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