4B — Tuesday, September 4, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsTuesday
A different kind of pain
S
OUTH BEND, Ind. —
The gift-
wrapping
was pretty
on the
Michigan
football
team.
Through
talk of
renewed
confidence,
heightened athleticism
and, finally, a serviceable
quarterback, the 14th-ranked
Wolverines were supposed
to have a fighting chance
against No. 12 Notre Dame in
South Bend.
But right at kickoff of
Saturday night’s season
opener, the grandeur of it all
had faded without return.
That gift-
wrapping was
a photocopy of
the rhythmless,
frustrating
Michigan
team from last
year. The only
difference
was that the
2018 team had
everything
it needed to
succeed, and it still didn’t in
its 24-17 loss to the Fighting
Irish (1-0 overall).
“Just a few (big plays), not
enough,” said a stone-faced
Jim Harbaugh in the post-
game press conference. “We
didn’t make enough explosive
plays, we didn’t run the ball
as well as we would like.
“I don’t really have all the
biggest takeaways. I thought
on defense our guys played
fast, competed hard. There’s
improvements to be made,
mistakes were made but I
thought they fought hard.”
With 1:48 remaining,
down by a touchdown, the
Wolverines (0-1) looked to
put that narrative to bed and
place the pieces for another
rivalry classic. But on the
fourth play of the drive, the
offensive line collapsed and
the football was knocked out
of Shea Patterson’s hands into
those of Notre Dame’s Khalid
Kareem to seal the game.
Throughout the contest, the
Wolverines wore the mental
anguish of an early 14-0
deficit on their sleeve in a
loss it could have avoided.
“It’s one of those things
where you come off the
sideline like ‘where did we
go wrong?’ ” said fifth-year
senior defensive end Chase
Winovich. “ I didn’t feel
like they were dominating. I
didn’t feel like their presence
was overwhelming.”
It’s the same result. A
different kind of pain. One
rooted in its potential to be
everything that the 2017 team
wasn’t.
Last year’s Michigan team
carried few expectations,
excepting the rabid fan
pacing in front of their
television. A quarterback
carousel behind a porous
offensive line made the
Wolverines’ offense an
eyesore.
When Michigan’s defense
could no longer carry the
rest of the team’s water
and it lost,
exasperation
trumped
anger. The
offense was
that bad —
Michigan had
no business
winning in
any of its
defeats and
that sobering
feeling of
acceptable pain persisted.
Flash forward to Sept. 1
at Notre Dame Stadium, and
the loss was still deserved,
yet more unsettling than
it would have
been 365 days
ago. In junior
Shea Patterson
looked a capable
offensive
torchbearer
while
sophomore
wide receivers
Donovan
Peoples-Jones
and Nico Collins
— who hauled a 52-yard
bomb thanks to solid pass
protection — took the next
step to be viable receiving
options. The whole defense
showed spurts of why they
belonged in the discussion as
the nation’s best defense.
But none of it mattered.
On Saturday, it was one step
forward, two steps back.
“The first game is always
the toughest because no
matter how hard your camp
is, that first game is always
tougher,” Winovich said.
“I feel like they maybe did
a better job adapting to it
and took advantage of our
lack of whatever - not being
prepared enough.”
On three different
occasions after a third down
stand, Michigan’s defense
was penalized to extend
the Fighting Irish’s drives.
All three of Notre Dame’s
touchdowns came from those
instances. The ejection of
junior safety Josh Metellus
from an early targeting call
exacerbated the defensive
deficiencies.
The Wolverines made it
into the red zone just twice
in the first three quarters,
converting only one field goal
and botching the attempt on
the other.
Sophomore Ambry Thomas
had a 99-yard kickoff
return touchdown to bring
the halftime deficit to a
manageable 21-10 margin.
Michigan didn’t find paydirt
again until it was too little,
too late.
“Nobody really wants to
start off like that,” Patterson
said. “Our defense put us in
situations to make something
happen. Early on, I took a
sack that put us out of field
goal range, I threw a careless
pick. And at the end of the
game, ball security.”
Added Winovich: “I’m not
really sure where they beat
us, I’m still confused in the
locker room. I’m just kinda
confused how
we lost that
game. I didn’t
feel like they
dominated us,
but ultimately
they made
plays when
they needed
to.”
In a game
where the
Fighting Irish
were doing everything in
their power to let Michigan
come back, it never came.
Of course, it is only the first
game and that potential may
still emanate down the road.
But Saturday night’s miscues
were expected to happen in
the 2017 season. It wasn’t
supposed to happen in 2018.
But both are losses. This
one just stings the Wolverines
a little bit more.
