2B — October 21, 2019
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
M
ichigan played its
best football game of
the season Saturday.
Michigan also
lost, notching
a second Big
Ten defeat,
which equates
to something
of a death
knell in mod-
ern college
football.
It’s diffi-
cult to square
these two dis-
tinct facts, so I won’t try to do so.
There are surely hot takes to be
read, and this won’t be one. Josh
Gattis’ offense looked better,
particularly in the second half.
Shea Patterson offered his best
performance of the season. After
an early speed bump, the Wol-
verines’ defense settled in quite
comfortably. The talent of this
team is present — and, at times,
quite obvious.
Michigan outgained Penn
State, 417 to 283, and could have
easily posted 35-plus points
had it capitalized on five drives
inside Nittany Lions territory
that resulted in zero points. It’s
a game the Wolverines probably
should have won. Where have we
heard that before?
This column obviously takes
on a whole different tenor if
Ronnie Bell catches that pass in
the end zone, if a couple 50/50
calls go Michigan’s way, if Pat-
terson doesn’t errantly throw an
interception on the screen pass in
the second quarter, if—we could
entertain these equivocations
all day.
All that’s left to say — after
a game which will mark Jim
Harbaugh’s seventh loss to a
ranked opponent on the road in
eight tries and his eighth loss in
eight games as an underdog — is
that there are no more moral
victories. This is Year Five. Half
a decade into what should have
been a golden age of Michigan
football, the
Wolverines will
have not a thing
to show for it.
This program is
not what it thinks
it is, plain and
simple.
The second
half against Penn
State showed
glimpses of what
this team could
be if it ever reached its apex. Pat-
terson was in a groove, dealing to
his trove of weapons. The offense
had tempo and purpose, wearing
down a Nittany Lions defense
that entered the
game top-10 in
SP+ defense. The
defense was as
aggressive and
imposing as it
perceives itself.
It was at once a
glimmer of hope,
and a cruel twist
of the knife — the
full comeback
ending mere
yards shy, No. 7 Penn State escap-
ing with a 28-21 win.
The performance in the sec-
ond half Saturday, one of the best
halves of football this team has
played in years,
changes noth-
ing. Just because
Harbaugh’s team
surpassed the
menial expecta-
tions it set for
itself through
the first six
games does not
excuse another
in a remarkably
consistent line of
disappointments.
“I’m not gonna sit down and
feel sorry for ourselves,” said
junior defensive end Kwity
Paye. “We still have a lot of big
teams to play —
we have Notre
Dame, a ranked
team, Ohio State,
a ranked team.
There’s still plen-
ty of opportunity
to be able to go
out and finish the
season great.”
You’d expect
a player of Paye’s
maturity to
say that, of course, and it’s not
entirely untrue. This team could
quite possibly run the table to
Ohio State; it opened as a slight
favorite over No. 8 Notre Dame
next weekend, and will almost
certainly be favored against
Michigan State, Indiana and
Maryland. Winning those and
then capping the year with a
win over the Buckeyes would
constitute some sort of success-
ful season, if unconventional and
still hollow.
“Just complimented them on
the effort they gave, the char-
acter they showed,” Harbaugh
said, on what he told his team
after the game. “Hold their heads
high and come back at it again on
Monday.”
Added senior VIPER Khaleke
Hudson: “We’ve just got to move
onto the next day. We’ve got to
work even harder in practice and
we’ve just got to stay on top of
our film work and keep trusting
our guys.”
It’s tiresome to hear, and
must be more tiresome to live.
There are still meaningful
prisms through which to view
the rest of the season. Increased
opportunities for promis-
ing young players — the Cam
McGrones, Zach Charbonnets,
Daxton Hills, Chris Hintons
scattered about the roster —
will help enlighten present and
future talent. Wins over Michi-
gan State (a requirement) and
Ohio State (a bonus) would cer-
tainly do wonders to quell the
angst in and around the team. A
bowl win for the first time since
2015 would mean something, to
be sure.
But there are no more moral
victories left to deduce any-
more. All that counts are the
literal ones. And in the biggest
moments, those remain absent.
Marcovitch can be reached via
email at maxmarco@umich.edu or
on Twitter @Max_Marcovitch.
