South Carolina 26, Michigan 19
[Marc-Gregor Campredon]
New year, same Michigan.
In one of the uglier games of an aesthetically unpleasant season, the Wolverines never managed to cobble together a coherent offense, and five-second half turnovers beget 23 unanswered points for South Carolina.
Quarterback Brandon Peters, playing behind a line down three starters by halftime, never looked comfortable. Factoring in two sacks, Peters averaged only 3.7 yards per dropback and missed a number of throws, including two late interceptions to seal the loss. Michigan fared little better on the ground, gaining all of 2.9 yards per carry.
While the Jim Harbaugh takes will reach a level of scorching usually reserved for large celestial bodies, it's fair to criticize the playcalling, which didn't do much to take the pressure off Peters or Don Brown's futilely amazing defense. No single call was responsible for the loss, but the third-and-short handoff to tight end Sean McKeon, fumbled for a South Carolina recovery, defied explanation until Harbaugh, taking responsibility, said after the game that Michigan had the wrong personnel on the field.
[Campredon]
That play was just one in a series of mistakes that turned a 19-3 second-half lead into a 26-19 loss. Karan Higdon fumbled inside the South Carolina five-yard line with the Wolverines leading 16-3 and poised to blow the game wide open. After Michigan added a field goal and SC responded their first touchdown drive, McKeon's fumble gave the Gamecocks the ball on the M 21; they needed one play to score again, with Jake Bentley's pass to Bryan Edwards cutting the lead to 19-16.
Michigan's ensuing drive went nowhere, and the defense—as we've seen too many times this year—cracked under the pressure of supporting an inept offense. Bentley improbably converted a third-and-17 on a jump ball to tight end Hayden Hurst; three plays later, Shi Smith beat Tyree Kinnel clean to the pylon for a 53-yard score.
The comedy of errors continued unabated. After driving Michigan 75 yards in seven plays, Peters committed a cardinal sin of quarterbacking, throwing under pressure across his body to get intercepted in the end zone. When the defense held, SC's punt clanged off Donovan Peoples-Jones's facemask, setting up the Gamecocks with the ball in the red zone, where they'd get a critical field goal to take a two-possession advantage.
Down to one timeout in the waning minutes, Harbaugh decided to go for it on fourth-and-ten deep in his own territory, but Peters's deep shot to Kekoa Crawford wasn't anywhere close to a completion. The defense gave Michigan one last chance, pushing SC back to force a missed field goal. Another interception by Peters, forcing it to a well-covered Crawford, ended it.
Fair or not, this will be a long offseason. The mitigating factors, or excuses, or whatever you care to call them, go away in 2018, when the program will be loaded with talent recruited by Harbaugh. They'll certainly look better than this. They'd better look a whole lot better.
January 1st, 2018 at 6:27 PM ^
David Long was excellent this year. Hudson was also very good.
January 1st, 2018 at 7:31 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 7:44 PM ^
If you are saying David Long was just okay, then that's probably part of your issue.
Also, these guys you're talking about? They are all true sophomores at best.
January 1st, 2018 at 5:15 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:04 PM ^
January 2nd, 2018 at 12:27 AM ^
although he did stare down receivers most of the game.
In this first game he played after his injury it seemed like his check down ability regressed some.
January 1st, 2018 at 5:05 PM ^
Where is the OL line development? Where is the QB development? Why does the defense breakdown in every 2nd half against a decent team?
January 1st, 2018 at 5:06 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:36 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:06 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:44 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 6:36 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:07 PM ^
football game KNEW I mean just KNEW Peters would throw a Interception in the Endzone...I mean its Predictable thats how bad this team has become..Higdons Fumble ,DPJ NUMEROUS Mistakes..all so very predictable
January 1st, 2018 at 5:09 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:43 PM ^
Losing just sucks, period.
January 1st, 2018 at 5:09 PM ^
Nowhere to go but up? Hell yes
Still my team? Hell yes. Go Blue.
January 1st, 2018 at 5:29 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:42 PM ^
Maize and Blue, through and through. It makes it even more disappointing, but I will always look towards and hope for the future. I continue to think JH is a great coach, but he does need to shake up his staff. Drevno has been a disaster, and his son does not seem to be the answer. Michigan should not be paying for his OJT.
January 1st, 2018 at 5:10 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:27 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:14 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 7:12 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:14 PM ^
I don't ever think I've seen such a prolonged meltdown by a Michigan team in a single game. I remember a top-ranked Miami team fighting back, and I remember the Buffs' Hail Mary, but a complete breakdown with a 16-point lead while driving into the endzone to seal it with two minutes left in the third quarter. And then the fumble ...
Brutal day, Michigan brethren.
Brutal day
January 1st, 2018 at 5:23 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:23 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 6:56 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:26 PM ^
This coaching staff and the team are one big dumpster fire!
We are three seasons in on our savior's reign and I ask you....where is the improvement over Brady Hoke? At least with Hoke he didn't cost the athletic department an arm and leg.
I've been a fan of this team since the late 70's when my cousin went to UofM and dated one of the players (Mike Jolly).
I've also supported this team by traveling up from NC and attending at least one home game a season. I'm not doing that anymore....I'M DONE!
January 1st, 2018 at 5:28 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:40 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:40 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:27 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:48 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 6:14 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:50 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:51 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 6:33 PM ^
I'm not calling for Harbaugh's head myself, but the assertion that "this was predicted before the season started" is complete horseshit, both in terms of what was predicted at MGoBlog and by other CFB commentators. Nobody was saying that Michigan would go 8-5, lose ugly to MSU at home, and literally shit the bed with a listless performance against a mediocre 8-4 SEC team in the bowl game.
For fuck's sake, we're now having defensive players run onto the field just before the snap without their helmet on. That's nothing less than Hokian.
January 2nd, 2018 at 12:54 AM ^
We played a bad, bad game, but we didn't literally shit the bed - as far as I know (the team hotel could confirm?).
January 1st, 2018 at 7:53 PM ^
Pull your head out.
January 1st, 2018 at 5:29 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 7:08 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 7:23 PM ^
Then you'd better go find them instead of posting tough guy shit on here.
January 1st, 2018 at 5:34 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
I enjoyed watching our offense in 2016. This year, not so much. Was the change from Fisch to Pep the difference, or the players? Both?
January 1st, 2018 at 5:59 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:36 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 5:43 PM ^
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