The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | September 30, 2019
Michigan destroys Rutgers, Knights fire coach in aftermath
In the fourth quarter, up 38
points, Michigan went for it on
fourth down.
The Wolverines’ latest scoring
drive had been courtesy of third-
string quarterback Joe Milton
and
fourth-string
running
back Hassan Haskins. Facing
fourth-and-goal at the one-yard
line with the game all but over,
Michigan could’ve been forgiven
for mailing it in and kicking the
field goal. Instead, Milton ran a
bootleg, scored a touchdown and
mocked ripping open his shirt, a
la Superman.
Last week, in a blowout loss
to Wisconsin, the 20th-ranked
Wolverines (3-1 overall, 1-1 Big
Ten) seemed to lack confidence
and, more than that, killer
instinct. While it’s hard to prove
much against Rutgers (1-3, 0-2),
likely the worst team in the Big
Ten, Saturday proved about
as good a redemption game
as Michigan could’ve hoped
for. It played like a team with
something to prove, running up
the score in a 52-0 win. It was
the team’s first shutout since
2016.
“Definitely helps us a lot as a
team get that confidence back,”
said sophomore linebacker Cam
McGrone. “Because last week
was a little down but this game
with this goose egg, it definitely
lifted our spirits.”
The
calls
for
senior
quarterback Shea Patterson’s job
reached a fever pitch after last
week’s setback, but Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh kept the
faith in his signal-caller, and a
week after not even completing
half
his
passes,
Patterson
completed 17-of-23 passes for 276
yards, throwing a touchdown
and running for three more.
Offensive coordinator Josh
Gattis spent the game calling
plays on the sideline instead
of from the box, wanting to be
a little more hands-on. And
though Rutgers hardly offered
a test, the move seemed to
help. Patterson seemed more
comfortable in the pocket, ably
scrambling and making plays
with his feet. Michigan trusted
its receivers to make plays —
the combination of juniors Nico
Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones
and Tarik Black. That trio, along
with sophomore Ronnie Bell,
combined for 14 catches for
248 yards in what could be the
beginning of a more involved
passing game. That was evident
from the first two drives.
In each of the past three
games, Michigan fumbled its
opening drive away. But this
week, on the fifth play of the
drive, Patterson found an open
Nico Collins along the sideline.
Collins then turned upfield and
ran for a 48-yard touchdown.
After forcing a three-and-out,
the Wolverines got the ball
back and — after the Scarlet
Knights extended the drive
with two defensive penalties —
Patterson perfectly placed a ball
to Peoples-Jones just short of
the end zone. Two plays later, on
third-and-goal, Patterson took it
in himself on a bootleg.
“Everybody
was
hungry,”
Peoples-Jones said. “Everybody
wanted to make a play.”
And even when things didn’t
quite go right, the Wolverines
fought through it in a way they
couldn’t last week. When the
defense struggled in a late-
first quarter drive, sophomore
defensive end Aidan Hutchinson
hit Scarlet Knights quarterback
Artur Sitkowski and stopped
him short on fourth down from
the 5-yard line. After Patterson
threw a red-zone interception
in the third quarter, the defense
stopped Rutgers on fourth-and-1
at its own 41-yard line, then the
offense marched down the field.
Bell fought for every extra yard
after a catch in the third quarter
and pushed his defenders all the
way to the 1-yard line, setting up
a Patterson quarterback sneak
for Michigan’s fifth touchdown
of the day.
“There was a lot of trust
there,” Harbaugh said. “Players
trusting the coaches, coaches
trusting the players, and a lot of
work. It was good to see it pay
off in a victory that was much
needed.”
After the debacle in Madison,
it was just the kind of win the
Wolverines needed, and even
with all caveats attached, they
played with the kind of spark
that was missing the first three
weeks. They wore the Scarlet
Knights down to a pulp and
maintained
their
intensity
throughout.
At least for a day, all the
questions
surrounding
Michigan quieted to a hush.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor
RUCHITA IYER / DAILY DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN
September 30, 2019 | michigandaily.com
ASH KICKING