2018 peach bowl
shea patterson
nico collins
donovan peoples-jones
Michigan lost its last two games of the year, putting a damper on its season
[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Florida 41, Michigan 15 Comment Count

Ethan Sears December 29th, 2018 at 3:34 PM

ATLANTA — Just over a month ago, Michigan rolled into Columbus, the season still bright with limitless potential. On Saturday, two games later, the Wolverines left Mercedes-Benz Stadium having lost every bit of it.

 

The Peach Bowl, even after a loss at Ohio State, was a chance to end the season on a high note. Michigan could have come out of it with an 11th win for only the third time since 1986, having given Jim Harbaugh his first New Year’s Six bowl win in his tenure with the Wolverines. Instead, after a 41-15 loss to Florida, Michigan has all the same questions with no answers.

 

[After THE JUMP: gamer]

 

Things started to fall apart for the Wolverines in the third quarter. Looking for Nico Collins on a deep ball, Shea Patterson failed to see Gators’ safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Not only did Gardner-Johnson pick off Patterson — he returned it to Michigan’s 44-yard line.

 

In the postgame, Gardner-Johnson was asked about the Wolverines. The answer, just one sentence, cuts deep for Michigan.

 

"I don't know how they prepared," he said, "but I don't think they prepared too well."

 

In Florida's locker room, a team that had prepared hard — wanting to win this game to put a cap on its season — emerged.

 

"We had a week and a little minute to study them," Gator defensive lineman Cece Jefferson said. "I just feel like everybody bought in and watched film good. ... We just knew what was coming sometimes."

 

After the interception, Michigan forced the Gators into fourth-and-1, but quickly fell apart from there. Sophomore Kadarius Toney took a jet sweep for 30 yards and Lamical Perine punched it in from five yards out, extending Florida’s lead to 10 with 8:06 to go in the third.

 

The Wolverines followed that with a three-and-out, giving Jordan Scarlett an opening to provide the dagger for the Gators. The running back broke off a 30-yard carry, going through tackle after tackle to get Florida inside the five-yard line. Then, he took a speed option into the end zone, bringing the lead to 17.

 

Michigan cut it to 14 with a field goal, and seemed to have momentum after an ill-fated double-pass forced the Gators into third-and-20. But on the very next play, Perine ran straight past the Wolverines' defense for a 53-yard score, ending any hope of a comeback.

 

Patterson’s numbers — 22-for-36 for 236 yards — weren’t bad, but the throws he missed, including two interceptions, will dominate memory of his performance. As for the run game, replacing Karan Higdon proved tough, as five rushers led by Christian Turner and Chris Evans averaged all of 2.27 yards per carry between them.

 

"We were moving the ball at times and close to getting into a rhythm, but we didn't get the run game going effectively enough," Jim Harbaugh said. "Or the passing game, the protection, and the rhythm in that area to make it -- we got outplayed, really, on that side of the ball." 

 

Without Rashan Gary or Aubrey Solomon — and with Chase Winovich playing hurt — it was apparent that Michigan’s defensive line was missing something. It sacked Feleipe Franks just three times, failing to play up to a standard that has been set higher than that.  As a whole, the Wolverines’ defense — vaunted all year — coughed up big play after big play, giving up 427 total yards.

 

"They were just a better team," Chase Winovich said. "At the end of the day, they seemed like they had us. I think this is an observation, but for the most part, they had us figured out. They knew what we were in and how to manipulate it."

Comments

JohnGalt

December 29th, 2018 at 9:53 PM ^

They don’t have to play football.  Use your high school academic achievements and get into UM on your own merit.   College football is the opportunity to audition for the NFL.  If you don’t want it, then let someone else have a shot.   If you do then shut the fuck up, play football, don’t quit, and go to class.  These kids live like fricking kings so stop the pay the player shit because they receive benefits that the average American can only dream of. 

Joined: 11/29/2018

MGoPoints: 338

FrozeMangoes

December 29th, 2018 at 5:34 PM ^

What's your point?  Yes, they took the deal and part of that deal is they can leave whenever the hell they want.  Now some fans want to change that deal and act like the players have to play.  

The school can cut guys whenever they want and the players can stop playing whenever they want.  Are people as equally upset when JH processes someone who isn't good?  No. Very few people care when that happens. 

