Penn State 28, Michigan 21
I don't know what to do with this.
Michigan fell in a 21-0 hole at Penn State and looked well on their way to yet another road debacle against a ranked opponent to add to that stat everyone mentions when Michigan goes on the road against a ranked opponent. Everything from the gameplan to the execution looked ugly. On one side, the Wolverines slammed into the PSU defensive line and dropped potential first downs; on the other, Sean Clifford started hitting shots downfield, including a slot fade to KJ Hamler, who Michigan should've recruited harder, for what looked at the time like an insurmountable three-touchdown lead. Jim Harbaugh called for a punt on fourth-and-one in PSU territory. The officials probably missed an offensive pass interference on the second PSU touchdown.
Then, in a way seemingly designed to inflict maximum emotional pain on both fanbases, Michigan clawed their way back into it. Patterson responded to the Hamler touchdown by leading an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 12-yard Zach Charbonnet touchdown run—though only after an improbable Ronnie Bell snag-a-fumble-out-of-midair-and-run touchdown was negated by penalty. After a deeply bizarre sequence in which Harbaugh had Jake Moody attempt a 58-yard field goal—surprise, it was short—and James Franklin turtled with three timeouts at midfield, the teams went to the locker room with the score at 21-7, Penn State.
The defense set a different tone in the third quarter, limiting PSU to 16 yards, but it looked like the offense failed to take advantage until their final drive of the quarter, when Charbonnet accounted for 45 yards and a touchdown to pull Michigan, improbably, within seven points.
Like cats toying with prey, PSU batted the lead back up to 14 to open the fourth quarter; Hamler found himself one-on-one with Josh Metellus and Clifford made no mistake in taking advantage of a safety defending one of the country's fastest slot receivers. But Michigan fought back again; Bell took a screen 35 yards and Patterson banged in a QB sneak to make it 28-21.
Ronnie Bell's teammates comfort him on the sideline. [Barron]
The defense booted Penn State off the field in three plays, setting up a drive for the tie. While nothing came easy, Patterson looked in his element, hitting receivers on time when plays worked as designed and creating with his legs when they didn't. A crossing route to Erick All set Michigan up with first and goal, but two runs and an incomplete pass only advanced the ball to the three-yard line to set up fourth down.
Patterson niftily escaped pressure, stepped up in the pocket, and found Bell with a sliver of space over the middle. The pass slipped through Bell's hands and fell harmlessly to the turf. Following a first down run by Hamler, PSU knelt out the clock.
All I know is I feel for Bell, who was shown crying on the sideline by ABC's cameras after the drop; he'd played a hell of a game to that point. Patterson's near-heroics inspired newfound confidence, though his stat line (6.7 yards per attempt, no TDs, one INT) looked familiar. The coaching of Harbaugh and Gattis often confounded, but the second-half gameplan looked sound. The defense looked like it was going to take a 2017-style pasting until they stiffened up considerably. Michigan looked overwhelmed by a night game in White Out conditions until they turned that crowd into a collective nervous wreck.
I don't know. Michigan is clearly not winning the Big Ten, and the rest of the schedule is going to be tough, and losing stinks. This time they went down fighting. Whether that's of great comfort is up to you.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
October 20th, 2019 at 12:08 AM ^
I have a feeling you're going to be lovely the first time M basketball loses a game this year.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:15 AM ^
Nope. Howard’s first year. Not his 5th.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:28 AM ^
For some reason, I don't think that will matter for THE CUBE!
October 20th, 2019 at 12:30 AM ^
It's Josh Gattis's first year and you've been very vocal about his failings.
It's okay to be a reactionary blowhard, but at least own up to it.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:39 AM ^
I actually want to keep Gattis for another year. It’s Harbaugh who’s a failure at management that probably needs to go after clinging to a QB who will not win shit here and running a program that’s more haphazard than a bipolar drunk experiencing DTs.
October 20th, 2019 at 1:17 AM ^
How is this Michigan bashing idiot not banned yet?
Calls our players trash and our coach a bipolar drunk.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:17 PM ^
You have to be one of the five or so least intelligent posters on this board. Just dumb shit after dumb shit. Then say a couple of sorta nice things for upvotes and cover. Too bad more people don't see through your bullshit.
Maizen.
October 20th, 2019 at 9:51 AM ^
Did you want Beilein gone too before his teams took off?
October 20th, 2019 at 6:06 PM ^
Didn't Juwan just land a 5* recruit from North Carolina, I thought I heard? That's pretty amazing, if true.
October 20th, 2019 at 2:05 AM ^
Juwan has never beaten a Top 10 team on the road
October 20th, 2019 at 12:18 PM ^
Dude's gotta go. He has only landed like one five star in his entire coaching career.
October 20th, 2019 at 1:32 AM ^
I will miss your football-related posts for the rest of this season, I am sorry to see we won't be getting any more of your huge opinions. But you need to do what's best for you and your family's emotional health.
October 20th, 2019 at 2:49 AM ^
go fuck yourself!!!
October 20th, 2019 at 12:04 AM ^
Nothing worse than outplaying a team and losing. Wisconsin pasted us.
