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September 14, 2018 - Image 12

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The Michigan Daily

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2B — Tuesday, September 4, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsTuesday

SportsTuesday: Saying or doing?
T

he fourth season of Jim
Harbaugh’s tenure in

Ann Arbor is
off to a rocky
start after a
loss to Notre
Dame.
Since,
some
unflattering
stats have
been
advertised,
like how the
Wolverines are 9-9 in their last
18 games and how they haven’t
won a road game against a
ranked opponent since 2006.
But fear not, Michigan fans,
because there may be room for
optimism.
On Monday afternoon, from
defensive end Rashan Gary
to VIPER Khaleke Hudson to
tight end Sean McKeon to wide
receiver Nico Collins, and even
up to coach Jim Harbaugh,
nothing but positives were
pointed out. It was all eyes
forward and downplaying the
flaws that made the Wolverines
0-1.
“I think everybody inside
of our team believes in each
other and believes in the
team, believes in each other,”
Harbaugh said. “And stressing
the importance of going from
one week, to Week 1 to Week
2, never more important than
with this ballclub. So looking
to make all the strides you can
in this one week, and focusing
on that. We’re focusing on this
game, never a more important
game than the one we’ll go
down the tunnel to play this
week.”
I know what you’re thinking:
Mike, of course they pointed
out positives, what else are they
gonna say?
But just for kicks, let’s break
down some of these positives.
First, there was the offensive
line.
I thought I saw junior

quarterback Shea Patterson
and redshirt sophomore Dylan
McCaffrey running for their
lives, and Michigan’s rushing
attack limited to just 58 yards
on Saturday.
On Monday afternoon,
though, Harbaugh said he
thought the unit was much
improved. Monday night,
during the Inside Michigan
Football Radio Show, Higdon
went as far as to say that
the offensive line is easy to
criticize live, but that when you
break down the film, they did
some nice things — though he
conceded that Notre Dame’s
defensive line was better.
I will preface this by saying
that I do not know even half as
much about football as Higdon,
or really anybody on the team.
Also, I do not have all the angles
and film breakdown capabilities

that the Wolverines surely have.
But I did re-watch the game,
and what I saw was Patterson
and McCaffrey running for
their lives for most of the game
and Michigan’s rushing attack
limited to just 58 yards.
I would be curious to see
what redshirt freshman tackle
James Hudson could bring
to the table, but Harbaugh
was asked about that sort of a
personnel change on Monday.
“I think the way we played
this week is the way we’ll
play the next game with the
offensive line,” Harbaugh said,
though I don’t think he would
tell us if he was changing
personnel.
Okay, let’s not dawdle on one
aspect.
Another focus of Michigan’s
shortcomings was its defense,
which was exposed in the first

half and put the Wolverines in
a hole from which they couldn’t
escape.
To that, Gary and Hudson
had some answers.
“Not at all,” Gary said when
asked if he could pinpoint the
defense’s problems in the first
half. “The only thing I can
really say is we hurt ourselves.
You know, only two, three
plays, maybe four plays, can
hurt you at the end of the game.
That’s really what it came down
to, and that’s just us hurting
ourselves.”
Added Hudson: “Just self-
inflicted wounds was the
reason why we lost. Just third
down penalties and doing some
of the stuff we normally do
right.”
They are right on this one, as
the second half was a showcase
of just how dominant the

defense can be. But the reasons
for the shortcomings in the first
half are a bit troubling.
Often times, Fighting Irish
quarterback Brandon Wimbush
and the offense took advantage
of over-aggressiveness from
Michigan’s defense. That
showed in the untimely
penalties the Wolverines
incurred just as much as the
quarterback runs and screen
passes that were successful.
Of course, the other side of
that coin is that Michigan is led
by its fast and tough defense.
And it’s also a program that has
struggled to contain running
quarterbacks for… ever?
Luckily there aren’t any
other running quarterbacks on
the schedule other than Ohio
State’s Dwayne Haskins and
Penn State’s Trace McSorley
and Michigan State’s Brian

Lewerke and Nebraska’s Adrian
Martinez and Maryland’s
Tyrrell Pigrome and Indiana’s
Peyton Ramsey.
Okay, I’ll just hit on one more
quote.
Sophomore wide receiver
Nico Collins said the offensive
gameplan was not the problem
and that it doesn’t need to
change moving forward.
The Wolverines failed to
capitalize on opportunities
all night long offensively,
and, partially because of the
offensive line, couldn’t come up
with the explosive plays that
some expected.
When the defense finally
locked down in the second half,
Patterson and company couldn’t
figure out a way to climb back
into the game all the way.
It feels like at least
something could be done to
help that. Maybe a new transfer
quarterback? Maybe a new
offensive line coach? Maybe
two former NFL coaches calling
the offensive shots?
I know, I’m getting greedy.
Now none of this is to say
that Michigan can’t turn things
around. It is still a roster loaded
with talent, with a coach who
has been to the Super Bowl in
this decade.
But something has to change,
no matter what the Wolverines
say. The offensive line must
improve, with personnel
changes or without them. The
defense has to be solid, and
especially against dual-threat
signal callers. The offense must
get big plays, whether it’s with
a better gameplan or better
execution.
The stats are ugly for a
reason. Michigan is saying the
right things to avoid a mutiny,
but there is no need for a
mutiny if the ship sinks first.