Joined: 08/12/2017

MGoPoints: 4183

BornInA2

December 29th, 2018 at 4:56 PM ^

"Should potential draft picks sit out meaningless big ten games?    If a UM team isn’t competing for the big ten then should players sit out the OSU game too? "

Exactly. What started as a very few top players sitting out bowl games has become a flood. And the people who are okay with that seem to think it's an end-state. It's not. And I think we saw some indication of further erosion on this team this year.

Joined: 02/15/2014

MGoPoints: 12802

shoes

December 30th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^

Jake did have an insurance policy. I don't know the terms or what it paid, but he did have a policy. When you start skipping games to avoid an injury that has not occurred yet (as opposed to trying to play with an injury), it is a dicey business. Yes you limit your risk but you can never know to what extent.

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 9571

MGoStrength

December 29th, 2018 at 5:23 PM ^

In all fairness if for not a weird call against OSU and a random muffed punt against MSU he would be:

1-3 against OSU

3-1 against MSU

3-1 against PSU

I'm fine with that.  The bowls I have less of a problem with because well...we've never been a great bowl team.  The teams from the south have a distinct advantage and the W/L records show it.  Here are some other UM coaches bowl records.

Hoke: 1-2 (missed bowls in '14 and '15)

Rodriguez: 0-1 (missed bowls in '09 & '10)

Carr : 6-7

Schembechler: 5-12

It's whatever and there are some real questions about the offense.  The defense less so because the major weaknesses are the safeties (Dax Hill) and the DTs (Hinton & Smith) which have been answered in this recruiting class.  Not beating OSU is the real problem.  But, I sort of tip my hat to Meyer as just being a better coach and recruiter.  Even for OSU's standards Meyer was really really good.  I think they take a step back now that he's gone. 

 

At the end of the day, what are we going to get better than JH?  We are what we've always been minus beating OSU, which is an 8-10 win team who often has good preseason rankings, but often looses in the bowl.  Such is life.  It sure beats life during the Hoke & RR eras.  If we can just start beating OSU once every 3 years it will be fine.  We're never gonna be what Bama, Clemson, or OSU have been the past 5-10 years.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

MGoStrength

December 29th, 2018 at 7:12 PM ^

You're acting like the fans are the ones playing the game.  We aren't winning or losing anything.  We don't control the outcome.  You can chose to be upset about it or you can chose to accept it and hope for better.  It's your choice, but it won't change anything.  If you want you favorite team to win all the time you can always chose to root for Bama instead.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

skwogler

December 29th, 2018 at 7:26 PM ^

Tend to agree with this post.  I am an alum BSChemEng 91.  Been going to games since 1980.  A season ticket holder although my nephew is using them since I currently live in Australia .  I like Harbaugh and it is hard to imagine Michigan finding a better coach.  I would be happy with a competitive team every year that has a 50% chance of beating the Buckeyes and makes a run at a National Title every 5 years or so. All done with integrity, kids graduating with meaningful degrees.  I may be a bit old fashioned but that's the way I see it.

Joined: 02/13/2015

MGoPoints: 249

rbailerum1

December 29th, 2018 at 9:34 PM ^

Ok, thank you for your post and comments. I get what you are saying. And my reply is offered with respect, sincerely. 

You included two failed coaches by mentioning Hoke and RR, so not sure that’s a strong argument, unless the expectation is for Harbaugh to simply be better than them (he is). And though we were indeed close against OSU once and MSU once, we still lost those games. And it’s not like Harbaugh was close to Meyer in other years. He got blown out at home his first year, beaten by multiple scores his third year and beaten worse than any Michigan coach in HISTORY has even been beaten by OSU this year. Those losses count. Being close one of those years pales in comparison. Had the “close” game been this year, you could argue that we are getting better. But we aren’t actually getting better. Score-wise, we are getting worse. Each year (except the 2nd). That’s not good and it should not be glossed over. 

Agaisnt MSU, yes, again, we should have won a couple years ago, but no, we didn’t. Fluke or not, we still lost. And our losses to MSU are often agaisnt inferior teams with inferior players, with all due respect to them. We either honor the recruiting rankings or we don’t. We can say they matter on signing day but say they don’t when MSU beats us again. And yes, we’ve beaten them twice now, and that’s good! But since we are looking at scores, our first win should have been a blowout...it’s was scarily close. Our recent win was agaisnt an MSU team that had like 437 injuries, including their starting QB, RB and WR. So, yeah, a win is a win, but not exactly dominating. 