No more moral victories
When
Western
Michigan
(9-4-0 overall, 1-0-0 MAC)
visited the Michigan men’s
soccer team (6-4-3 overall,
2-1-2 Big Ten)
last
Thursday,
the
visitors
looked to use
a
seemingly
simple
tactic—
turn
the
beautiful game
into something,
well,
less
beautiful. Their
attempts proved
successful as the
Broncos beat the Wolverines
2-1.
“It wasn’t much of a soccer
game, which made it a lot more
difficult for us,” said Michigan
coach Chaka Daley.
A talented Western Michigan
team, ranked 33rd in the country
in the latest RPI poll, used
physical play to its advantage
to turn the game away from a
chess match. Despite totaling 14
fouls, the Broncos only earned
one yellow card in the 14th
minute.
Michigan looked frustrated
trying to deal with Western
Michigan’s
energy
while
struggling to keep possession
in the attacking half of the
field and went into the half
trailing 1-0. After a few more
hard fouls in the second half,
the frustration started to boil
over, as Michigan exchanged
frequently pleasantries with
Broncos players.
Coach Daley did his best to
cool his team down and refocus
it on its own play.
“It’s tough, I
think it should
be sorted out by
the
officials,”
Daley said. “But
if it’s not, you
have to make
sure that you
respond
and
continue to play
and not get too
distracted
or
emotional from
it. I think our team got a little
emotional as a result.”
Emotions reached a peak
point after the final horn, the
game ending in a 2-1 Western
Michigan win. The Broncos
performed a spirited rendition
of their fight song in front of
their supporters, to the great
dismay of a few Michigan
players who approached the
opposing team with seemingly
ill intent before being held back
by teammates and coaches.
Theatrics
aside,
Western
Michigan ultimately outplayed
Michigan and could cruise
back to Kalamazoo with an
impressive win against the
Wolverines. Undoubtedly the
Wolverines will have their next
bout with the Broncos circled
on their calendars.
DOMINIC DIFRANCO
For The Daily
Once
the
outcome
was
decided,
Western
Michigan
poured onto the field and sang
their fight song at the top of
their lungs. The fight song was
appropriate in more than one
way on Thursday.
On a night where 20 fouls
were committed, neither team
pulled any punches both on
and off the field. The Michigan
men’s
soccer
team
(6-4-3
overall, 2-1-2 Big Ten) fell to
2-1 to Western Michigan (9-4-1
overall) .
The Wolverines struggled
in the first half against the
Broncos’ high press, as the
opposing side scored within
the first minute. With senior
forward Jack Hallahan out
due to injury, the Wolverines
lacked the creative spark to
break down the opposition.
Western
Michigan’s
tall
back line cleared everything
Michigan crossed into the box,
making it difficult for its front
line to get shots on target. The
game got choppy by the end of
the first half as the Broncos
committed four fouls and had
one yellow card, a preview of
what was to come.
“We let a half pass us by,”
said Michigan coach Chaka
Daley.
“We
did
ourselves
a disservice by not being
prepared for the energy they
would bring. It wasn’t much of
a soccer game which made it
a lot more difficult for us, but
we have to respond to those
things.”
The
Wolverines
came
out
strong
in
the
second
half, scoring a 46th minute
goal from graduate transfer
Nebojsa Popovic. Freshman
midfielder
Harry
Pithers
played a one-touch pass high
to the far end of the box to
freshman forward Christian
Pullselli, who headed it back
to the center. Popovic met the
ball and volleyed it home.
“You need some personality
players to break them down
and we have three that weren’t
available,”
Daley
said.
“It
makes it difficult and we knew
it would be a challenge because
we know those guys can unlock
the game.”
Forty seconds later, Western
Michigan responded with a
high-shot goal at the top of
Michigan’s six-yard box. Then,
the Broncos shifted the tenor of
the game, committing 10 fouls
in the second half. Whether it
was swinging for the man, not
the ball, or throwing elbows
while going up for a header,
the message was clear from the
Broncos.
“It’s tough,” Daley said. “I
think it should be sorted out by
the officials.”
Michigan followed Western
Michigan’s
goal
with
a
great scoring chance in the
51st minute. A low driven
ball across the box came to
Popovic, who shot it towards
goal. But, Broncos goalie Isaac
Walker came up with the save
denying Michigan one of their
best chances of the game.
“We’ve got to put it in the
rear view mirror,” Daley said.
“It’s a tough night for our
group. We are disappointed we
responded too late. We need to
get back to the drawing board.”
Compared to Michigan’s six
fouls, Western committed 14
by the end of the match. The
Broncos switched to a more
compact formation and stuck
five players in their back line to
further stymie the Wolverines.
This gave Michigan no choice
but to move 6-foot-5 senior
center back Jackson Ragen
up top and bomb crosses into
the box. Elbows were thrown,
fingers were pointed and a
rivalry brewed.
“You
have
to
respond,
continue to play, and not get
too emotional about it,” Daley
said. I think our guys got a
little bit too emotional. That’s
a style or tactic for sure. We
didn’t do a good job handling
that.”
The Michigan football team played one of its best halves of football in years. But we’re past the point of moral victories.
MAX
MARCOVITCH
Michigan offense stifled in physical matchup,
fight breaks out after ugly 2-1 loss to WMU
NICK MOEN
For The Daily
‘M’ rebounds with win
over hapless Rutgers
The Michigan volleyball team
had a fatigued Rutgers squad
on the ropes late in the second
set, desperately scrambling to
patch
together
a
sustained
attack. Sensing
a break in the
Wolverine
defense,
the
Scarlet Knights
rallied,
but
freshman
middle blocker
May
Pertofsky
rushed to the
ball, greeting it
with an emphatic solo block. On
the very next play, in the exact
same spot, the Rutgers attack
was stuffed again, this time by
redshirt freshman outside hitter
Grace Persson.
The rest of the night played
out in much the same way for
the Wolverines (13-5 overall, 6-2
Big Ten), who swept the Scarlet
Knights (6-13, 0-8) to the tune
of 25-10, 25-15, 25-16. Following
consecutive Big Ten losses to
No. 5 Nebraska and No. 8 Penn
State, Michigan wasted no time
righting the ship against another
conference foe.
“We knew Rutgers wasn’t as
strong of an opponent, but for us,
we always judge on our side of the
net,” said Michigan coach Mark
Rosen. “It’s about how are we
playing comparative to our level
rather than the opponent, and
that’s probably one of the most
dialed-in team wins, playing for
each other.”
The Wolverines set the tone
early with a swarming, physical
defense that left few gaps on the
court, frustrating the Scarlet
Knight attack, which was unable
to correct course even after
burning two timeouts in the
first set. Rutgers had no answers
for the freshman tandem of
Pertofsky and middle blocker
Jess Robinson, who combined for
25.5 points and 10 blocks.
Michigan’s
competence
in both phases of the game
continued during the match, as
the Scarlet Knights scored on
45.2 percent of their possessions
when receiving the serve, while
the Wolverines scored on a gaudy
81.4 percent of theirs. Not a single
Scarlet
Knight
reached double-
digit
points,
while Pertofsky,
Robinson
and
sophomore
outside
hitter
Paige Jones all
tallied
10
or
more.
“I
thought
tonight we were
just really clean,”
Rosen said. “When you hit almost
.500 and side out at 80 percent,
you know, those are numbers that
are crazy. (A hitting percentage
of) .250 is a good number, and
we were double that tonight. We
were really efficient.”
The
Wolverines’
efficiency
was the product of a fluid,
communicative attack befitting
an
older,
more
experienced
group. Each player seemed to
be innately aware of the other’s
presence on the court, filling in
the defensive gaps as necessary.
“I
think
our
team
has
gotten along really, really well,
especially in the quickness in
which we were put together,”
Robinson said. “To pull off wins
in a conference this hard, you
have to be working together all
the time.”
While
Michigan’s
pair
of
freshman flashed its two-way
potential,
the
team
should
remain competitive within the
conference by leveraging the
talents of veterans like senior
setter Mackenzi Welsh, who
added two blocks and one of the
team’s seven service aces.
“It’s not just our freshmen that
are carrying the load right now,”
Rosen said. “I think this team
has a ton of potential to just keep
getting better, and I’m pleased
with the direction we’re heading
in, but we’ve gotta win some of
these big matchups.”
JOSEPH ARONOFF
For The Daily
This team has a
ton of potential
to ... keep
getting better.
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has now lost seven of eight games against ranked opponents on the road during his five years coaching the Wolverines.
We’ve just
got to work
even harder in
practice...
I’m not gonna
sit down and
feel sorry for
ourselves.
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Michigan coach Chaka Daley said physical play should be handled by officials.
It’s tough, I
think it should
be sorted out by
the officials.