Wolverines Discuss What Went Wrong Against Buckeyes, Challenge Ahead
11/30/2019 8:25:00 PM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A game that began with promise ended with frustration.
The University of Michigan couldn't match the pace set by Ohio State's offense in a 56-27 loss Saturday afternoon (Nov. 30) that brought an abrupt end to the strong momentum the Wolverines carried into the rivalry game.
"I didn't see this coming," said Wolverine defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson. "We just didn't execute like we wanted to. We've got to dig down next year and see what we've got. You're not going to win games letting up 50, 60 points, and it happened. So, we've got to be better."
Jackson
No. 10 Michigan (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) was riding a four-game win streak, and had outscored Notre Dame, Maryland, Michigan State and Indiana by a combined tally of 166-45.
But the Wolverines could only stay close to the Buckeyes for the first half.
Michigan scored first on a 22-yard end-around run by receiver Giles Jackson -- who became the first first-year player to score a kick return, reception and rush in the same season since Gil Chapman in 1972.
Quinn Nordin missed that point-after kick, but then Shea Patterson hit Donovan Peoples-Jones on a 25-yard scoring pass that made it 14-13.
The Buckeyes, however, scored the next touchdown, and then reached the end zone again after Michigan gave them second life on a drive that appeared over. Khaleke Hudson was offsides on a fourth-and-four punt, and Justin Fields hit Garrett Wilson for 47 yards on the very next play. J.K. Dobbins took it in from the five-yard line after that big play.
The Wolverines never fully recovered from that stretch, falling behind by as many as 26 points before mounting a late charge that was too little, too late.
"We didn't really put them in a position to be pressure on them," said Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, "and then they played really well. They made those plays. They made those drives. They got those stops. ... It got away from us today.
"We'll regroup and come back and play our next game -- regroup and retool."
Patterson was asked about Harbaugh's postgame message to the team and what conversation was made among players in the locker room.
"There wasn't too much talking going on," said Patterson. "Coach Harbaugh just told us to keep our composure and get ready for this bowl game. It wasn't critical on anybody. It's (just) very, very frustrating."
Patterson
Patterson threw for 305 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and became the first Wolverine to eclipse 300 yards passing in three consecutive games. His 1,055 yards in the air also was the most in three straight contests by a Michigan quarterback, and he moved ahead of Tom Brady for No. 8 in career passing with 5,428 yards.
He could have had much higher totals had receivers not uncharacteristically dropped several passes, but he chose to be accountable for the one big mistake he made. Michigan was a touchdown and two-point conversion away from tying the score late in the second quarter, but Patterson fumbled a shotgun snap that was slightly to his right while definitely catchable.
That third-and-nine play at the OSU 12-yard line resulted in a fumble recovery by Buckeye defensive tackle Robert Landers, and the Wolverines never got closer on the scoreboard.
"The turnover by myself was huge," said Patterson. "You can't fumble the ball down there. We game-planned all week and tried to execute as well as possible."
There was one last surge by Michigan.
The Wolverines made it a 15-point game with Nordin's second field goal and a two-yard run out of the Wildcat formation by tailback Hassan Haskins (78 yards rushing), who added the two-point conversion on a run of sheer determination that included two straight-arms to fend off defenders.
Michigan scored more points against the undefeated and No. 2 Buckeyes than any other team this season, while also passing for more yards and gaining more yards in total offense with 396 than any other opponent, but still lost by 29 points.
OSU quarterback Justin Fields threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns, and combined with Dobbins (211 yards rushing and four touchdowns) for the bulk of their team's 577 yards total offense.
While glancing at the statistic sheet, Hutchinson, who had a team-high 10 tackles, said, "It's hard to look at. ... We're a lot better than the numbers on this sheet. We're a better defense than this. We're a better team than this."
Hutchinson
Michigan players were repeatedly asked about the scoreboard gap that exists in "The Game," which OSU won, 62-39, last year in Columbus. They were asked about the frustration of the eight-game losing streak and what it will take to break it.
"We've got to play the same way for four quarters," said Patterson, "and not just two or three. We came out firing in the first half and things were rolling a little bit. It's just frustrating, very frustrating, not being able to get this win. I just love my teammates and coaches and everything about this university. So, yeah, it's very frustrating."
Hutchinson said, "I just don't think we executed well. It wasn't anything we hadn't seen before. It was all as expected. We've just got to execute better and do our jobs, and we didn't, and that hurt us."
Tight end Sean McKeon said, "No one's very happy. It's definitely very frustrating -- especially for the seniors. But it's just kind of the same thing every year. We've got to execute, and it gets old, but we've just got to play better against them. ... They're just a team. They're not an NFL team, and we just have to play better against them. They did their job better than we did ours."
When asked to sum up their careers after their last home games, Patterson and McKeon -- whose career-long 41-yard catch in the first quarter set up a touchdown -- came the closest to smiling.
"From day one it's been a dream come true," said Patterson, who grew up rooting for the Wolverines as a young boy in Toledo, Ohio. "To come to play football for the University of Michigan, I wouldn't really change anything. Obviously, we wanted to win this game, but I wouldn't want to go to war with anyone else other than the guys in that locker room.
"Each and every single week, those coaches, I have so much respect for those guys and the seniors. It's something I'll cherish and remember for a very long time, putting on the maize and blue. Yeah, just very thankful."
McKeon said, "The last four years have been the best four years of my life. I love this school and university. I definitely wouldn't want to play anywhere else. The seniors gave their all to this team, and we've still got one more game to play for and one more game to win. So, I'm looking forward to preparing for that and getting the Dub ('W')."
The Wolverines will learn their bowl destination Dec. 8.
"We're just going to have to get better from this experience and the loss," said graduate student and outside linebacker Jordan Glasgow. "We should've been right there, and this result isn't the result we should've seen. But it's the one that we have, and we just have to live with that.
"We're looking forward to the next game and that's the bowl game, and everyone should be excited to get back out on the field to correct the mistakes that were made today."