Meyer is indeed a once in a generation coach. But THAT is what Harbaugh wa supposed to be. Either we accept that he’s not or we say he’s not lived up to his billing. You can’t have it both ways. In Meyer’s FIRST year, he took a 6-6 team and went undefeated. Damn. That’s awesome. Playing for the Playoff is expected at OSU. At Michigan, we are literally still trying to win our division (still haven’t done it outright). Meyer is amazing, despite what those in this thread say about him being the devil. You could argue he’s on par or better than Saban if you look at how good he’s been at multiple places (but that’s another argument). But saying that Meyer is just better is saying that Harbaugh will never be great. If that’s acceptable to you, that’s ok, but it means we have different expectations for Michigan, and certainly had different ones for Harbaugh.  

Regarding the last point re: “Who will we get that’s better”? I’m so tired of this argument, with truly all due respect. First off, all those who are “football coach recruiting experts”, raise your hands. I’ll wait. My guess is the moderators of this blog may be, but it’s otherise a small band. Why is it that everyone thinks they know all the available coaches? Who thought Dabo Sweeney would take frickin’ Clemson to ‘Bama-like places (not quite, but close)? Anyone? How about ND’s coach (drawing a blank and too pissed to look it up!)? He’s done better than Harbaugh, significantly. Are you really saying in a country of 350,000,000, there’s not a single available coach that could do better? Will there ever be? Are great coaches dead now, and no one else will rise up? Of COURSE there are better coaches! Plenty of them. The fact that you can’t name them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. 

And being bad in bowls because we are from the north? I’m not even going to address that one. 

Listen, I’m a Michigan grad. I’ve been going to games since I was 8. My nicknames have been  “Mr. Michigan” and “The General” (Gary Grant) in my lifetime. Harbaugh was my boyhood idol when he played. I WANT him to be great! I’d do anything to be wrong! But how long will this go on before we say that maybe he’s not the right fit? It doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, or that he isn’t a good coach. He’s certainly succeeded in many places! But if he’s met your expectations, after 4 years and too recruiting classes, then again, we have grossly different expectations. 

 

GET A FUCKING OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, JIM! DAMN!

Again I repeat that I mean this all with great respect. 

Joined: 11/26/2016

MGoPoints: 51

MGoStrength

December 29th, 2018 at 10:16 PM ^

And our losses to MSU are often agaisnt inferior teams with inferior players, with all due respect to them.

I think this is your perception talking versus reality.  UM out-recruited MSU, but those underrated recruits that went to MSU turned out to be some pretty good players.  We lost to MSU in '15 27-23 on the muffed punt.  That MSU team won 12 games.  They beat Oregon, PSU, & OSU that year and they featured a number of NFL players including Allen, Conklin, Waynes, Langford, Lippett, Drummond, etc.  The other year we lost in a rain storm with our 3rd string QB who had 4 turnovers.  That MSU team won 10 games and finished the season #10 in the nation and featured NFL players in McDowell, Nicholson, Bullough, etc.

In Meyer’s FIRST year, he took a 6-6 team and went undefeated. 

Meyer took over in 2012.  In 3 of 4 years prior to Meyer arriving at OSU they had a top 5 recruiting class.  In the 2 years before JH took over UM's recruiting classes were #37 and #20.  Meyer walked into a loaded team.  JH walked into a tire fire.

And being bad in bowls because we are from the north? I’m not even going to address that one. 

Let's look at some other northern Power 5 blue blood bowl records recently.

OSU: 6-6 in last 12 bowl games

ND: 6-8 since 2000

PSU: 3-5 since '09

Harbaugh was my boyhood idol when he played. I WANT him to be great!

No offense, but I think you're living in a fantasy of nostalgia.  JH played at UM from 1983-1986.  In the 4 seasons he was at UM their records were 9-3, 6-6, 10-1-1, & 11-2 and they lost 3 of 4 bowl games.  I think you want UM to be what Bama, Clemson, & OSU have been.  I don't blame you for wanting that, but UM has literally never been that.  Bo had a good run of 10-11 win seasons in his early tenure with a few 8-9 win seasons mixed in there.  But, his bowl record was also 5-12.  And, that was almost 40 years ago!  What gives UM fans the right to expect we are going to be a modern day Bama/Clemson/OSU?  I think you're just mad because you thought JH would be as good as Meyer and it's a hard realization that he's not.  Sorry.  Meyer is gone now and it's unlikely Day will be as good so we'll probably get closer to OSU.  But, Sweeney and Saban aren't going anywhere.  Times have changed and by and large UM has not.  If they want to be a national contender they need to do what they do.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

TheCube

December 30th, 2018 at 12:01 AM ^

What gives UM FANS THE RIGHT? How about the god damn AD always parading around the fact that we are the winningest program in the sport!!

