4B — January 8, 2020
SportsWednesday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

O

RLANDO, Fla. — Camer-
on McGrone mentioned

the big plays
first, taking
the blame
for his unit
without
explicitly
saying it.
Michigan
gave up too
many, he
said, and
that was the key. McGrone
wasn’t wrong — the defense did
give up six plays of 20 or more
yards — but Alabama will do
that to you. Loaded with a set
of skill-position players just as
good as Ohio State’s, if not bet-
ter, Alabama clearly had more
speed, more athleticism. The
Crimson Tide won, 35-16, in the
Citrus Bowl on Wednesday in
part because of that.
And yet, the defense did what
it could. Any realistic game-
plan against
Alabama was
going to include
winning in the
30s or 40s. The
Crimson Tide’s
35 points tied
a season low,
and they might
not have even
gotten that
many if not for a
fourth-quarter
Shea Patterson interception.
They were just 4-for-10 on third
down. They were on the field
for over nine fewer minutes
than the Wolverines.
Despite the chunk plays,
Michigan’s defense played as
well against Alabama as any
team has this season. There
are plenty of examples of the
Wolverines going up against an
opponent like this and getting
their pants pulled down — look
no further than the Buckeyes
for proof.
This wasn’t that. But it still
wasn’t enough.

“The defense played lights
out, so it’s a tough one,” said
senior quarterback Shea Patter-
son. He knew as well as anyone
what had happened: the defense
did as well as you could realis-
tically expect, but the offense
didn’t hold up its end of the
bargain.
After Crimson Tide receiver
Jerry Jeudy torched the Wol-
verines for an opening 85-yard
touchdown, one where safety
Dax Hill wasn’t even close to
keeping up, the Wolverines
didn’t allow another score for
10 minutes. In the first half,
Michigan was in scoring posi-
tion four times to Alabama’s
twice. But the Wolverines came
away with just 16 points, lead-
ing by two at the half.
“That was huge as well,” Pat-
terson said. “Any time you get
the ball you want to put points
on the board but when you get
in the red zone, you gotta score
touchdowns and that hurt us
tonight.”
Asked about
Don Brown’s
feelings on all
this, McGrone
noted his
defensive coor-
dinator’s disap-
pointment. This
wasn’t the way
any of them
wanted the
season to end,
and for Brown in particular, it
was just the latest in a string of
missed opportunities to make
a statement on the biggest stage.
Once again, Brown is going to
head into an offseason of criti-
cism, and in some ways, that’s
justified. Brown’s lost big games
in pretty much every way —
overtime heartbreakers, being
caught off guard early, falling
apart in the fourth quarter. This
time, his unit seemed prepared.
It played well. It didn’t matter,
because Michigan couldn’t get
the win.
“We understand the chal-

lenge that’s in front of us,”
Brown said Sunday. “We’re
confident in our ability. You’re
not going to beat them one way.
You’re going to have to play a
number of different coverages.
And we’re confident in our abil-
ity to do that.”
The sad part for Brown is
that he was right to be confi-
dent. That performance, against
one of the best
offenses in the
country, one that
no team could
stop, should
have been good
enough to carry
the Wolverines
to a signature
victory.
Somehow,
once again, it
wasn’t.
Michigan was shut out in the
second half. None of Patterson’s
deep shots landed. The receiv-
ers had a case of the drops. Pat-
terson had a few costly sacks
and an interception when he
really needed to drive. And the
final scoring margin made it
seem like the Wolverines had
given up too many points again.
“(Brown) was disappointed,
all the time we put it and just
as a defense, we know what we
can do but we didn’t show it all
today,” McGrone said. “So yeah,
a little disappointment but
that’s just what it is.”

McGrone knew his unit
was capable of more, and
said as much. That’s what all
good competitors do. But the
offense’s anemic performance
required the defense to be
perfect — and how could you
expect it to be?
Alabama isn’t like Iowa or
Wisconsin. This wasn’t ever
going to be a traditional grind-
it-out Big Ten-
style game. The
Crimson Tide
were the third-
ranked offense
in the country,
per SP+. Michi-
gan was never
going to win
this game in the
teens or 20s.
This was one
of the defense’s
best performances of the sea-
son against about as good of an
opponent as you can get. The
defense gave the offense every
opportunity to seize a signature
win. The offense couldn’t figure
out how to take advantage.
But nobody’s going to
remember how the defense did
Wednesday, and they shouldn’t.
Because McGrone is right. It
is what it is now — another bowl
loss in a long string of them.

Gerson can be reached

at amgerson@umich.edu or

on Twitter @aria_gerson.

