It wasn’t as embarrassing as the losses to Ohio State or Wisconsin, but Michigan once again came up short in a showcase matchup, losing 35-16 to Alabama in the Citrus bowl. Michigan came prepared and looked like they belonged, until they didn’t. Being less talented and having an inferior coaching staff has a way of doing that. What can we unpack from this game and this season to take into 2020? Let’s discuss.

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Tale of two halves

For one magical half, the University of Michigan’s football team outperformed Alabama’s. Bama, the team who’s floor is higher than Michigan’s ceiling over the past decade+ (2007 was the last time Michigan had a better record than Alabama, Nick Saban’s first year at the helm), was being outplayed by Jim Harbaugh and dem boyz. And Michigan was doing it in a very Michigan football-y fashion too. They rolled the Tide on the ground to the tune of 135 yards, dominated the time of possession, and limited Alabama to just two drives of more than 25 yards (Michigan had four). Alabama didn’t successfully convert on 3rd down in the entire half.

In a refreshing change of pace, Michigan actually responded after getting punched in the mouth, rather than going into a mental shell. After Alabama dropped an 85-yard TD bomb to Jerry Jeudy on their first offensive play of the game (were you watching, Lions?), the next three scoring drives all came from Michigan. In that 18 minute span of game clock, Alabama gained a total of 63 yards. 

Ok, that’s enough of the sunshine and rainbows. The second half looked like a traditional big game Michigan performance under Harbaugh. They inexplicably abandoned the run game that gashed Alabama repeatedly in the first half, opting to throw the ball on first down far too often, almost as if they were playing catch-up against a short clock (they led 16-14 at the half). This was a curious decision on a day when Shea Patterson, who isn’t exactly, you know, accurate and stuff, had one of the least accurate days in his collegiate career (17-37, 2 INTs). 

Though Alabama’s coverage was tight throughout much of this game, it proved largely inconsequential considering Patterson overthrew EVERYTHING. The announced tally on the broadcast was seven overthrown deep passes. This from a five-star senior quarterback, playing in the 36th and final game of his college career. Patterson had been much better in recent games, but he goes out on a major sour note and put together some terrible pro tape in the process. Good guy. Good leader. Unquestionably disappointing Michigan career.

On the rare occasion that Patterson did deliver the ball accurately, his receivers once again let him down far too often. Drops were a major problem against Penn State, Ohio State, and now Alabama. Ronnie Bell was the biggest culprit on this day, though at least he contributed something on the stat sheet (62 total yards). Donovan Peoples-Jones, meanwhile, once again pulled a five-star disappearing act (one catch). Of Michigan’s trio of highly-rated weapons (DPJ, Bell, Nico Collins), freshman Giles Jackson outshined them all (158 all-purpose yards).  

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Can we spin this? Should we spin this?

Depending on the media outlet you peruse, there are some who think that the final score is not indicative of how close this game actually was. There is definitely an angle that can be played to show that Michigan went toe to toe with the elite of all elite college football programs, and proved it belonged right in that next tier. But should Michigan be given extra credit for this performance? First, the positive spin.

The game was closer than the final score suggests

Despite losing this game by three possessions, Michigan was only down by five, with 13 minutes to go in the game, knocking on the door of the Alabama red zone. Alabama also could have taken a knee to end the game, but decided to tack on a goal-line TD run with 20 seconds remaining, further giving the optics that this game wasn’t competitive. 

One particularly egregious missed call came early in the 3rd quarter when Ronnie Bell was decapitated by Alabama defensive back Josh Jobe. This should have easily been a personal foul for targeting and an ejection. For a player who finished this game with 6 tackles, 1 INT and a pass defended, his loss likely would have impacted the final score. If you think complaining about calls is just making excuses, take a look and judge for yourself. 

When Buckeye Twitter is coming to the support of Michigan, that’s saying something. The drive of this non-call ended in a blocked punt for Alabama, because the ball always lies.

It’s not often you will see the team that has more rushing yards, possesses the ball for nearly ten more minutes, and has more first downs lose a game by 19 points. Yet that is what happened to Michigan in this game. 