 

Maybe Michigan should just stop marketing itself like a blue blood then since you know we were never good to begin with. 

 

Fucking idiots you guys are. 

Joined: 12/19/2018

MGoPoints: 31598

rbailerum1

December 30th, 2018 at 9:55 AM ^

Great points! Thank you for replying. I appreciate it. Here are my thoughts  :)

 

Recruiting MSU:

My comment about “inferior talent” was referring to recruiting rankings. I apologize, I thought that was implied. It is of course not my perception that UM out-recruits MSU, it is everyone’s perception. Literally every single recruiting analyst and pundit. So this is not really a reality vs perception issue, as much as that supports the counter argument. Michigan gets dramatically higher ranked recruits than MSU. That is the ONLY point I was attempting to make. By “inferior talent”, I was saying that MSU is working with less than Michigan is from a recruiting standpoint, NOT that MSU’s players aren’t talented or don’t have potential. You basically made my point for me. Dantonio is a better developer of talent than Harbaugh. That is fine, but not as much when you are the 3rd highest paid coach in America. MSU certainly has great players, but more, they seem to develop their players, and mostly, they play better as a team. 

 

Recruiting OSU:

I re-read my post, and I can’t find where I suggest that Harbaugh should have won all his games his first year as a coach. It seems you were inferring that? The point about Meyer was that Meyer wins with talent, immediately, and Harbaugh not as much (at least not to the same degree). And how has Dantonio done with “lesser” recruits? We can’t say, “Well Meyer gets great recruits, thus his success” right after pointing out that Dantonio also wins, but with lesser recruits (granted, that was my contention, but I don’t think it’s controversial). 

All that said, how has Harbaugh recruited since he arrived? Pretty good I’d say. He has at least one Top 5 recruiting class, and another Top 10 (if not 2), and another Top 5 on the way. Either he’s not recruiting the right players, or he’s not doing as much with those players as you’d think. 

 

Bowl game success

So, OSU and ND are basically 500 in bowls recently (which is not much of an “historical” view, but I’ll enterrtain it), and PSU just under that, but history fails to mention that PSU was rebuilding from a national disgrace during that period, so... And which bowls were OSU and ND in that they lost? Was it The Pea-Shooter Down Home Bowl, or something a little more prestigious? Progress is losing in the Playoff or NC game, not losing badly in The Peach Bowl or to a South Carolina team you should have beaten. Losing to FSU is understandable, and it was a close game. But the other two were embarrassing.

 

Harbaugh nostalgia

lol. Friend, can you show me where my “love” of Harbaugh ever implied that his QB success at UM meant he won all his games as a QB, or where I ever suggested that history shows we need to get back to the glory days? I’m not even sure what to make of your response, truly. I simply said I was a fan of his, and was pointing out that I’ve been a fan of his since his playing days. My point was that I am rooting for him. At no point did I suggest that as a QB he led Michigan to 4 undefeated seasons and needs to take us back to the promised land of National Championships.

 

But...since we are talking about past success, how many B10 Championships did he win as a player? How many did Bo win as a coach? How about Carr? How many did they even compete for? How many B10 championships did Bo compete for in his 20 years? How long did it take Bo to beat his rival? To win a big game. To compete nationally. To win a B10 Championship? How about Carr? Hell, I’ll even throw in Moeller for us! Didn’t we think Harbaugh would be a vast improvement above all those, maybe with the exception of Bo? (Yes, we are all aware that Bo never won a NC....got it). Did Bo inherit a ridiculously talented team? Granted it was a different era, but you are the one who is comparing eras.  

 

Now, how many has Harbaugh won as a M coach? How many out-right division championships has Harbaugh won? How many B10 championships games has M even played in since he arrived? How many rivals has he beaten? How about Top 10 teams? 

