Kornacki: Players on 2OT Defeat
11/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 27, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Wolverines filed into the interview room at Ohio Stadium and sat down at a table, clearing their throats and probably wishing they could just clear their minds of what had just happened. However, they had one more obligation to fulfill, and that was meeting with the media, and putting into words what they were feeling and thinking.
The hurt was visible in their eyes, and that of their head coach, Jim Harbaugh. They had just lost a gut-wrencher, coming out on the wrong side of what Ohio State coach Urban Meyer termed "an instant classic between two great teams," losing, 30-27, in double overtime.
Everyone was left to ponder that one play.
What if one play had gone differently?
What if the video review of Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett's fourth-and-one run in the second overtime had been reversed as Harbaugh believed it should've been. He held his hands about one foot apart in describing how short Barrett came of the first down that was awarded on the field and not taken away.
Harbaugh waved off the play -- which would've ended the game with No. 3 Michigan a 27-24 winner -- during the review and so did several defenders, including Jabrill Peppers and Maurice Hurst.
Though, the only opinion that mattered was that of the replay official, and he wasn't waving.
"I'm bitterly disappointed with the officiating," Harbaugh told reporters "I can't make that any clearer."
However, there were other plays to discuss and ponder in the defeat at the hands of the No. 2 Buckeyes (11-1, 8-1).
The 17-7 lead the No. 3 Wolverines (10-2, 7-2) took midway through the third quarter Saturday afternoon (Nov. 26) had slipped through their fingers, leaving them to wonder where their next game would be played in either a bowl or playoff semifinal game, which remained a remote but not impossible destination.
The 10-point lead wasn't enough.
"Yeah," said Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight. "That's pretty disappointing in a game of this magnitude, and the fight that we've put in as a team since January after the bowl game. It all came down to this game, 'The Game,' and the way it played out, an incredible game, but we came up short."
Fullback Khalid Hill scored on a one-yard run and an eight-yard pass for the points that put the Wolverines ahead and then padded the lead to 10. He could've been a big hero in victory but instead was just an important contributor in defeat.
He was asked to put the highs and lows of the game into words.
"It was a struggle," said Hill, leaning forward toward the microphone. "I got stopped on the goal line earlier, and then Coach (Harbaugh) showed the trust he had in me by giving me the ball again. But it's not about me, it's not selfish. We wanted to get the win as a team, but we fell short as a team.
"We have to keep our heads up and keep moving."
Michigan was one win away from Saturday's (Dec. 3) Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis and all its dreams. Playing in a top bowl game will almost surely be its reward for a pretty good season, but the day to feel good about that was not Saturday.
Speight had been questionable all week with an upper body injury that caused him to miss the home game finale win over Indiana. But he started and threw for 219 yards. He had some glorious moments -- including two touchdowns, one in overtime -- and some plays he would like to have back, like his two interceptions and his fumble two yards from the goal line.
"I made a couple mistakes," said Speight. "It was unfortunate to get my hand tipped when I was throwing out of my end zone, which resulted in a pick six (by safety Malik Hooker). And I was trying to force another ball into too tight of a window."
He cleared his throat and said, "Yeah."
There was no getting those plays back.
"It's a bummer," said Speight. "I feel like I let the defense down with the mistakes I made. It stings. But we had opportunities throughout the rest of the game, and we were able to capitalize on it in the first overtime. In the second overtime, I am not going to get into the calls that the refs were making."
Speight threaded a five-yard touchdown pass to Amara Darboh on a clutch, fourth-down play to force a second overtime. Michigan went back on offense immediately after that, as per overtime rules, and settled for a 37-yard field goal from Kenny Allen after a pass went incomplete on third down, and Harbaugh didn't get the defensive holding call he wanted.
Replays showed OSU cornerback Gareon Conley gripping receiver Grant Perry to keep him from catching the crucial pass that would've kept the chains moving for Michigan.
"He clearly was being hooked before the ball got there," said Harbaugh, who also took exception to the 15-yard pass interference call on safety Delano Hill on third down that kept the Buckeyes' game-tying field goal drive going at the end of regulation.
Harbaugh said, "The ball is uncatchable and by the receiver. It was a gift interference call."
Close calls that went the other way were the main topic of conversation during Harbaugh's press conference after a game in which his team was penalized seven times for 59 yards compared to two penalties for six yards for the opponents.
Allen -- who was outstanding in every phase of the kicking game -- would've kicked the game-winner had Barrett indeed been deemed short on fourth down before Curtis Samuel ran for the game-winning touchdown.
"Kenny made a good field goal," added Speight, "and (then) I'm pretty sure that our defense made a stop, but they didn't according to the replay. We just came up a little short."
Asked if the Wolverines had played well enough to win, Speight quickly said, "Absolutely."
When asked if Michigan and OSU were the conference's top teams, Speight said, "Yeah, absolutely. Along with Alabama, we are arguably one of the best teams in the country. I don't know how it's going to shake out with the committee and all that. I'm sure our chances are slim to none now. It's a bummer that we don't get another shot at those guys (OSU) this year."
Speight said he believed his team deserves to be one of four selected by the College Bowl Playoff committee members.
"Seeing two heavyweights go into double overtime," said Speight, "I think that speaks volumes for our chance at the playoffs."
Harbaugh said he "didn't know" if his team deserves a playoff spot, adding, "We make our case on the field."
However, he loves this team and the grit it's shown and got into that when asked if he believed his team deserved to win this game.
"Our guys have worked incredibly hard," said Harbaugh. "They have done everything that they could and have done it so very well. I am really proud of our players, yes.
"That's what I told them."