The final score told the story pretty accurately

I’m gonna go ahead and leave the above narrative for another day. Some teams deserve credit for “hanging tough” or getting the short end of the stick on some bad calls. This Michigan team doesn’t qualify for moral victories. This is a team that, while not on Alabama’s level, still has plenty of talent and experience to go around. 

Unfortunately, the guy who should be Michigan’s most talented and experienced player, Shea Patterson, just got schooled by Mac Jones, Alabama’s backup quarterback making just his third start of the season. Jones more than doubled Patterson’s yards per attempt in this game (13.1 – 6.3), was far more accurate and, most importantly, took care of the ball.

To be honest, Michigan being just a minus-2 in turnover margin in this game was their best-case scenario. Patterson was so inaccurate that he was lucky to only have two interceptions. He didn’t even give his receivers a chance on many of his misses, and as a by-product of that, defenders only had a few chances to pick him off. Patterson’s fumbling issues also popped up to bookend his very sloppy season. He put the ball on the ground twice in this game, though neither resulted in a turnover. He will finish tied for fourth in the nation with nine fumbles on the season. 

But hey, I’m just a frustrated alum who wants to see his team play to their potential, not a $7 million head coach like Jim Harbaugh. He liked what he saw from his senior QB in this game. His quote:

“I don’t know if he missed any open receivers. I thought Shea had a good game”.

Look, I get it. It doesn’t behoove you to throw your QB under the bus after his final game. He aspires to play football at the next level, and needs all the support he can get. But quotes like this scare me because…can we really be sure Harbaugh is just protecting Patterson when he talks out of his ass like this? He is a certifiable crazy man, and very easily could be giving his honest assessment here. If that is the case, it could be part of the reason why players are struggling to fulfill their potential at Michigan. Specific, targeted, and accurate criticism is the path to improvement. Not sugarcoating, rah-rah speeches, and inspirational quotes from World War II. 

Now what?

Now what? What do you mean? It was another great season! Most schools would kill for nine wins. Things are so much better now than they were under Brady Hoke and Rich Rod. Michigan improved in just about every area: offensively, defensively, special teams. This program is in good hands, and the future is bright. The gap is closing between Michigan and the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world. 

Did my sarcasm translate in print? I know that can be tricky sometimes. I did slip in one actual Jim Harbaugh quote in the above paragraph. Can you find it? I’ll give you five seconds…GO!

5…4…3…2…1…

“Our team has improved in just about every area: offensively, defensively, special teams” – Jim Harbaugh

Did you find it amongst all that other junk in there? They have improved in just about every area, according to Harbaugh. He must have those Tac Glasses that help you see with HD clarity, even in blinding glare. Because I’m just not seeing it.

Low-key, Jim Harbaugh is exactly the type of person who would love getting those for Christmas. While I’m on the infomercial circuit, maybe I’ll pick up some FlexSeal to fix the cracks in Don Brown’s “improving” defense, considering they give up 500 yards of offense anytime they play a team worth a damn.

Improving in relation to what, exactly? Have they improved since they stumbled out of the gate in 2019, getting softened up by Middle Tennessee and Army before Wisconsin dropped the big leg on them in Madison?

Sure they have. Particularly on the offensive side of the ball, where Josh Gattis’ scheme finally appears to be taking shape. But this wasn’t a rebuilding type of a season. This was supposed to be a championship-caliber team, yet they have regressed from last season. Not only that, but they have regressed since Jim Harbaugh’s maiden voyage in 2015.

In 2015 Michigan went 10-3, with those three losses coming by a combined 40 points. They ended the season with a 34-point Citrus Bowl win.

This season Michigan went 9-4, losing their games by a combined 76 points. They ended the season with a 19-point Citrus Bowl loss.

Jim Harbaugh has given us zero evidence that he can turn top-ten recruiting classes into top-ten football teams. This season, he turned the preseason No. 7 team into an afterthought. Anyone could do that, and be a lot less annoying along the way.

I’ve seen enough. I ordered within the next 10 minutes and kept the bonus pair of Tac Glasses for myself. This program is going nowhere, in HD clarity.  

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