Michigan’s ‘D’ deserved better
Partridge to Ole Miss

Special teams coordinator
and
safeties
coach
Chris
Partridge left the Michigan
football
program
Thursday
morning, taking a coaching
position at Ole Miss under
Lane Kiffin.
Though Partridge’s job title
was not named in Ole Miss’
press release announcing the
move, it’s widely expected that
he will be named co-defensive
coordinator with D.J. Durkin,
another
former
Michigan
assistant whose hiring the
Rebels announced Thursday
morning in a press release.
In Partridge, a former high
school coach Jim Harbaugh
hired from Paramus Catholic
High School in New Jersey,
the Wolverines lose their best
recruiter on staff. Partridge
won
247Sports’
National
Recruiter of the Year in 2017.
He
was
instrumental
in
landing
five-star
defensive
end Rashan Gary — the top-

rated player in the country at
the time — and flipping five-
star safety Daxton Hill back to
Michigan from Alabama last
season.
“I don’t really know where
my head was at, at that time,”
Hill said in October, describing
his
recruitment
process.
“That’s what happened right
there.”
Having just finished his
freshman season, Hill will
be an instrumental part of
Michigan’s
defense
moving
forward. The Wolverines will
have Partridge to thank for
that.
Harbaugh’s
staff
has
undergone
turnover
every
offseason. It took less than 24
hours after Michigan’s season
ended with a Citrus Bowl loss
to Alabama this time around.
In
terms
of
replacing
Partridge, the Wolverines have
an experienced safeties coach
in Devin Bush Sr. already on
staff. They could look there, or
to an outside hire.

On Saturday afternoon, junior
receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones
declared for the NFL Draft,
electing to forgo his final season
of eligibility.
It’s the second blow in as many
days for Michigan’s offense, after
junior center Cesar Ruiz declared
for the draft on Friday. Peoples-
Jones’
departure
leaves
the
Wolverines without one of their
top offensive weapons heading
into 2020. Junior receiver Nico
Collins has yet to make a decision.
“Coach Harbaugh and the
University of Michigan have
provided me with an exceptional
college experience and I deeply
value the relationships that I
forged throughout my time in
Ann Arbor,” Peoples-Jones said in
a tweet Saturday. “… After much
prayer and discussion, I have
decided to forgo my senior season
and will enter the 2020 draft!
This has always been a lifelong
dream of mine and I am excited
for the new opportunities in store
for me. God bless and Go Blue!”
Peoples-Jones arrived in Ann
Arbor three years ago as one of
the most heralded signings of the
Jim Harbaugh era. He came in
as a five-star recruit and the top-
ranked receiver in the 2017 class.
For the next three seasons,
though, those skills were only
sporadically
on
display.
His
79-yard
touchdown
against
Michigan State in 2018 stands
out as one of the most memorable
moments in the Wolverines’
recent history.
However, Peoples-Jones finishes
his Michigan career with just
103 receptions for 1327 yards and
14 touchdowns. In 2019, he was
the
Wolverines’
third-leading
receiver with 438 yards and six
touchdowns.
Still, the speed and raw talent
that made him a top-15 recruit
also have him projected as a
probable Day Two NFL Draft
pick. In his absence, Michigan
will likely turn to sophomore
receivers Mike Sainristil, Giles
Jackson and Cornelius Johnson
to take over larger roles in the
offense and replace Peoples-
Jones’ 34 receptions.

Collins to stay, Peoples-Jones to go

One
day
after
Donovan
Peoples-Jones
declared
for
the NFL draft, junior receiver
Nico
Collins
announced
he
will return to Michigan for his
senior season.
Collins
arrived
in
Ann
Arbor
as
the
third-
highest
ranked
wide
receiver
commit in the
Wolverines’
star-studded
2017
recruiting
class, but quickly
established
himself
as
one
of
their
key offensive weapons. After
catching just three passes as
a freshman, Collins broke out
as a sophomore, recording 38
catches for 632 yards.
In 2019, he was Michigan’s
second-leading
receiver
with
729
yards
and
seven
touchdowns. His strong season
was capped with a 165-yard,
three-touchdown performance
against Indiana in November,
creating widespread belief that
he would declare for the NFL
Draft, where he was projected
as a likely Day Two pick.
Collins’
return,
though,

should bolster the Wolverines’
receiving corps into one of
the strengths of their offense
heading into the 2020 season.
“I am excited to announce
that with the support of my
family, I will be returning to
the University of Michigan for
my senior year,” Collins said in
a tweet Sunday
afternoon.
“I
am taking this
opportunity
to
progressively
evolve my craft,
in
preparation
for what God had
in store for me!
“I have always
believed
in
finishing
what
I started. Coach
(Jim) Harbaugh,
coach (Josh) Gattis and staff
have helped me grow as a player
and person. Another season
with our coaching staff will
allow me to continue to work on
my skill and development which
will prepare me for the next
level.”
He
is
expected
to
join
sophomore Ronnie Bell and
freshman
Giles
Jackson
as
Michigan’s starting receivers.
Along with the return of redshirt
junior tight end Nick Eubanks,
that group will likely account for
the majority of the Wolverines’
receiving production in 2020.

