked up five consecutive
touchdowns to
put the Bron-
cos well away
by halftime.
But you had
probably
left
by then.
It
was
already a blow-
out.
Western
Michigan was
already
over-
matched. And
every
take-
away from Saturday’s game
does come with the caveat of
a weak opponent. But the sec-
ond half did provide a worth-
while look at Michigan’s youth
and depth. So here’s what you
missed during your nap.
Patterson’s dime
Midway through the third
quarter,
junior
quarterback
Shea Patterson threaded the
needle for his third touchdown
pass of the day — a throw that
required touch, zip and just
enough loft to hit sophomore
receiver
Donovan
Peoples-
Jones in the corner of the end-
zone. It was a “high level” play
according to Jim Harbaugh.
“To change the channel and
go to the corner and throw it
to Donovan, make that split-
second decision and make that
accurate of a throw, I mean,
you’re really seeing things
well,” Harbaugh said.
It was the exclamation point
of a solid home debut for Patter-
son. He didn’t need to do much
while the Wolverines’ running
game dominated, but Patterson
was nonetheless accurate and
poised throughout, completing
12 of 17 passes.
He even got involved on the
ground, too. Reminiscent of his
Ole Miss days, Patterson ran
the option to perfection, keep-
ing the ball for 16 yards during
his final drive of the afternoon.
Running isn’t Patterson’s bread
and butter, but it was still a
reminder to future opposing
defenses to stay honest.
McCaffery,
Wilson
lead
TD drive
Just
as
he
did
against
Notre Dame, Dylan McCaf-
fery replaced Patterson in the
fourth
quarter.
Saturday’s
cir-
cumstances were
far easier for the
redshirt
fresh-
man, though.
Up
42-0,
McCaffery’s
job was simple:
handoff to junior
Tru Wilson. And
Wilson
—
hav-
ing recently been
announced as the
team’s
third-string
running
back — took advantage with 54
yards on six carries.
But McCaffery did get his
first career touchdown pass
when he hit sophomore Jake
McCurry on an out-route for
18-yard score.
Another
week,
another
promising effort from Michi-
gan’s heir apparent.
“Thought Dylan, he’s got a
real coolness about him when
he’s out there playing. See it
on the sideline when I’m call-
ing the plays,” Harbaugh said.
“Watching him execute, it was
good.”
On the lines
First,
both
sophomore
Aubrey Solomon and senior
Lawrence
Marshall
missed
Saturday’s game with undis-
closed injuries.
“They’re
both out work-
ing
through
something this
week,”
Har-
baugh
said.
“We’ll see when
they get back,
but we should
get them back,
sooner
rather
than later.”
In
their
absences,
junior Carlo Kemp received
his first meaningful action
at defensive tackle, where he
moved this offseason after
gaining 15 pounds. Fifth-year
senior Bryan Mone and junior
Michael Dwumfour also rotat-
ed along the interior — a spot
that remains unproven and
thin, although it didn’t look it
against a shaky Broncos offen-
sive line.
Speaking
of
offensive
lines, Michigan’s was indeed
improved in both run blocking
and pass protection. But the
quality of the opposition mat-
ters again. Given last week’s
struggles at tackle, redshirt
freshman James Hudson and
true freshman Jaylen Mayfield
were notable substitutions at
the end of the fourth quarter.
Barring an injury, however,
the Wolverines’
starting
line
will likely be the
same next week.
Harbaugh
showed
faith
in starters Jon
Runyan,
Ben
Bredeson, Cesar
Ruiz,
Michael
Onwenu
and
Juwann Bushell-
Beatty
despite
struggles against
the Fighting Irish. It paid off
Saturday. Over 300 yards rush-
ing and a mostly clean pocket
for Patterson should bring the
entire team a needed confi-
dence boost.
“Good to see our young
offensive linemen get snaps …
Get a lot of guys out there play-
ing,” Harbaugh said. “I think 74
players played in the game, and
did things, too, while they were
out there. Not just got in the
game, but acquitted themselves
well. Lot to build on there.”
Michigan ground game
dominates the Broncos
It’s been a cycle for a while now.
The Michigan football team (1-1
overall) plays a good defense, like
Michigan State, Wisconsin or Ohio
State, and the Wolverines’ running
game struggles.
Then Michigan faces off with a
lesser opponent, like Minnesota,
Indiana or Rutgers, and all of
the wrongs are righted, as the
Wolverines rip off big play after big
play on the ground.
