Michigan 14, Wisconsin 7
Lewis caught this, somehow. [Patrick Barron/MGoBlog]
A normal recap would probably fixate on Wilton Speight and Amara Darboh totally redeeming themselves. Jourdan Lewis did not make a normal play.
On Wisconsin's last-gasp fourth-and-ten, Lewis made an interception that ranks up there with Charles Woodson's against Michigan State. Yes, that one. Running full speed in man coverage against George Rushing, Lewis appeared to leap far too early on a deep shot down the middle. He hung in the air, kept his eyes on the ball, and plucked it backhanded out of the air, somehow pinning it against his body to keep it off the turf.
"I've seen Odell Beckham Jr. do that. It looked like that kind of play. The most impressive thing about it is he jumped a little early," said Jim Harbaugh. "He was able to hang in the air and make a spectacular play."
Was Harbaugh upset given Lewis could've improved M's field position by simply batting the ball down?
"I'm really glad [he caught it] because it was a spectacular, spectacular football play."
Field position be damned, Lewis's incredible play allowed Michigan to run out the clock in a stressful, mistake-filled one-score win.
Despite dominating the yardage battle, 349-159, the Wovlerines were locked in a 7-7 game midway through the fourth quarter. Three missed field goals, two by Kenny Allen and one by replacement Ryan Tice, were partially to blame for the tight score.
"We'll have a little kicking competition this week," said Harbaugh. "It'll be an opportunity for Ryan Tice. Hopefully we make them next time." He added that freshman kicker Quinn Nordin is injured, which explains his absence the last couple weeks.
Some of the blame also fell on Speight, who'd been scattershot for most of the afternoon and forced a ball to Jake Butt that got tipped and picked off to set up UW's only score, a perfectly thrown wheel route to Dare Ogunbowale. Darboh was also partially culpable after dropping a potential third-down conversion on M's opening drive of the fourth quarter.
[Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog]
On the very next Wolverine drive, all was forgiven. On first down from the Badger 46-yard line, Darboh got a step on corner Derrick Tindal down the sideline. Speight uncorked his best throw of the day, hitting Darboh in stride for the eventual winning score.
"It was perfect," said Darboh. "Wilton put a perfect ball in and I just had to run underneath it."
"I saw single-high one-on-one with Darboh." said Speight. "That's probably the best thing as a quarterback you can hear: one-on-one with Darboh."
Speight capitalized. That was all the defense needed. Two punts and Channing Stribling's second interception followed to give Michigan the ball with 3:24 left at the Wisconsin 45. Harbaugh clearly felt comfortable putting the game in the hands of Don Brown; the Wolverines ran three straight times, then Allen pinned the Badgers at the own eight-yard line.
"It was a game ball for Don Brown kind of a game," said Harbaugh.
Brown's defense finished the game emphatically. Jabrill Peppers stoned a swing pass to Ogunbowale for no gain on first down. Pressure from the D-line forced a low pass from Alex Hornibrook that Robert Wheelwright couldn't haul in on second down. Ben Gedeon raked the ball out of Troy Fumagalli's hands to force an incompletion on third down. Then Lewis did his combination Woodson/Beckham impression.
While self-inflicted errors made the score too close for comfort, Michigan survived their first truly tough test in their first game that was close wire-to-wire. It was tough to sit through. It also provided the opportunity for an all-time highlight.
I'll take it.
October 1st, 2016 at 10:16 PM ^
October 1st, 2016 at 10:44 PM ^
October 1st, 2016 at 10:46 PM ^
I'm really excited about the win, but at this point in the season I don't have a ton of hope that we will beat OSU, which at the beginning of the season I did. We need Speight to improve by quite a bit, which he can, but we also need the o-line to improve quite a bit too, and get a reliable kicker. As good as our defense is, I doubt we're holding them under 20 pts.
October 2nd, 2016 at 12:31 AM ^
That game is roughly two months off. You saw improvement each and every week last season, with a bit of a lull in the middle, then a huge improvement. They're doing the same this year, but building off the improvement they made last season and the beginning of this one.