This was just the typical UM curse...not making the big play, not finishing, and finding ways to snatch defeat from the hands of victory.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:09 AM ^
Dude, really? Snatched from victory?
October 20th, 2019 at 12:13 AM ^
Yeah,
all the drops
getting screwed by the refs in first half (should have never been down 21)
totally controlling the line of scrimmage
Outgaining the opponent on the ground and through the air
And the brutal ending with the dropped pass
We should have been up a TD going in for a sealing score...not trying to tie the game.
Better team lost, it happens. Seems to happen to us quite often.
October 20th, 2019 at 6:56 AM ^
It’s called conservative coaching On the road. He coaches timidly and the players react accordingly. Running up the gut on 3rd and 3 a number of times to only get stuffed instead of going away from tendency and passing. Harbaugh turtles on the road and then we show life when we get down and have to play more aggressive to win explains the 1-10 record or whatever it is. Never mind that stupid FG attempt and punting on 4th and 1 inside psu territory.
October 20th, 2019 at 8:20 AM ^
1-20
I agree with you on the turtling. The cult of Harbaugh refuses to acknowledge it.
October 20th, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
1-20? Don't know what stat that is, Harbaugh doesn't even have 20 losses total.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:15 AM ^
Yeah the UM receiver dropped a sure touchdown. Stop being a dumbass
October 20th, 2019 at 12:05 AM ^
Referries mad this game nearly unwinable with the PI-calls (lack of PI-calls; I counted 4 in favor of PSU), and yet Michigan still nearly won. Anyone who said Harbaugh doesn’t care is an idiot
October 20th, 2019 at 12:13 AM ^
I'm not one to blame the refs: if Michigan covered Hamler or Bell held onto the ball they maybe win and it's a footnote. But those were awful calls that swing that first half.
Also, Harbaugh was chewing out the refs all game. It was a welcome sight.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:55 AM ^
all contributing factors,
it's not an either / or
October 20th, 2019 at 8:10 AM ^
^ indeed. From here on out, I would like the team to take their frustrations out on the rest of the BIG. Although it’s rather meaningless, I would love nothing more than to watch M beat the living tar out of the Domers.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:18 AM ^
Second the "harbaugh doesn't care" bs. I watched the "Command Center" version of the stream on the ESPN site, which had two coaches cams set up the entire game, Harbaugh was very animated throughout. The "Harbaugh lost his fire" meme, might be just that. A meme.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:20 AM ^
Harbaugh cares but he's gotta be the dumbest coach in America in terms of in-game decisions. Anyone making fun of Franklin...woof, I present Jim Harbaugh. I blame Brian for the "cackle with knowing glee if Franklin is in a game theory situation". Even when I read that I was like, um, have you seen Jim Harbaugh's decisions?
Going for a 58-yard field goal in that scenario was unconscionable. You literally have a better chance of not only making the first but scoring a TD than you do of making the FG and the downside is the same even in the worst case scenario if you elect to go for it!!!! 7 > 3, Jim. Kids deserved better.
And then when you've proven that you are clearly the better team, and basically crushing them, you have to play faster in the second half. You must extend the game because winning is only a matter of whether you'll have enough possessions.
Michigan was the far better team and was completely dominating but was behind because of drops and awful reffing. Extend the game! Hurry the F up!
October 20th, 2019 at 12:33 AM ^
Franklin followed up Harbaugh's decision by going three and out and using a timeout to stop a running clock that would have ran out the half on fourth down so that he could punt. That's the second time I can recall off the top of my head that James Franklin has called a timeout to punt against Michigan. The other time he used it to avoid taking a delay of game penalty on a play that was an intentional safety. People like to make fun of their intelligence, but Harbaugh and Frames are equal in almost every regard. That's why the home team always wins, except in 2015
October 20th, 2019 at 12:53 AM ^
It was a mistake for Franklin to call that timeout with 20 seconds to go on 4th and 1 at midfield, but had he not, Harbaugh would have as he has in the past.
What the offensive coach wants there is for the defensive coach to fall asleep and let the clock wind down so that the offense can take a infinitesimally small downside Hail Mary. With 20 seconds on the clock, if you don't make it, there's a significant downside in that the other team gets to take the same shot.
October 20th, 2019 at 1:25 AM ^
Franklin's TO there is fine. Punt the ball and see if you can get a muff. Upside is higher than downside from that spot on the field.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:33 AM ^
The pace got to me a bit, but at the same time I rather they run the offense that works for them (in a loud environment) than try to speed it up to play for some mythical future possessions.
They got down to the 3 yard line with a chance to win. And they gave themselves one last chance to get the ball back if they failed. It wasn't that terrible.
October 20th, 2019 at 1:17 AM ^
They should have had far more chances to get the ball back though. They gave their offense only one shot and their defense only one set of downs. Try to win in regulation. Score, stop, score again.
And they didn't get to the three with a chance to win. They had a chance to tie in that position. Make a better effort to win. (I won't even mention the fact they should have gone for two when they scored to make it 20 because that's just too much to ask of someone so lacking in intelligence).