Harbaugh sees bowl chance slip away

ORLANDO,
Fla.
—
Jim
Harbaugh gathered his team
together at halftime with a
simple message: Finish the way
the way you want to finish.
For a month, the widespread
expectation for Wednesday’s
Citrus Bowl was a blowout.
Even in a down year for
Alabama, the Crimson Tide
are still college football’s flag
bearer, providing a measuring
stick for any program — like
Michigan — hoping to join the
nation’s elite.
Yet, with 30 minutes to play,
the Wolverines held a two-
point lead. Thirty minutes
from the type of win that could
re-define
a
season.
Thirty
minutes from the type of win
nobody in that locker room had
ever experienced.
So Harbaugh directed his
message at the seniors.
“I know personally, I wanted
to get that win for the seniors,”
sophomore
linebacker
Cam
McGrone said, echoing his
coach’s message. “Cause this is
their last time playing a game.”
With one half to play in their
college careers, they had lost in
all four of their games against
Ohio State and all three of their
bowl tries. But here in Orlando,
Harbaugh told them, there
was an opportunity to put that
behind them and grab a victory
that would stand alone in their
careers.
It’s true for the seniors.
It’s also true for Harbaugh.
Hailed as Michigan’s savior
when he arrived five years
ago, he’s now lost the last two
games of the season four years
in a row. Since the Wolverines’
five-win improvement in his
first year, the theme of his
tenure has been stagnation.
In that first season, he won 10
games. Half a decade later, he’s
still never won 11.
All of that has been repeated
ad nauseum, just with the
numbers
being
updated
annually.
But on Wednesday, it felt
more glaringly obvious than
ever. Because on the other

sideline stood Alabama, which
did win 11 games this year. The
Crimson Tide viewed it as a
disappointment.
Harbaugh on his nine wins?
“I feel good about (the future of
our program). I feel good about
some of the young players that
got
great
experiences
this
season and, you know, them
getting
their
opportunity,
going to work on that.”
Losing to Alabama shouldn’t
deter that. The Wolverines
held the Crimson Tide to
their
lowest
point total of
the season in
a
far-from-
embarrassing
35-16 loss.
But it does
provide
a
glimpse at the
opportunity
Michigan, and
Harbaugh,
let
slip away.
“It just builds off going into
next year,” Alabama cornerback
Patrick Surtain said. “Like I
said, we needed this game. Just
a key moment going into next
year. It’s a point of emphasis,
going into next year with a high
head on our shoulders.”
That’s
for
Alabama,
a
program whose expectation
next year will be a national
championship. The Crimson
Tide,
though,
understand
that getting there starts now,
where a win will propel them
into an offseason filled with
confidence and optimism.
Michigan
understands

that too. Tuesday morning,
Harbaugh called the Citrus
Bowl, “a great opportunity
for our season, for this 2019
season.”
The
difference
for
the
Wolverines is they couldn’t
take
advantage.
So
while
Alabama enters the offseason
with 2019 marking a mere blip
on their radar, Michigan enters
theirs with no more answers
than it had a year ago.
It’s why, as the clock ticked
toward zeroes late afternoon,
Harbaugh paced
the
Michigan
sideline
in
a
familiar
pose:
hands on hips,
eyes
trained
toward
the
ground.
A
few
moments
after
Harbaugh
had
walked
down
the
tunnel,
towards a familiarly uncertain
offseason, his counterpart —
Alabama coach Nick Saban
— cracked a smile and tossed
a few celebratory oranges out
of the Citrus Bowl trophy and
toward his adoring players.
“I think that there was a lot
of value for our program and
our team to be able to come
and get a reward, first of all,
for having a successful season,”
Saban said. “I know most
people would think that 10-2
was a good season. That’s not
necessarily our standard.”
For
Harbaugh
and
the
Wolverines, it is. In a good year.

THEO MACKIE
Managing Sports Editor

THEO MACKIE
Managing Sports Editor

ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor

ARIA
GERSON

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Cam McGrone was part of a Michigan defense that held Alabama to 35 points.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Special teams coordinator Chris Patridge was at Michigan for five seasons.

MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Junior receiver Nico Collins will return for his senior season in 2020.

THEO MACKIE
Managing Sports Editor

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has now lost his last four bowl games.

I have always
believed in
finishing what I
started.

Personally, I
wanted to get
that win for the
seniors.

The offense
didn’t hold up
its end of the
bargain.

We know what
we can do, but
we didn’t show
it all today.