The OL unit was creating nice holes but that was a hell of a defense. They shut Butt down, which of course was their plan , as it should be but we put up significant yardage, ehld them to basically nada, and we are talking a no. 8 team that had beaten 2 top tens. We will grow prior to OSU, and if we are not good enough this season we will be. But my advice, as a fan of 48 years now, enjoy each victory, enjoy watching the program make strides........huge strides. Think about where we were in Nov, 2014 and where we are now. If you aren't smiling when thinking about that, I don't know if you ever will be.
October 2nd, 2016 at 10:12 PM ^
"We will grow prior to OSU".
Unfortunately, so will OSU- they're supposed to be young and inexperienced, remember?
Not saying the sky is falling or there is any reason to panic, but anybody who was proclaiming Michigan would just roll over Wisconsin (and Sparty, etc.) needs to pipe down and be more humble and realistic. It's not going to be easy to get to Columbus at 11-0, no matter how much better we like to think our talent and coaching are. Possible, but by no means a certainty.
And like most teams, Michigan is just one or more injuries on the OL away from a disappointing latter half of the season. I remain hopeful and optimistic, but let's not get carried away. Don't take anything for granted, respect each opponent, and take them one at a time.
October 2nd, 2016 at 8:05 AM ^
Wolfman, you are wise.
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:05 AM ^
Oh yeah, I'm enjoying the progress, but I think we are getting a little ahead our ourselves. I don't think we are the #4 team in the nation. Some of the hype is a little overblown. Our defense is one of the best in the nation, but we have some real offensive questions marks. Chesson does not look like the Chesson of last year. The o-line is questionable especially if Newsome is out for the year. Speight looks great at times, but there are times where he looks shaky and forces the ball into coverage too. Maybe he makes big strides over the course of the season and maybe he doesn't. I wouldn't expect a similar trajectory as Ruddock. That was unique and from a senior QB that had been a multi-year starter. That is not Speight.
It's great to see the improvement and get a top 10 win and be undefeated, but I doubt we are beating OSU this year as I had hoped a month ago. Getting beaten by your rival year after year when you grew up beating them remains a hard pill to swallow for anyone from my generation that grew up in the 80s & 90s.
October 1st, 2016 at 10:57 PM ^
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:11 AM ^
Totally, I will be happy with spanking Sparty and I'm enjoying watching this team play. I wish we could have another year of Peppers! Maybe we will, but I doubt it. But man, every year that goes by with another loss to OSU gets a little harder to deal with. We just can't seem to catch up to them. Coaches on both teams come and go and they remain better than us every year. They just have so much talent every year.
October 2nd, 2016 at 10:27 PM ^
Want to beat OSU SO much more than MSU (not that it is either/or).
The good thing is, we still have a lot of games between now and then to make improvements where needed. Too much looking ahead, while there are still six games between now and then to see improvement, and enjoy each one as a challenge in itself to prepare for, and to celebrate each challenge met, building confidence and performance until November 29th.
October 2nd, 2016 at 8:19 PM ^
October 1st, 2016 at 11:57 PM ^
We must improve a lot before the OSU game, but we more than doubled Wisconsin in both yards and first downs.
If Allen would have been on, we could have been up 16-0 when Wisconsin scored.
Not bad.
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:58 AM ^
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October 2nd, 2016 at 2:03 AM ^
23-7 would have been totally different optics if we woulda hit maleable field goals.
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:16 AM ^
Totally agree, but do you think that will cut it against OSU? It wasn't the score that scares me. It's the kicker situation, the offensive line, and Speight's decision making. We know as good as our defense is, OSU will score points. Can we score enough against them to keep up? That's the question to me and right now and the answer appears to be no. And, injuries are starting to mount for us. OSU is having injuries too, but their backups seem to show less of a drop off than ours do.
October 2nd, 2016 at 2:15 PM ^
I actually don't feel too bad about the offensive line in run blocking. I do feel more concerned about pass blocking, because third and long in this game was usually a non-starter.
October 2nd, 2016 at 3:28 AM ^
think Wisconsin's coach will get the Zook award this week. I believe he punted from the Michigan 35. It was 4th and 10, I guess.
Losing Grant Newsome sucks.
October 2nd, 2016 at 4:44 AM ^
Speight and Darboh redeemed themselves indeed.
Except for a few passes- noticeably the two when those guys connected on the winning scoring drive- they both looked pretty mediocre. Certainly not nearly good enough to move the ball on OSU, or anybody Michigan is likely to face in the post-season, maybe not even on MSU or a couple of others on the schedule.
