The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | October 21, 2019

ALEXIS RANKIN & ALEXANDRIA POMPEI / DAILY DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — It was all right

there in Ronnie Bell’s hands.

The ball, hitting his jersey between the

numbers as he leaned slightly forward. The game,

a chance to erase a 21-point deficit and pave the

way for overtime, rested there, too. The trajectory

of a season — and maybe, just maybe, a chance to flip

narratives and tilt the Michigan football program along its axis.

With just over two minutes left, facing a fourth-and-goal from the

Penn State four-yard line, the hopes of a program handicapped by

an inability to win games of this ilk, against opponents like this, in

environments like these rested in Bell’s hands.

Then the ball hit the turf.

Penn State, buoyed by an early 21-0 lead and atmosphere unlike

many in college sports, held on to beat Michigan, 28-21, as the

Wolverines’ furious comeback came agonizingly short.

“Ronnie’s a fierce competitor,” said senior quarterback Shea

Patterson after the game. “He’s being pretty hard on himself right

now. That definitely didn’t take away the fact that he made a ton of

great plays to put us into that situation. So, we’re just going to move

on.”

Amid the bevy of what-ifs, though, moving on won’t be easy.

What if Michigan’s hadn’t gone and allowed 21 points on the

Nittany Lions’ first five drives, threatening to get swept away in

the sea of white inside Beaver Stadium?

What if the Wolverines’ offense had capitalized on

opportunities inside Penn State territory, instead of

reflecting on four drives in opposing territory that ended

scoreless?

What if those 50/50 plays — including multiple offensive

pass interference calls and non-calls — turn in their favor?

What if that ball stays in Ronnie Bell’s hands?

“Of course it’s frustrating,” said junior center Cesar

Ruiz. “Like I said before, you can’t harp on situations like

that. You’ve got to just keep executing, keep doing what

you’ve got to do.

“… We were in those situations a couple times (and)

didn’t come up with a touchdown or any points. But, you

know, it’s onto the next drive.”

Added sophomore linebacker Cam McGrone: “We gave

up some key explosive plays in the beginning, and it came

back to hurt us. Like a game like this, with a team as good as

this, we can’t allow any explosive plays. We did that.”

Statistically, Michigan will reflect on the box score and

feel it was the superior team. It outgained Penn State, 417-

283; nearly doubled the Nittany Lions on first downs, 26-14;

had close to 15 minutes greater time of possession; converted

on third down at a higher rate, 41 percent to Penn State’s 30

percent.

Throughout most of the game, in the shadow of a seemingly-

insurmountable deficit, though, it hardly felt that way.

“Yeah, it didn’t (go off the rails early), but our guys play

with great effort and great character,” said Michigan coach Jim

Harbaugh. “… Made adjustments at halftime. They were good and I

felt like our guys were not nervous. They were playing and executing. It

felt like, just keep going and get this game won.

“That was our belief.”

Harbaugh came out of the halftime exuding that belief. Staring down a

14-point deficit and an eighth loss against ranked opponents on the road in nine

attempts, Harbaugh told ESPN: “This will be our finest hour.”

With just over six minutes, Patterson and the Michigan offense had a chance

to prove those words prophetic. They marched methodically inside the Penn State

10-yard line, the fans increasingly hushed, tension mounting. It all came down to a fourth-

and-goal from the four-yard line, when Patterson found Bell flashing toward him. The ball

hit the turf, and the ramifications soon came into focus.

The Wolverines are now 1-8 on the road against ranked opponents in the Harbaugh era. They

are a middling 16-12 on the road in that span. With two Big Ten losses, their season, as they once

envisioned it, is ostensibly over, if still not mathematically so.

When the clock ticked to an end, the final grain of sand falling through that hourglass, Harbaugh walked

off the field with the rest of the team back into an all-too-familiar locker room setting.

His finest hour, once again, must wait.

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor