8A — Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Perhaps too late, offense settles in

It took a loss, 26 quarters and a
21-7 deficit heading into the 27th,
but we finally know what speed in
space looks like.
Senior
quarterback
Shea
Patterson slinging it. Freshman
running back Zach Charbonnet
bursting through open holes. A
talented receiving corps getting
put to use. Run-pass options
and tempo wearing down the
opponent. Explosive plays putting
an exclamation mark on the whole
thing.
It was easy to forget as
Michigan football slogged through
its first six games of the season
with one unconvincing offensive
performance after another, as
coaches and players faced media
and seemed to ignore the obvious
issues right in front of them.
But this was what offensive
coordinator Josh Gattis came to
Ann Arbor advertising 10 long
months ago.
And for the last two quarters
in a whiteout at State College on
Saturday night, against a Penn
State defense that came into the
game ranked top-10 in SP+, the
Wolverines lived up to the billing.
“Everybody saw it,” said senior
left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. “(Being)
able to move the ball with ease,
running RPOs, wide receivers
getting open, catching the ball.
Really important, we weren’t
getting in those second and third-
and-longs.
“We were able to run our style of
offense that we wanted to. Banging
out the explosive plays, I think we
had five explosive runs and seven
explosive passes.”
It is, of course, no mere footnote
that football games last four
quarters, not two. Nor is it trivial
that Michigan ultimately came up
short, losing, 28-21, and as a result,
those first 26 quarters where the
offense looked lost will likely cost
the Wolverines all of their goals.
A College Football Playoff is out.
A Big Ten title would require a lot

of dominos falling in Michigan’s
favor. The jury is still out on
Gattis as a coordinator, though,
and Saturday was the first time,
sans-Rutgers and Illinois, that
his offense looked like what was
promised.
Michigan went on the road and
outgained Penn State, 417-283.
Patterson commanded the pocket
like he hadn’t all year, throwing for
276 yards with one costly mistake,
an interception to Tariq Castro-
Fields. The Wolverines ran over 80
plays and by the end of the game,
the Nittany Lions were gassed.
“That’s
kinda
sorta
the
confidence we’ve had all year,”
Patterson said Tuesday in a
surprise appearance in front of
reporters. “No matter how many
times that happened, just so proud
of our O-Line. ... Charbonnet had
a great second half on the ground.
The receivers were getting out on
the perimeter and making big-time
plays. It was really exciting.”
It’s hard to reconcile that with
the loss and all it means, with the
cold hard fact that the needed
offensive progress ultimately came
too late in the season. The most
Michigan can reasonably hope
to get out of the next five weeks
are feel-good wins over its three
biggest rivals. As much as that
would mean (particularly beating
Ohio State), it isn’t a Big Ten trophy.
The offense, ultimately, holds
a lot of the fault for that. Even
against Penn State, dropped balls,

penalties and an early failure
to convert a fourth down will
haunt the Wolverines. They had
four drives end in Nittany Lion
territory without a point, and a
fifth at midfield. Even in what
was arguably his best game since
taking the job, there are spots to
nitpick Gattis’ performance.
Yet, it’s hard to argue with
tangible progress.
“I feel like our guys just went out
there and played loose,” Patterson
said. “I was battling some injuries
all year, and for the first time, I
think I went out there and was 100
percent healthy. I felt good, and
our guys felt good.”
For
much
of
the
season,
Michigan has harped on how the
offense has worked in practice and
merely not translated into games.
Otherwise, the Wolverines pointed
to a lack of outside knowledge on an
offense that came into Saturday’s
game ranked 53rd in offensive SP+.
Outside of two games against
the Big Ten’s bottom-feeders,
Saturday was the first time the
offense backed up those claims to
the naked eye.
“We were just moving the ball,”
said junior receiver Nico Collins.
“We were focusing on our deals,
fundamentals. And it worked.”
It worked. And Michigan lost.
If Gattis is to succeed over
the long term, he’ll need greater
consistency than his unit has shown
thus far. But Saturday was at least a
step in the right direction.

Patterson shows fight in PSU loss

Michigan
was
scrapping
and clawing, and its senior
quarterback was leading the
charge.
Down 28-14 on Saturday, Shea
Patterson marched his team
down to the one-yard line in the
middle of the fourth quarter,
facing a fourth-and-goal with
the game in the balance. The
Wolverines
called
Patterson’s
number, a quarterback sneak, in
hopes of muscling their way to a
one-possession game. There was
literal scrapping, clawing — and,
apparently, gouging.
“The dude has his index finger
up my eye, in my eye socket, for
like 10 seconds,” Patterson said
Tuesday, unable to identify which
Penn State defensive player. “That
wasn’t good.
“I was trying to reach the ball
across the plane, and for a good
while I was screaming for my life.
I wasn’t too happy about that.”
After
the
referees
finally
signaled for a touchdown, the
lengthy quarrel finally dispersing,
Patterson walked over to the
sideline, vision blurred, with
tears streaming from his eyes. His
team had life, if only temporary.
Some hindered vision would not
deter him.
It
is
in
that
context
—
complementing
his
24-for-41,
276-yard performance — that the
praise for his best performance
of the season takes on a new
meaning.
“Each game, Shea’s getting
better and better,” said junior
wide
receiver
Nico
Collins.
“During the season, he had a
couple turnovers and he learned
from turnovers. That’s hard. We
want Shea back right now. He’s
the quarterback and we all trust
in Shea. He believes in us.”
Added Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh: “I think Shea has
been
playing
great
football.
Heroic. Really pleased. He’s into
it, his demeanor every game.

Confident, excited about it. Likes
being in that type of atmosphere
and playing in that type of game.
Sense it from everything about
him.”
It’s the kind of praise Harbaugh
has heaped on his signal-caller all
year, through the good and bad.
Patterson’s performance in the
first six games underwhelmed
relative
to
high
external
expectations,
undoubtedly
hindered by an oblique injury
suffered on the very first play
of the season against Middle
Tennessee State — a play that
resulted in a Patterson fumble.
Tuesday, Patterson noted the
game in State College was “the
first time I think I went out there
and was 100 percent healthy.” It
would help explain the newfound
agility and tenacity that was
readily on display last season. A
little swagger, too.
In those six games, he made
no such excuses, though. He
regularly demanded better, both
from himself and his team, and
took the blame when things went
awry. On the converse, Patterson
was hesitant to accept any praise
in the aftermath of a 28-21 loss to
the Nittany Lions.
“Any time you don’t win, for
me, I’m trying to do everything I
can to win it for that locker room,”

Patterson said. “And this offense
is doing everything it can to win
because we hate losing. It really
doesn’t matter how I played. All
that matters is the end result, and
we didn’t win.”
A reinvigoration of Patterson’s
season
would
be
at
once
encouraging and deflating for
a two-loss team now ostensibly
eliminated from Big Ten- and
College
Football
Playoff-
contention. It’s not difficult to
envision a second-half resurgence
lifting this Wolverines offense
to new heights — a strong close
to the season, maybe some
important rivalry wins.
Who knows where this season,
Patterson’s last, might be if he
had found his footing earlier in
the year. Or if he’d never taken a
hit to the oblique in the first place.
Ask him, though, and he’ll tell you
it’ll take a whole lot more than
an index finger in his eye to stop
fighting.
“We have an opportunity —
we have a decision to make,”
Patterson said Tuesday, very
matter-of-factly. “Our goal is to
win every game the rest of the
season. I love this team. We’re all
so close, and we trust each other,
and we love playing together.
“I don’t think there is any
other goal than to just win.”

ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor

Play with Pearson: Jack Summers’ game-winner

The Daily sat down with
Michigan coach Mel Pearson on
Monday and pulled out a hockey
whiteboard.
“Okay good,” Pearson said.
“Some X’s and O’s.”
Pearson
drew
up
the
intricacies of a play from last
weekend’s matchup against Lake
Superior State that led to a Jack
Summers goal. He broke down
where players went with the
puck, what they were thinking
with the play they made and how
it all went down — with the X’s
and O’s on a whiteboard.
The Daily deciphered the
board and pieced together a
series of drawings that represent
what Pearson had to show.
Here’s what he drew up.
***
Saturday, the Lakers scored
back-to-back goals in the second
period to bring their deficit to
3-2. With tension in the air and
momentum against them, the
Wolverines breathed a sigh of
relief when Summers scored
an insurance goal to bring the
Michigan lead back up to two.
The
sophomore
defenseman’s
tally would later turn into the
game-winner after Lake Superior
State scored a third, the final
score, 4-3.
TMD: I was wondering if
you could walk us through what
happened with Jack Summers’
goal. Starting from the point
when it was brought into the
zone.
Pearson:
Yeah.
So
what
happened is, the thing about
Summers’ goal is the shot itself.
You see a lot of guys when they
receive the puck, the first instant
is you take it from your forehand
to your backhand and then back
to your forehand. And even just
that split second, it allows a
goalie to get in position or slide
over.
Pearson:
And
you
see
Summers, he just goes in. You’ll

see (sophomore forward Nolan)
Moyle, if you look at a two-on-
one, gets it here, but instead
of just shooting, he gets it and
then he goes like this — brings it

back like that, and then shoots.
Summers, when you watch him,
just comes in and just shoots it.
So the goalie is moving in and it’s
not a great shot. It’s not top shelf.
I mean it sort of
beats him here,
but the goalie’s
moving and he
just can’t stop it.
He’s not set and
it just beats him
because he got it
away too quick.
Pearson: But
on the goal, it
happened to be
a two-on-one, so
they’re like this,
(junior forward) Mike Pastujov
and (freshman forward Johnny

Beecher), who tries to pass it.
Instead he probably should have
went and shot it.
Pearson: So (Summers) is
coming up, like we tell one of

our defenseman to be the fourth
player in the rush. So he’s coming
in here and Becker’s on this side
and Becker comes in later but
after the pass fails, it goes in the
corner.
Pearson:
Mikey goes and
stays
with
it.
Beecher
comes
with
him,
so
Beecher picks it
up at this point
after the failed
pass across. He
just bumps it to
Mike
Pastujov.
Mike’s here and
we actually have
it sorted... it’s like a two-on-one
down low, so his defenseman is

here and they don’t have a guy
back.
Pearson: Jack just sneaks in
here and they have two guys that
come back too hard. Beecher’s

drifted into this position. Sort of
this lane or gap here. Mikey sees
it and (Summers) just finds the
open ice, and comes in here and
does it.
Pearson:
But
he’s
aware
because he is the fourth guy up on
the rush, but he’s not. He doesn’t
get too involved and then when
he sees Mike actually have some
time and space, he jumps into a
lane and a hole there. I mean it’s a
really good shot so like I said, the
important thing is you know they
stayed after the puck, these two
guys. Jack is patient. He doesn’t
jump in too soon to close down
the lane or jump into coverage.
Pearson: A lot of times, we
shrink the zone too much for
a defenseman, so they’ll move

down into coverage. You know,
if he does get a pass like this,
they got a guy right here and he
blocks so that you don’t have any
room. He was more patient. The

coverage shrunk down on Becker
here and when it comes to him,
he’s got time and space to shoot
it. So it’s a good play.
TMD: How hard of a read is
that
for
Mike
Pastujov
to
make?
Pearson:
It was a lot of
things
going
on. And I think
first, he had to
get the puck and
then get his head
up in order to
realize he had
time and space.
Then once you
get that, Mike’s really good. He’s
got really good hockey vision and

sense, which you can’t teach. You
try to work on it, but it’s hard to
teach. I think it just wasn’t easy
for him, but wasn’t the hardest,
hardest play. It’s sort of mid-

level, you know. Toughness and
understanding
about
what’s
going on on the ice, who’s open
and and then you have to make
the play too. You have to execute.
I mean, we had
a
three-on-one.
You
can
tell
when they don’t
make
the
play,
it’s a bad pass or
something. Mike
makes a good pass
there. And that’s
the other thing
I mean, there’s a
good shot, but it
was a good pass.
A nice pass where
he put it in an area where Jack
could just one-time it.

The Daily brought a white board and let Michigan coach Mel Pearson explain Jack Summers’ game-winning goal

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Editor

He’s not set and
it beats him
because he got
it away ...

... he put it in
an area where
Jack could just
one-time it.

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Senior quarterback Shea Patterson threw for 276 yards in Saturday’s loss.

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
The Michigan offense outscored Penn State, 21-7, in the second half.