Saturday’s
49-3
win
over
Western Michigan was no different.
Senior running back Karan
Higdon had more than 140 yards
in the first quarter, the most from
any Michigan player in one quarter
since Denard Robinson in 2010.
He finished with 156 yards and a
touchdown.
Junior
running
back
Chris
Evans rushing for 86 yards and two
touchdowns of his own.
When all was said and done,
the
Wolverines
finished
with
308 rushing yards with three
touchdowns.
“The players, offensively, they’re
just doing their skill, being confident
in what they’re doing and executing
it,” said Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh.
Added Evans: “There was holes
you could drive a car through,
and people in there with nobody
to block, because everybody was
blocked and taken care of.”
The performance comes one
week after the Wolverines failed
to get much going on the ground in
their loss to No. 8 Notre Dame.
In that matchup, Higdon led the
team with 72 yards on 21 carries,
averaging 3.4 yards per carry. Evans,
meanwhile, had just two carries for
one yard. You can calculate that
yards per carry yourself.
“It doesn’t just happen on
gameday,” Higdon said. “It starts
with the way we practice. (Running
backs) coach Jay (Harbaugh) does
a great job of making sure we bring
high intensity each and every
week. I’ve got a great teammate in
Chris Evans who pushes me each
and every day. I push him, and we
expect nothing less from each other.
“So knowing that we have that
1-2 punch, it’s great for us working
together alongside our o-line. I
mean, we can’t expect nothing less
than to come each and every day
bringing pressure.”
Saturday’s game was at least a
little reminiscent of Michigan’s
dominating win over Minnesota
last season, though not quite to that
level.
Higdon and Evans combined for
391 yards and four touchdowns that
night.
Evans says he and Higdon talk
about replicating that production all
the time.
“Me and Karan were talking
about, ‘Let’s try to repeat history,’
” Evans said. “Just talking, and we
talk about that a lot, and just being
able to go back to that time. And that
day was just amazing for us both.”
The problem, of course, is that
the Broncos and Golden Gophers
are not the Fighting Irish or the
Buckeyes.
It has been a while since the
Wolverines have been able to accrue
this kind of yardage in a game that
really matters.
For that, there may not be a true
solution, as this much-maligned
offensive line has had its fair share
of struggles in the past two seasons.
Obviously, if you can’t block the good
teams, then you can’t run against
the good teams, and there likely isn’t
going to be some massive personnel
change that will fix everything.
Instead, Michigan’s only real
hope is steady improvement, so
that by the time the big games come
around, the car-sized holes remain,
and Higdon and Evans can bust free.
Patterson shines, offers glimpse of potential
It didn’t hit Shea Patterson until
he boarded the bus to head to the
stadium Saturday morning. He
passed the tailgates he frequented
as a kid. He recalled conversations
he used to have with his dad.
The junior had thought about
what it might be like to play
quarterback in maize and blue
since his childhood. He’d spoken
with his coach, Jim Harbaugh,
about it since the day he stepped
on campus. As he got in the bus,
he realized his circuitous journey
finally brought him to that desired
point.
When
Patterson
got
his
opportunity to run out of the
tunnel at Michigan Stadium, his
coach stood back to take in the
scene. It’s Harbaugh who might
understand that emotional lure
better than anyone else.
“He touched the banner —
looked like he kinda went up
and did a little reverse dunk,”
Harbaugh said, with a glowing
smile. “He had a little sugar on
the flakes touching the banner.
… It’s awesome when it means
something to someone.”
Added Patterson: “When I
ran out of the tunnel with my
teammates, I can’t describe that
feeling. It was kind of emotional,
but excited as well.”
Saturday, Patterson knew that
lengthy journey would end with
him taking the first snap in front
of 110,000-plus fans in the very
stands he used to sit in. Perhaps
he didn’t know that journey would
end with the most promising
home debut from a Michigan
quarterback in recent memory.
Patterson lit up a hapless
Western
Michigan
defense,
finishing the game with three
touchdowns in three quarters of
tidy work, going 12-for-17 for 125
yards and guiding the Wolverines
(1-1) to a 49-3 win over the Broncos.
His
190.6
quarterback
rating
is the highest from a Michigan
quarterback since Wilton Speight
posted a 233.4 rating against
Maryland on Nov. 5, 2016.