Speight looks like he is aimiing many tiimes, and missing badly. And though it's nice he wants to extend plays, sometime throwing the ball away (especially on first or second down) really is the best option. It's likely to be more difficult for him to elude rushers when facing a team that has better athletes at DL.
Darboh and Chesson still seem to dissappear for huge chunks of the game recently.
For 3.5 quarters I was actually pissed and yelling at Darboh. He often seems to give up too easily unless the route and the ball are perfect. I believe he needs to get much better at being physical, fighting defenders for the balll, and adjusing to the ball, if he wants any real shot at the NFL.
October 2nd, 2016 at 11:17 AM ^
Speight's placement is what bothers me....early in the game he had TD had he placed his pass high enough for his 6'5" receiver to jump over his 5'7" defender. Instead, Speight throws low and it bounces off the defender for his first "almost" interception of the day.
It's like he doesn't realize his WR's are very tall AND can also jump very very high. Use it to your advantage buddy!
October 2nd, 2016 at 5:44 AM ^
One of the benefits of having Big10 International 2 Go in Sydney is watching games live early Sunday Morning, following along on Twitter. Then watching replays of games at 3 pm in the afternoon. Our team's resume and or status is simply how it performs in its last game.
After re-watching the Wisconsin game twice already, I've concluded a few things:
1) Our Defense will Keep us in every game. Strength is DL and Cornerback Play.
2) Our OL is good but not great. Losing Newsome will hurt.
3) Our kicking game could cost us in tight game. Who killed Kenny?!?
4) Speight is a work in progress. For us to win big games (MSU, OSU and beyond) he will have to channel his inner Big Ben.
5) Our coaching staff is professional. Harbaugh, Drevno and Brown form a three-headed coaching Monster.
We are light years ahead of the RichRod and Hoke coached teams. Bigger, Stronger, FAster and Smarter.
That's all from Down Under!
G'day, God Bless and Go Blue!
October 2nd, 2016 at 6:28 AM ^
I hate the Buckeyes with every fiber of my being, but they are just destroying everyone right now.
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October 2nd, 2016 at 6:36 AM ^
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October 2nd, 2016 at 6:50 AM ^
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:47 AM ^
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October 2nd, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^
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October 2nd, 2016 at 10:52 AM ^
October 2nd, 2016 at 10:40 AM ^
It's a good thing that a footballl bounces funny and no one ever knows when the random happens. College Football is Crazy! Go Blue!!
October 2nd, 2016 at 7:17 AM ^
October 2nd, 2016 at 7:18 AM ^
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:45 AM ^
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October 2nd, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^
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October 2nd, 2016 at 7:41 AM ^
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October 2nd, 2016 at 9:33 AM ^
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:32 AM ^
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:35 AM ^
Wisconsin is a quality team and Chryst is an excellent coach. B1G West better watch out I think we played the west champions. Not looking forward to duking it out with Wisky again!
October 2nd, 2016 at 9:44 AM ^
I have never felt more confident in a defense than I have in ours this year. This includes 1997 and 2006.
October 2nd, 2016 at 10:02 AM ^
There are things to be concerned about and areas to improve, but the missed field goals take away the gloss from this. If we'd been up 13-0 at the half or even 10-0 I don't even think they get points.
Magnuson was really bad yesterday. Idk if anybody else saw him absolutely whiff on Watt on a 3rd down in the 4th quarter leading to Speight getting sacked.
October 2nd, 2016 at 10:11 AM ^
Obivious the game score was not a good indicator of the Wolverines dominating the game. If not for the Wilton poor pass and incredible bounce which led to long interception return and only badger offensive touchdown it's a shutout. Badger offense was rendered to nothing by the magnificent Michigan defense. When that badger quarterback curled up in the pocket sometime in the fourth quarter waiting to be sacked just confirmed all was not right in his mind. Tough day for him. His touchdown pass was a thing of beauty like Wilton's touchdown pass. I've already downloaded the Jordan interception. Jumped a bit early and just floated in anticipation of his beautiful play. The corners and the whole defensive unit were outstanding. Say what you want about Wilton. He hung in there. And Ohio State. Have they played anybody with a semblance of a defense? No. Go Blue!!!
October 2nd, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^
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