quinn nordin kicked it into orbit

Previously: Last year. The Story. Podcast 12.4A, 12.4B, 12.4C. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Interior OL. Offensive Tackle. Defensive End. Defensive Tackle. Linebacker. Cornerback. Safety.

Depth Chart

When Jim Harbaugh arrived in 2015 he hired three new assistants who raised some eyebrows. One was his son Jay, whose non-genetic credentials were three years as an Oregon State GA, and three as an offensive quality coach for his Uncle John's Baltimore Ravens. The second was Chris Partridge, the high school coach who was expected to go back in a year to collect #1 national recruit Rashan Gary. Not waiting to see if Partridge had any coaching value beyond his connection to 5-stars, the NCAA passed a "Partridge" rule to ban programs from hiring high school coaches whose players they recruit.

The third was John Baxter, a special teams savant responsible for USC's consistently excellent third phase. Michigan special teams shot up in Baxter's first season in Ann Arbor, from 74th the year prior to 11th in Fremeau's special teams efficiency index (FEI). Baxter didn't stick around for another, but left the cheat codes behind for understudy Partridge. FEI rankings since: 3rd, 28th, 12th, 2nd*. Along the way Partridge's special teams forced a kickoffs rule change by moonballing it to the 1 yard line, broke spread punting, broke Alabama's will to cover kickoffs, and broke the FG TARGET LINE stripe for half of a broadcast:

Just gotta get over the 40 guys.

Partridge, it turned out, was indeed more valuable than his connection to immediate blue chips, and took an SEC defensive coordinator job this offseason. The briefcase with the codes now passes to his assistant these last four years, Jay Harbaugh, who's also spent the intervening years proving himself more than worthy of his nepotistic opportunity.

With it comes the leg responsible for the ridiculous line above, the reason Alabama was pooching it up to the 30, a pair of senior specialists and their experienced backups, and the first wave of Josh Gattis's toys to play with. It'll probably be fine, plus or minus the vagaries of the most variable acts in football.

* [Those numbers are a little goofy because they include opponent field goal efficiency, which isn't really something you control. In 2018 they were 127th (second to last) in opponent field goal efficiency and last year they were 6th. #CollegeKickers happens]

[After the JUMP: Giles Jackson is not down]

It went a hell of a lot better than the last time.

That may sound derisive; it's not meant that way. When these programs played to open the 2012 season, they didn't appear to belong on the same field. In closing the 2019 season, Michigan showed they've covered a lot of ground since. These teams played an evenly matched contest until Alabama salted the game away late and it's fair to say the Wolverines left a lot of yards and points on the field.

Early on, it looked like the game might go the way of 2012. After Michigan got the opening kickoff, Shea Patterson and Nico Collins couldn't connect on two potential big plays, leading to a three-and-out. Alabama took all of one play to take the lead; Mac Jones found future top-five pick Jerry Jeudy one-on-one with a safety and hit him for an 85-yard touchdown. The next Wolverine drive also ended with an off-target throw and a punt. It felt inevitable that the Tide would break the game open.

Instead, a banged-up defense starting a walk-on and a true freshman at defensive tackle bore down. Lavert Hill broke up a third-down throw on a well-timed changeup to cover two from the usual man coverage, forcing Bama to punt it back.

Hassan Haskins had some punishing runs. [Barron]

Josh Gattis drew up an excellent gameplan and it finally paid off on the ensuing drive. The offensive line started opening up holes for Hassan Haskins and Zach Charbonnet, who both were plenty capable of grinding out extra yards against Alabama's five-star-laden defense. Gattis schemed up a big play on a direct snap to Haskins that turned into a flea flicker with Shea Patterson throwing to a wide open Donovan Peoples-Jones. The next two plays beautifully played off each other; first, a split zone to Haskins with jet motion netted a first down, then they faked the same play with Nick Eubanks leaking wide open into the flat for an easy seven-yard touchdown catch.

After the defense got another quick stop, Gattis drew up another long gain, this time using Giles Jackson as a running back on a play-action wheel route. Patterson couldn't squeeze in a third-down corner route to Nick Eubanks, who had a step on his man, and Michigan settled for a Quinn Nordin field goal.

Nearly the same sequence capped the first quarter and opened the second. Another stop. Another Michigan drive with multiple first downs stalls out in Bama territory, this time when Ronnie Bell steps out of bounds before catching a would-be conversion. Nordin kicks a 42-yard field goal. While the Wolverines owned a 13-7 lead, it felt like they should've been up 14.

That's a dangerous way to play against a team as talented as Alabama. On the next drive, Lavert Hill had to take a defensive pass interference to prevent another Jeudy touchdown, and Najee Harris hurdled over Josh Metellus for a touchdown two plays after a questionable roughing the passer flag on Aidan Hutchinson extended the drive. Michigan once again worked their way into scoring territory to end the half, only for poor clock management and a sack on Patterson to force a 57-yard field goal attempt by Nordin that eked over the crossbar as the half expired.

Second-half mood. [Barron]

In the second half, the missed opportunities continued, and those from the first half began to sting more. A perfect throw-and-catch from Jones to DeVonta Smith went for a 42-yard touchdown on the half's opening drive. Then came an extended staredown; neither team could crack the other's defense for the next five possessions. Patterson missed a couple more deep passes, this time in the direction of Ronnie Bell.

The proverbial dam broke in the fourth quarter. After two long completions to Jeudy, who finished with 204 yards on six receptions, Jones tossed a score to little-used tight end Miller Forristall when two defenders went with Harris on a wheel route. Forristall hadn't caught a pass since October. Michigan's next drive ended on—guess what—an overthrown deep ball to a well-covered Mike Sainristil.

The defense gave Patterson one more chance to lead an unlikely comeback. That ended in one play. Eubanks appeared to break his route upfield in anticipation of a Patterson scramble drill; instead, Patterson lofted a ball well short of Eubanks and directly into the hands of Shyheim Carter.

Alabama then ground away nearly the entire rest of the game clock, and could've kneeled it out completely, but Nick Saban instead let Harris run in another score—which, fair enough. My only complaint is it made the final score less resemble the closeness of the game.

Michigan belonged. But where Bama scored touchdowns, Michigan managed field goals, and while Mac Jones was money when his receivers were open downfield, Shea Patterson was not. The Wolverines finish the season a disappointing 9-4. Still, it wasn't hard to see the potential in this program today; with a few more on-target throws, this is a dogfight with the Crimson Tide. May next year's quarterback hit them, because it sure looks like they'll be there.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]

No, it wasn't a fun day to be a Florida quarterback. Many more hits in the backfield plus some big runs, crushing blocks, long bombs, field goals(!), and more in GIF form after the jump.

[JUMP]