Persak can be reached at

mdpers@umich.edu or on

Twitter @MikeDPersak or

on Venmo @Mike-Persak

Michigan falls short in season opener against Notre Dame, 24-17

SOUTH
BEND,
Ind.

After all the hype for Shea
Patterson, the talk of returning
starters, the assurances that
the offensive line had improved
and the general hype for the
2018 Michigan football team,
the Wolverines finally had their
chance to prove that it wasn’t
just hype on Saturday night
against Notre Dame.
But in less than eight minutes,
all of those hopes began to look
more like pipe dreams.
It started on the first drive,
when the 12th-ranked Fighting

Irish used a few big plays to
score in less than 90 seconds.
Michigan punted, and at the end
of Notre Dame’s next possession,
the South Bend crowd was in
hysterics once again.
Quarterback
Brandon
Wimbush lobbed a deep ball
downfield, and Irish receiver
Chris Hinke leaped over safety
Brad Hawkins, hauling it in
and putting the Wolverines in
a hole. In the blink of an eye, it
was 14-0.
No. 14 Michigan (0-1) spent
the rest of its much-anticipated
opener trying to play catch-up,
but it never clawed back, losing,
24-17.

“The guys really prepared
well for this ballgame,” said
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
“Not the outcome we anticipated
or wanted, but we’ve just got
to dig deep, make no excuses.
Credit to Notre Dame and move
on to next week.”
It
ultimately
was
the
first
half
that
did
Michigan
in.
Notre
Dame
(1-0)
scored
again
in
the
second
quarter
on a methodical,
15-play
march
aided
by
penalties.
All
the
offensive
production the Fighting Irish
needed came before halftime.
“Second half I think we found
our groove a little bit more,”
said fifth-year senior defensive
end Chase Winovich. “This
might be a hot take. I don’t mean
it to be. They’re a great football
team and stuff, but I just didn’t

feel like they dominated us. I
just felt like they went up and
made some 50/50 plays.”
Maybe Winovich is on to
something, because there were
several moments when it seemed
like momentum was starting to
turn in the Wolverines’ favor, but
those
moments
never bred any
substance.
Sophomore
Ambry
Thomas
answered Notre
Dame’s
third
touchdown
with a 99-yard
kick
return
touchdown
on
the
next
play,
but
halftime
came before any
momentum could be sustained.
In the second half, Michigan’s
vaunted defense finally found
its rhythm. They gave up 233
yards in the first half and just
71 in the second, but the offense
flubbed its chances.
The Wolverines even drove
down the field their first chance

after halftime, highlighted by a
54-yard bomb from Patterson to
sophomore wide receiver Nico
Collins. But that chance was
thwarted when junior punter
Will Hart bobbled the snap on a
would-be field goal.
Then,
fifth-year
senior
Brandon Watson
intercepted a pass
to give Michigan
yet
another
opportunity
to
crawl back into
things.
And yet again,
the
Wolverines
couldn’t.
At
the
end
of
the
game,
Michigan
made
one final push,
scoring with just over two
minutes to go on a short run
from senior running back Karan
Higdon. The Wolverines got the
ball back moments later after
forcing a three-and-out.
But this time, Patterson, who
finished the day 20-of-30 for
227 yards and an interception,

fumbled while running from
a defender for the umpteenth
time of the night.
“Nobody really wants to start
off like that,” Patterson said.
“Our defense and our special
teams put us in really good
situations to make something
happen. … Just
gonna go back
and learn from
the tape.”
The offensive
line, which was
already
being
questioned,
could
never
consistently
keep Patterson
upright.
The
offense
that
struggled
all
of last season fell short when it
counted.
The Wolverines left South
Bend with many of the problems
they said they had fixed.
The season isn’t over — not by
a long shot.
But the hype? The hype is all
but gone.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Michigan’s offensive line has improved in his weekly press conference at Schembechler Hall on Monday afternoon.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson finished the season-opening game against Notre Dame with one interception and was 20-of-30 for 227 yards Saturday night.

MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor

“The guys
really prepared
well for this
ballgame.”

“I just felt like
they went up
and made some
50/50 plays.”

MIKE
PERSAK

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