He dazzled all the shiny tools
that made his transfer to Michigan
so intriguing in the first place —
the playmaking with his legs, the
arm talent to make any throw, the
poise to command an offense. It
was all on display Saturday.
For fans and players alike, it was
a refreshing change.
“We’ve had Jake Rudock here,
and there’s problems that are
beyond the scope of a quarterback,
but in terms of how our offense
efficiently played and how Shea
looked, I’d say it’s as good as any
quarterback I’ve seen here,” said
fifth-year senior defensive end
Chase Winovich. “It was weird
being on the sideline and them just
scoring touchdowns. I remember
(junior safety) Josh Metellus … he
goes, I just remember him sitting
there looking, he’s like ‘Man, this is
nice!’ I think the feeling is mutual
from my half.”
Everything
in
this
game
comes with the caveat of Western
Michigan’s weakness — a team
that allowed 560 total yards and 55
points last week against Syracuse.
But it wasn’t necessarily the sheer
numbers that will leave fans so
encouraged by Patterson’s play,
and rather the manner in which
they came. There were several
plays he made that no quarterback
on the last year’s roster would
have, independent of the Broncos’
ineptitude.
On the second drive of the
game, Patterson rolled to his
left, throwing across his body
to a lunging Oliver Martin on
the sideline for a first down. The
window was tight, the margin for
error non-existent. Patterson hit
him anyway.
“That’s really having a feel, the
depth perception, the ability to
throw different types of passes,”
Harbaugh said. “Drilled it in there
on the run to his left. That’s check,
check, check. Plus, plus, plus.”
Late in the first half, Patterson
stayed
calm
in
the
pocket,
dropping a dime over the top of the
safety into the waiting hands of
sophomore receiver Nico Collins.
It was the first touchdown a
Michigan quarterback has thrown
to a wide receiver in 364 days. It
was also the first of three such
scores on the day.
On
his
third
and
final
touchdown,
Patterson
floated
a delicate pass to sophomore
Donovan Peoples-Jones on third
and goal from the 5-yard-line. It
wasn’t his first read on the play,
Harbaugh said, rather a response
to the defense reacting to Collins
coming on a slant underneath.
Patterson showed the awareness to
adapt, the skill to place it perfectly.
“The
throw
to
(Peoples-
Jones) probably stands out in
my mind as the one that really
puts an exclamation point on it,”
Harbaugh said.
Stiffer tests will come, no doubt.
Nobody will confuse Patterson
with a program savior simply
because of a game against Western
Michigan.
But
from
the
players’
perspective, their plaudits have
little to do with the Broncos,
or anything tangible. It’s in
his command of the offense,
his constant poise. They see a
quarterback who might — just
might — have the reins of the
program comfortably in his hands.
The reins he’s been waiting for
since childhood.
“The thing about Shea is that he
just has such a sense of confidence
that doesn’t come off as cocky, but
you just know and he knows — this
is my opinion about it — that he’s
the man,” Winovich said. “He’s
the man for the job, and he can get
the job done. I think for him, it was
just another day at the office.”
FOOTBALL
MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson showed what he’s capable of in his dream-come-true debut at Michigan Stadium.
The Michigan Daily Top 10 Poll
Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out ballots, with first-place votes receiving 10
points, second-place votes receiving nine and so on.
1. Alabama: When you have two
quarterbacks you have no quarter-
backs, PAWWWWLLLLLLLLLLL.
2. Georgia: Nothing like 90,000
southern people barking like dogs to
get the juices flowing.
3. Clemson: SEC speed. ACC sched-
ule.
4. Ohio State: There’s a joke here, but
evidently Urban Meyer forgot it.
5. Oklahoma: At this rate, Kyler Mur-
ray is gonna be an absolute superstar
on next year’s season of Hard Knocks.
6. Wisconsin: Horni... haha
7. Auburn: AUBURN’S GONNA WIN
THE FOOTBALL GAME!!!
8. Stanford: I don’t think I’m ready
for Bryce Love. Gonna keep it at Bryce
Like for now.
9. Notre Dame: Mike Pence gave
a commencement speech at Notre
Dame.
10. Washington: Nobody has every
actually seen this team play. We all
just assume they’re good.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Junior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp filled in the absence of sophomore Aubrey Solomon and senior Lawrence Marshall.
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
“... I mean,
you’re really
seeing things
well.”
“... acquitted
themselves
well. Lot to
build on there.”
Read the full story online at
MichiganDaily.com