Having a chance vs giving yourself the best chance is very different. That Michigan team was far better then PSU and the coaches failed miserably by not maximizing chances.
I understand that Michigan doesn't practice tempo so they weren't going to get out of their comfort zone tonight but I'm just complaining (even though it should be accepted by now that asking Harbaugh to play tempo is like asking a fish to walk) that they don't have it in their arsenal.
Yes, it was inevitable that they played slowly and it wasn't as bad as the FG attempt but come on.
Tempo is an advantage for the offense if you practice it. Did you watch last weeks game? Tempo not only extends the game, it puts pressure on the defense to get in position faster. The offense knows what they're doing, the defense has to read and react so the less time you give them, the harder it is.
October 20th, 2019 at 7:39 AM ^
Sorry, meant to say tie earlier.
The decision to go for 2 when they scored last is a tough call there. I'm sure Brian and co will argue for it later; it's a perfectly reasonable call but it also ignores context and how a team is doing. Michigan was on the road in a tough environment and coming back from a 21 point hole. It's not a given they'd score on one 2 pt conversion, and I can get wanting to play for OT.
And tempo works in spurts, and if it was a core part of UM's offense they'd be better at it. But last week it worked sometimes for Illinois but also led to two false starts and a couple holds because guys weren't quite set and UM's defenders got penetration. And anyway, getting mad about Michigan not doing something else new after they already tried to overhaul their offense in some ways feels excessive.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:57 AM ^
sometimes i wonder about incipient CTE
October 20th, 2019 at 5:42 AM ^
This. Totally agree. Logged in to up vote.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:24 AM ^
I agree with you 100%. Don’t like making excuses for the team but the refereeing was more than tilted to PSU. Two most critical terrible calls was OPI on Collins in 1st half and DPI on Hill on PSU’s last TD “drive.”
October 20th, 2019 at 12:27 AM ^
The hold on Hill was an iffy call but the WR made a savvy play to take Hill down with him and that gets called every time. Hill did get his hands on him and gave him the opportunity.
There were at least three far worse than that one (the Black slant where the guy was clearly early, the OPI on PSU TE, and the Collins offsetting were all really, really bad).
October 20th, 2019 at 12:05 AM ^
“Whether that's of great comfort is up to you.”
Couldn’t agree more. This is going to be M’s rorschach test. Personally, they looked better today than any game all season. If you squint - there’s a glimmer of hope in the fact this was the toughest road game left.
anyways the season always was coming down to OSU. Win out to that game - with our hardest challenges at home - then it’s all there for us.
well see if Harbaugh is worth that 9 million if he can keep the team engaged.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:10 AM ^
*spoiler alert*
Past evidence is pretty damning. He's not worth the money.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:16 AM ^
"Past evidence" like how he turned around San Diego, Stanford, the 49ers and (yes) Michigan?
October 20th, 2019 at 12:28 AM ^
I'm sorry but this is year 5 and Michigan has won nothing of importance.
No Big Ten titles, no division title, no playoff appearances, no wins against OSU, 2-2 against MSU,1-3 in bowl games, and 1-10 against Top 10 teams.
This is the definition of mediocre. It sucks but there it is. Michigan is a Tier 2 Big Ten team that gets opportunities to play the spoiler. That can be fun as hell.
I just can't see any reason to have an expectation of winning games like tonight or next week.
My apologies for having a different opinion than you.
October 20th, 2019 at 8:26 AM ^
He’s due for a contract extension soon. It was like someone reminded him at halftime. Hopefully it sticks.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:16 AM ^
Harbaugh is barely worth half of 9 million. Michigan is laughably overpaying him at this point.
Just be glad the AD is loaded.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:20 AM ^
My dude, you could be coaching Michigan and make $5 million a year. Salary isn't a fair criticism of Harbaugh. It's what the market dictates
October 20th, 2019 at 12:25 AM ^
In 2019, nobody is paying Harbaugh 9 million a year for 0 results.
Michigan is currently overpaying the fuck out of Harbaugh.
October 20th, 2019 at 9:32 PM ^
coaching salaries have gone up, and so have CEO and officer salaries everywhere.
Really not sure why you only focus on Jim Harbaugh.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:29 AM ^
Hope does nothing at this point though. It's a one game season now but this is a team that should have the chance to play for a division title in that game - not just bragging rights.
October 20th, 2019 at 3:16 AM ^
Two game. I want to see a victory over ND and OSU. Probably will have to pay the football gods with a loss to MSU for that though.
October 20th, 2019 at 8:17 AM ^
No payment should be required to beat MSU. I don’t expect anything less than their best effort, but doesn’t change the fact that their OL is bad and that their secondary is capable of getting picked apart by a competent QB.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:58 AM ^
I think "great comfort" was a really poor choice of words.
It stings.
Nonetheless, the team showed tremendous fight. If Harbaugh teams play like this, the program will be fine. But that's the brain talking. The gut says "FUCK!"
October 20th, 2019 at 2:30 AM ^
It would be fun to watch some wins, but the only thing still there for us is a chance to nerf OSU's playoff chances. The rest of the season goals died today and no future wins are bringing them back.
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