The No. 12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0) stuck it to the No. 14 Michigan Wolverines (0-1) beating them 24-17 in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday night.
Shea Patterson went 20-for-30 for 227 yards in his first start for Michigan. Karan Higdon had 21 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. The Fighting Irish got started early with a seven-play, 75 yard touchdown drive to start the game. They then marched 95 yards on the next drive to make it a 14-0 ball game. Michigan would add a field goal to start the second quarter. However, Notre Dame answered right back with a touchdown to make it 21-3. On the next kickoff, Ambry Thomas took it 99 yards for a touchdown, their first of the game. In the second half, Shea Patterson got the maize and blue deep into opponent territory before going three and out. When the team lined up for a field goal, the snap went high and the Wolverines turned it over on downs. They would then waste an interception and punt it on their next drive. Patterson would leave the game for a few played due to cramps in his calf. In his place, Dylan McCaffrey led the Wolverines into opponent territory but turned the ball over on downs. Once Patterson came back, he led the team on an 80-yard drive capped off by a Karan Higdon touchdown run to make it a one possession game with 2:18 left in the game. Michigan had a chance to come back and tie the game. However, Patterson fumbled the ball at midfield and Notre Dame recovered, locking up a big win to start their season. Usually a strength, Michigan's defense looked exposed against a Notre Dame offense that got a lot of big plays off. The secondary in particular continued to allow plays that kept the momentum on Notre Dame's side. The front seven also continued to leave running lanes open for Wimbush. The offense did look better with Patterson under center and Higdon was a reliable running back throughout the game. However, the play calling didn't seem to have any urgency. Deep vertical passing plays weren't really called until Michigan was already over 10 yards away from gaining a first down. Thankfully, it's only game one and there's still a lot of football left to be played in 2018. The maize and blue will look for their first win of the year next Saturday, Sep. 8 when they head home to face Western Michigan.
0 Comments
It's now or never in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Three years ago, Jim Harbaugh promised Michigan fans that he would take them back to the glory days. That the Wolverines would once again reign among the blue blood programs in the nation. That they would be at the top of the Big Ten and even compete in the College Football Playoff. The program has improved quite a bit since then, but no championships have come. Michigan struggles just to place second in their own division. Harbaugh's persona is no longer enough to woo fans or the college football world and the team still struggles against their two biggest rivals; Michigan State and Ohio State. Those concerns came to a deafening crescendo in 2017. Despite a great defense, Michigan finished 8-5 with instability at quarterback and an offense that failed to score more than nine passing touchdowns. Air Force and Navy, whose offenses are largely dependent on the running game, each had 10. Now it's 2018 and many of the team's top performers are set to graduate after this year. A few of them are even projected first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. So what cast of characters will have the role of bringing a championship to Ann Arbor? Let's take a look. The Wolverines saw three different quarterbacks start a game last year, neither of whom seemed to show any successful consistency. This year, they'll feature Shea Patterson a former five-star recruit who spent his first two years at Ole Miss. Following a scandal, he transferred to Michigan and was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA. Patterson's only played 10 college games, but in those games he's thrown for 3,139 yards and 23 interception, a very impressive stat line for a Michigan team desperate for an offensive playmaker. He'll have some help from Karan Higdon and Chris Evans, the team's 1-2 running back punch. The perimeter players aren't very impressive and it looks like their best receiver, Tarik Black, will miss extended time with another foot injury. Outside of him, the team returns Donovan Peoples-Jones and Grant Perry as well as tight ends Sean McKeon and Zach Gentry. They also welcome four-star Mustapha Muhammad who could make an early impact this year. Wide receivers Nico Collins and Oliver Martin have also looked good in offseason practices. The defense has always been a forced to be reckoned with under Jim Harbaugh and this year is no different. Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary, perhaps the team's best player, lead a strong defensive line while Devin Bush, a preseason first-team all-american, leads the linebacker core. What's most impressive about the unit is its passing defense, which allowed just 142.2 passing yards per game, by far the best mark in college football. This year, it's led by the fearsome four of Khaleke Hudson, Tyree Kinnel, Lavert Hill and David Long, all of whom are returning starters. The maize and blue faces a tough schedule this season. They start off with a road game at No. 12 Notre Dame. On Oct. 13, they begin a string of three straight games against ranked Big Ten teams with a home game against No. 4 Wisconsin. The team then visits East Lansing to take on No. 11 Michigan State and heads home to host No. 10 Penn State the following week. The Wolverines wrap up the regular season with their annual showdown against No. 5 Ohio State in Columbus. Regardless of the circumstances, the Wolverines-especially Jim Harbaugh-will be hard pressed to prove that they can not just compete with but knock off some of the better teams in the Big Ten and in the country. They may never have as good a shot as they do now so the clock is ticking. James Murphy Sense Of Urgency Surrounds Michigan In 2018 8/24/18 |
AuthorBeat writer for Michigan Wolverines football and basketball, Ithaca College '20 Archives
November 2018
Categories
All
|