Michigan Football: Time for Talk is Over
Michigan football in 2019 has been a season defined by talk rather than action. You don’t have to twist the arms of Jim Harbaugh or the rest of his coaching staff to get meaty content to dissect. Here is a quick “year in review” to understand how we got to this point…
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The season in quotes
“We’ve done a lot good including last year when we were co Big Ten Champions” – Jim Harbaugh on his expectations for 2019 (I’ll let Maximus tell you how I feel about that line)
“Speed in space” – Offensive Coordinator Josh Gattis describing the philosophy behind his pro-spread offense, complete with visual accompaniment. Michigan ranked 93rd in yards per game through the first five games.
“I’ve been writing Wisconsin cards, and I’ve kinda been, ‘Woohoowoo!’” – Defensive Coordinator Don Brown on being excited to face Wisconsin, then surrendering nearly 500 total yards of offense.
“I feel like we’re very close offensively and close to hitting the stride, hitting on all cylinders” – Jim Harbaugh after amassing 267 total yards against Iowa.
I could go on for days, but this is a one-hour program. Saturday’s 42-25 win against Illinois provided another delusional nugget to complain about. After needing all four quarters to put away the Illini, who were 24 point underdogs yet managed to score 25 unanswered points to pull within three late, Jim Harbaugh offered up this nugget to describe his team’s performance:
“We rose up”
Look, I get it. Coaches are forced to speak in front of cameras on a daily basis. Jim Harbaugh doesn’t want to answer questions from reporters any more than the next coach. Well, maybe more than Dennis Green, but that’s it.
The problem is, while most other coaches have mastered the art of saying nothing, Harbaugh keeps saying something. And this particular something can be filed under the “disconnect” column.
Self-inflicted adversity
To “rise up” typically requires some sort of adversity to overcome. Maybe an unlucky bounce here, a bad call there, and all of a sudden your back is against the wall. It also applies when you are matched up against an opponent of similar or better quality. None of those boxes are checked here.
The adversity Michigan faced in this game was once again self-inflicted. What exactly did they accomplish during Illinois’ comeback? Five possessions, four of which were three plays or fewer. Zero points. Three fumbles (two lost). This against a team that hadn’t won a game in nearly a month and a half, and that was a nail biter against 1-5 UConn.
Bonus quote: According to The Athletic, Jim Harbaugh categorized Michigan’s struggle to put away the Illini as “a good character-builder for our team.” This is the third time this season in which Michigan was tested against an inferior opponent (MTSU, Army). There clearly is nothing tangible to be gained from all the “character” they are stockpiling in these sloppy performances. Much more can be learned from playing competent football to the level of their abilities. Add “character-builder” to the list of meaningless cliches in a season full of em’.
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Patterson gets a pass
I offered up this thought on Twitter during the first quarter to highlight the importance I put on Shea Patterson recapturing the talents that made him a five-star recruit in 2015…
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Patterson’s performance was far from perfect, but I have made an executive decision to ease up on my criticism of him. I think it’s time we recalibrate our expectations for Patterson, who appears to be who he is at this point in his Michigan career. He played well in this game, all things considered. If we are going to complain about four total touchdowns and no turnovers, there is basically no winning for Patterson.
With reports of 20 mph winds, simply having a turnover-free game is quite the accomplishment. Add to the fact that Patterson led the 4th quarter drive that finally ended Illinois’ comeback bid, and I feel like he did the best that we could have reasonably expected him to do. Perhaps that game-clinching drive did something for his confidence and comfort level that can be built upon.
Nowhere to hide
Somehow this team is 5-1. Being favored by 20+ in four out of six games has a lot to do with that. Michigan has had ample time to ease into the season and work out the kinks that come with installing a new offense. The time for tuneups is now over, with newly minted #7 team in the nation Penn State on deck in Happy Valley. Michigan is a 7.5 point underdog in that matchup.
Based on what we’ve seen, there isn’t much to suggest Michigan will be able to win this game. We could call back to last season, where Michigan dismantled Penn State 42-7 in Ann Arbor. But they had a similar previous result against Wisconsin, and that momentum clearly didn’t carry over.
In an effort to force some optimism heading into this game, I went digging for reasons to believe, since my own brain won’t allow it. Turns out no one besides “bold prediction guy” believes either, and we don’t listen to that guy. No one audits bold prediction guy. If it does anything for you, 4 out of 7 analysts from CBSSports picked Michigan to cover the spread (none picked them to win). At this point, a hard-fought loss on the road versus a top ten team would be a step in the right direction.
If Michigan is to compete in this game, it will likely take another defensive masterpiece, similar to what it produced against Iowa. As we’ve seen, even when the offense is “firing on all cylinders” as it was in the first half against Illinois, the wheels can come off at any moment.
*actual footage of Michigan’s offense once it gets rolling*
