Patterson Delivering Passes Through Rain, Sleet, Snow and Gloom of Night

By Steve Kornacki

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- It rained. It snowed. There was probably even a little sleet mixed in there as the gloom of night settled into the scene at Memorial Stadium.

Rain, sleet and snow -- nothing could stop Wolverine quarterback Shea Patterson from the swift completion of touchdowns and other long passes.

The unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service applied to Patterson in Saturday's (Nov. 23) 39-14 win at Indiana. He completed 20-of-32 passes for 366 yards and five touchdowns against the Hoosiers, becoming the first University of Michigan quarterback to throw four or more scoring passes in consecutive games.

I asked head coach Jim Harbaugh if Patterson's ability to complete passes and move a team in nasty weather is connected to the fact that he grew up playing in winter weather in Toledo, Ohio, as well as the hard rain in Shreveport, Louisiana.

"I don't know exactly," Harbaugh said with a wide smile. "He's just really talented, and we're riding him. His play has just been outstanding. He's really seeing the field well, and is taking care of the ball at all times. It's rare that it's even close to a turnover. He's doing a great job in that regard, and playing really good, disciplined football.

"Doing a great job of going through his reads. He's getting really good protection from our offensive line and the running backs, there was a lot of blitzing out there today, and our offensive line did an extremely good job, so did our backs, of picking it up and allowing us to make the big plays. We hit some big plays into the teeth of the blitz today, and had some big conversions, and the receivers have been outstanding."

Add "the teeth of the blitz" to the wintry weather mix, and there was plenty to overcome.

Sean Patterson, the quarterback's father who has been a Wolverine season ticket holder back to the Bo Schembechler era, thumbed through the text messages from his son to come to one with a photo of him playing in a driving rain in the Notre Dame blowout that began the team's four-game winning streak.

Sean read the message from Shea that accompanied it: "I'm weatherproof, Dad."

Indeed.

"You've just got to deal with the elements -- whatever's thrown at you," said Patterson. "You have to be ready for that, and as an offense we were ready for that."

Nico Collins, who had career highs of 165 yards receiving and three touchdowns as well as matching his best effort with six receptions, has caught seven of Patterson's 21 TD passes this season.

"Nico being Nico," said Patterson. "That last one, he just went up and got it. He's a playmaker who finds the open space, and it's cool to see him take off."

The score was 14-14 when Collins went up in the left corner of the end zone to catch a jump ball that gave Michigan the lead for good with 5:37 remaining in the first half.

Collins added to the lead in the third quarter when he caught a quick slant pass in the seam of zone coverage, and then blazed his way past defenders before winning the final sprint to the end zone for 76 yards. It was the longest Wolverine pass play since Patterson hit Donovan Peoples-Jones for a 79-yard touchdown last year at Michigan State.

That made it 32-14 late in the third quarter, and the rout was on.

Patterson next hit Collins for a 19-yard touchdown on the first play after Michigan defensive end Josh Uche's strip sack of Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey, and the Wolverines exhibited their quick-strike potential. That gave them two touchdowns in a span of 3:31.

"Nico was just ridiculous out there today," said Harbaugh. "Great game for Nico Collins."

Collins, 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, is a matchup problem for smaller cornerbacks. And the defensive dilemma is compounded by the fact that Peoples-Jones, who had a 41-yarder and an 11-yard touchdown catch that he went up for and caught while falling backward, and Tarik Black (three catches for 30 yards) also are big, mismatch receivers.

Factor in Ronnie Bell, who opened the scoring with a six-yard catch on a beautifully-thrown fade route and last week was the big target with nine catches for 150 yards against Michigan State, and the emerging talents of freshmen Giles Jackson (an electrifying, 50-yard catch and run) and Mike Sainristil (35 yards down the left sideline on a third-and-four pass), as well as talented tight ends Sean McKeon and Nick Eubanks, and there are so many options.

"All those guys," said Patterson, "just give them a chance because they're playmakers."

He puts the ball up and they catch it.

"I think we just trust each other," said Patterson. "We always believe in ourselves, but when things are clicking like they are now, we lean on our defense, our defense has played great all year, and we try to play up to their level, and we complement each other well."

Collins said: "Shea believes in me, and I believe in him."

Harbaugh pointed out that the entire offense has "jelled" and that trust is an important part of that.

Michigan has outscored Notre Dame, Maryland, MSU and Indiana -- all teams ranked in the Associated Press poll at some point this season -- by a 166-45 tally during the win streak.

Patterson has really picked it up in the last two games against the Spartans and Hoosiers, completing 44-of-65 passes for 750 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception.

What's working best for him?

"Shea was making all the right reads on RPOs," said offensive tackle Jon Runyan, "and he's getting the ball out on time. He's not holding on for too long. ... Receivers are making 50-50 balls look easy. Running game is lacking, but when Shea and the receivers are going like that, there's really no one that can stop us.

"It's very awesome to watch."

Collins said, "Credit the offensive line. They're giving Shea time to throw, and he's going through all his reads and throwing to his receivers. He's going through the progressions and finding the open receivers. He's giving us a chance."

Uche added, "Anyone can be a practice All-American, but to come to fruition on game days is like magical. So, just knowing what somebody is capable of doing, and seeing him execute was just great to see."

Shea Patterson

The weather elements created a true late-season atmosphere that Michigan fans in attendance reveled in during another dominating win. The Wolverines have won four straight by at least 25 points heading into Saturday's (Nov. 30) regular-season finale at the Big House with No. 2-ranked Ohio State.

While No. 12 Michigan (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) was scoring at will and playing dominating defense, fans chanted, "LET'S GO BLUE!"

With the game put away, the chant turned to: "BEAT OHIO!"

The undefeated Buckeyes (11-0, 9-0) are coming to town just as hot and dominating over the last month.

Patterson moved up to No. 9 in Michigan career passing yards with 5,123, surging ahead of Steve Smith (4,860, 1980-83) and closing in on No. 8 Tom Brady (5,351, 1996-99) and his coach, Harbaugh (5,449, 1983-86), at No. 7.

However, he knows the greatest legacy he could have would be becoming the quarterback who helped the Wolverines break a seven-game losing streak to their arch-rivals.

When asked about turning their focus to Ohio State, defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson noted that talk of that game began quickly upon reaching the locker room after beating the Hoosiers.

Patterson was asked about that.

"We understand the level of intensity this game brings," said Patterson. "Everything we do leading up to this game is already planned throughout the season.

"Just the word 'Ohio State' in itself is enough for us."