 

The point isn’t to be mean to Harbaugh or even unfair. It’s not trying to throw him under the bus. It’s simply saying that we must embrace reality, and honestly maybe that’s your point too. It seems that you have already embraced it and believe that this is his ceiling. That is ok to believe. However, it’s not a stretch to say that Harbaugh was brought here to compete for and win championships, both B10 and National. This was his own expectation, the AD’s expectation, the fan base’s expectation and just about every pundit’s expectation. My guess is it was your expectation too at some point. So far he’s not been able to do that, barely even close. If you think he’s getting better and we will get there, I respect that. But it’s bull to say, “We’ve never been that good, so you should never expect it”.

 

What were your expectations from 4+ years ago? Did you say then, “At year 4, I doubt we’ll ever beat OSU, will struggle agaisnt MSU, will win zero B10 Championships or even compete for any, and certainly won’t win a NC”? If so, you are better at this than literally everyone else who does it for a living.  

 

Success as a team

So, the logic is thus:

1) Michigan has never been a national power (this is untrue on many levels), therefore they never will be? Hmm...how did Dabo do it?”. Is Clemson a historical blue blood and I’m just having amnesia? And have no programs even in history ever gotten better as programs? So, you pay a coach 7 million a year, at the time the highest paid coach in America and of all time, and 1) losing to your rival each year and often BADLY is ok, 2) losing bowl games to inferior teams, and often BADLY is ok, 3) showing marginal progress in 4 years is ok, 4) showing no ability to adjust or be creative on offense is ok. 

If that’s ok with you, my friend, more power to you. My guess is it’s not ok to most, including me. 

I repeat that I mean all this with respect to you. I don’t mean to attack you or suggest you are a fool or such.  We just disagree, and that’s totally ok. 

Joined: 11/26/2016

MGoPoints: 51

MGoStrength

December 30th, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^

I understand that you're frustrated by the bowl games the past few years and by the offense.  We all are.  Those are legitimate gripes that JH has to answer to.  But, getting paid too much, not winning championships, and losing to OSU seem meh.  Is he overpaid, probably?  But, why do we care if UM choses to pay a guy that much?  I don't think we really care, we just want to win more.  He got paid well because that was his market value at the time.

 

I think the media are the ones that sold people on bringing UM "back to greatness" story line.  JH nor the guy that hired him never promised anything.  I know UM used to win conference championships more often, but we can't win one because OSU is in our division and never loses more than one game in conference and we can't beat them.  I get it.  We hoped JH would be the answer to Meyer in the way he was to Pete Carroll and that hasn't been the case.  Meyer is the better coach and recruiter.  It is what it is.

 

I disagree that UM has ever been a national power in the modern era.  When was UM a national power?  In the 70s?  For 3 years in the late 90s?  We also lost 4 games in 4 consecutive years prior to our NC in '97.  Would you accept that?  And that's not really the modern era.  That was more than 20 years ago.  OSU is the only team to win a NC north of the Mason Dixon line in the last 20 years.  The teams that win the NCs other than OSU are all from the south.  Some criticisms are warranted and need work, but others I think are just accepting what we are and what we are competing against.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

A Lot of Milk

December 29th, 2018 at 4:04 PM ^

1-9. I assume that one win is over Wisconsin in 2016. Which means that the stat is only counting games in which the other team was top 10 at the time of the game. So Penn State in 2016 doesn't count, even though they won out, won the big ten, and played in the rose bowl after we destroyed them. 2015 MSU is a loss because of the most improbable play in football history. 2016 OSU is a loss because of a fucking literal inch (and maybe even then it should've been a win). FSU 2016 is a loss on a blown kickoff coverage where our best player didn't play and our best offensive player tore his ACL. I can go on and on, but the truth of the matter is that these stats are made with the goal of making the most unbelievable summary of a half decade of football without including the actual facts of the actual games

Joined: 02/17/2013

MGoPoints: 48623

Mattinboots

December 29th, 2018 at 3:40 PM ^

The offense couldn’t find a big play after the fourth drive and struggled to get into the end zone when the opportunity presented itself, again. 

The defense, especially Metellus, just looked completely lost. Even when there was pressure on Franks there guys glaringly wide open for him to dump it off too. 

We are a perennial top-15 team with Harbaugh. But, we need something special to emerge somewhere, some kind of consistent and positive identity (and the D isn’t it these days), to make that next leap 

Joined: 11/21/2008

MGoPoints: 10505