Wolfe can be reached at
eewolfe@umich.edu or on
Twitter @ethanewolfe
Defense suffers untimely mistakes
against Fighting Irish in South Bend
SOUTH BEND, Ind.
— As
the 43-yard rainbow heave
approached
the
endzone,
Brad Hawkins sensed an
interception. But just as the
sophomore
safety
lurched
his hands above his head
to make the play, receiver
Chris
Finke
snatched the
pass away for
Notre Dame’s
second
touchdown of
the evening.
It
was
emblematic of
the mistakes
that
cost
Michigan’s
defense
on
Saturday
in
South Bend: not glaring in
nature but made in moments
that proved costly.
Just take what happened
earlier in that drive. On
third-and-nine
deep
in
Fighting
Irish
territory,
safety
Josh
Metellus
led
with his head trying to knock
down a pass, adding 15-yards
to the Notre Dame reception
and forcing an early exit for
the junior.
Four snaps later, Brandon
Wimbush
underthrew
Finke, but — inexperienced
and fresh onto the field to
replace Metellus — Hawkins
couldn’t
complete
the
interception. And just like
that, the Wolverines found
themselves down 14-0.
“(Wimbush)
made
plays,
and
ultimately
we
didn’t,”
said
fifth-year
senior defensive end Chase
Winovich.
“That’s
what
football’s all about — making
plays when you need to.”
And
all
too
often,
especially in the first half,
the
Wolverines’
defense
couldn’t stop Notre Dame
from making those plays.
Despite previous accuracy
concerns, Wimbush stared
down Michigan’s pressure,
completing
crossing
patterns over the middle or
deep seam routes for clutch
conversions. His legs helped,
too,
extending
plays
and
evading defenders for extra
yards.
This
combination
was
especially
effective
in
continuing drives, as the
Fighting Irish went 5-for-8
on third down
during
the
first
half.
No
matter
what
the Wolverines
threw
at
Wimbush,
he
answered
the
bell.
And
sometimes,
Michigan
just gave it to
Notre
Dame,
too.
Including
Metellus’
ejection, five penalties (42
yards) were accepted against
Wolverines’
defense
on
Saturday.
None was more detrimental
than a roughing-the-passer
call
late
in
the
second
quarter against Winovitch.
After
momentarily
getting a stop
on
third-
and-goal, the
penalty
gave
the
Fighting
Irish a fresh
set of downs
and,
later,
four
points
on
a
Jafar
Armstrong
touchdown run.
“I didn’t necessarily agree
with this call because I
was rushing from the left
side — he’s a right-handed
quarterback — (the referee)
told me I hit him in the back,
and that’s why they called
it,” Winovich said. “Not sure
how that makes any sense.”
It
all
culminated
in
defensive shredding in the
first half — Notre Dame
racked up 233 total yards
and 21 points — far from the
norm for Michigan’s defense.
Still, things quieted down
in the second half, when
the Wolverines allowed less
than 70 yards and a lone
field goal. Winovich already
recognizes this as a change
from last year’s team.
“I think last year, things
went
(astray),”
Winovich
said. “You see it in the South
Carolina game. I think if we
had that mindset, I think
they could’ve really done
some damage on us.”
Michigan’s
defense
was
supposed to be its greatest
strength. It has been the
last four seasons, finishing
inside the top ten in yards
allowed
from
2014-2017.
And nine returning starters
from last year’s defense
— including potential first
round picks Rashan Gary,
Devin Bush, Khaleke Hudson
and Lavert Hill — made for
lofty preseason expectations
around an offense with a
new identity.
“I
definitely
feel
that
pressure,”
Winovich
said.
“That’s just the way it’s been
(from a) factual standpoint.
It’s
been
a
defensive-led
group the last
couple years.”
But
the
Wolverines’
defense
—
between
penalties
and
third
downs
—
certainly
had its share
of
lapses
on
Saturday. And when those
mistakes are compounded
with plays like that of Finke
and Wimbush, it makes for a
losing formula.
“It’s one of those things
where you come off the
sideline, and for me, I didn’t
know
where
we
(went)
wrong,” Winovich said. “I
didn’t feel like they were
dominating, I didn’t feel like
they were overwhelming us.
They made plays and beat
us.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson went 20-for-30 for 227 yards in Michigan’s loss to Notre Dame on Thursday.
ETHAN
WOLFE
“We didn’t
make enough
explosive
plays.”
“I’m just kinda
confused how
we lost that
game.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
The Michigan defense struggled in the first half against Notre Dame, putting the Wolverines in a hole.
“(Wimbush)
made plays, and
ultimately, we
didn’t.”
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
“That’s just the
way it’s been
(from a) factual
standpoint.”
The Wolverines gave up 21 points and 233 yards in the 1st
half against Brandon Wimbush and Notre Dame offense