Reaction & Analysis: Groundhog Day For Michigan Football In Citrus Bowl Loss

Nothing was surprising in Michigan's 35-16 loss to Alabama - not the big plays allowed defensively, not the poor QB play, nor the lack of execution at critical moments.

• Perhaps it's unfair for one game to define a legacy, but in his final contest, Shea Patterson repeated what has been a consistent theme in his career: he's just not good enough. 

Patterson overthrew receivers down the field (unofficially he was 0 for 5 on passes greater than 25 yards), he took untimely and flabbergasting sacks - the type you wouldn't expect from a senior QB in his 26th career start for U-M - he bolted out of the pocket running away from the line of scrimmage to make any potential throw impossible, he was inaccurate and he made a couple of really bad decisions of where to go with the ball. 

It all added up to a passer rating of 97.0, the second lowest of his Maize and Blue career. Patterson completed 17 of 37 attempts for 233 yards, a touchdown and two picks. He enjoyed a solid first half but when the pressure of the game dialed up, and Michigan fell behind 21-16, Patterson completed 6 of 12 attempts for 64 yards on U-M's next three drives as the Crimson Tide went ahead 28-16.

Patterson finished the 2019 regular season with three consecutive 300-yard games, playing the best football of his career, but that stretch won't be remembered when fans look back on Patterson's time in Ann Arbor. What will be is that in big games over two seasons, he was consistently outplayed by the opposing quarterback. 

Like Michigan overall, Patterson was better than average, never great. And he had a couple of world-class stinkers, including his last outing. That he played his worst while Alabama's three-star backup QB Mac Jones played outstanding will be a lasting image, a former five-star that never was as good as projected. 

• There was a lot to like about Michigan's performance in the first half of the game as the Wolverines bounced back from Alabama's opening salvo 85-yard touchdown pass to hold the Crimson Tide to just seven more points. The offense moved the football on the ground, to the surprise of everyone, averaging 7.1 yards per carry on 12 touches, and the defensive line was not bullied around. 

But U-M settled for three field goals, drives stalling out at the Bama 18-, 24, and 39-yard lines. Michigan crossed the 50-yard line seven times (not including its final throwaway drive), but came away with just 16 points (one TD and three FGs) while the Crimson Tide crossed the 50-yard line five times and all five ended in touchdowns. 

That's the kind of execution that has been lacking from the Wolverines' offense this season, and the reason they lost four games this year: on 24 possessions in opponent's territory against Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State and Alabama, Michigan scored nine touchdowns and had five field goals, settling for 78 of a possible 168 points. 

In those four losses, U-M's opponents scored touchdowns on 22 of 26 possessions in which they crossed into Michigan territory, or 154 of 182 possible points. 

• Plenty of folks are mad with Don Brown and his defense, and I get it, the Tide finished with 480 yards of offense and 35 points. For those keeping track, Michigan's defense yielded, on average, 456.8 yards and 38.5 points per loss this year, but that's also today's college football. I've been on this train all week that a defense in 2020 doesn't need to shut down an offense, what it must do is force a few turnovers and force a team to kick a field or two per game instead of getting a touchdown in the red zone. 

But that means Brown's unit failed at both on Wednesday. The defense did not force a turnover and the Crimson Tide were 3 for 3 in the red zone at putting six on the board. On the other side of the field, Alabama's defense had two turnovers (though the second interception came on a final-play heave) and, as mentioned, limited U-M to one touchdown, three field goals and two punts when it crossed the 50. 

One defense did what is required in today's high-powered offensive game, and one defense did not. Michigan was going to have to win the Citrus Bowl with offense, but it needed a little help from its defense. Instead, Brown's unit failed.

• In terms of positives, the play-calling, especially in the first half, was really good from coordinator Josh Gattis … Freshman Giles Jackson was dynamic as a kickoff returner, averaging 33 yards on three returns with an opening 50-yarder. And he showcased his skills as a receiver too, with four catches for 57 yards. He looks capable of being Michigan's version of Rondale Moore in 2020 … Quinn Nordin has gone from a player U-M had no intention of inviting back for a fifth year to the presumed starter next season. On Wednesday, he was perfect, hitting on field-goal tries of 36, 42 and 57 yards. 

• The officials gifted Alabama a touchdown when they called sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson for a personal foul hit on the quarterback despite the fact that Hutchinson had taken only one step and did not make contact with the head. The automatic first down extended a drive that would have ended on third down and forced the Tide to kick a field goal (in a game they trailed 13-7).  

The commentators speculated that it was because Hutchinson fell on top of Mac Jones with force, language in the NCAA manual that prohibits: "Forcibly driving the passer to the ground and landing on him with action that punishes the player." But the laws of physics would say a 285-pounder tackling a 205-pound QB only has one outcome and it's a call rarely made in college football. It was weak. 

However, like the Ohio State loss to Clemson in the playoffs last weekend, one bad call alone did not lead to a loss. Michigan had plenty of chances on offense to capitalize on promising drives and routinely came up short while the defense did not make big plays to kill any of Alabama's other four scoring drives. 

• The season ends with a whimper, as it has each of the previous three years. Michigan had another great opportunity to take a step forward as a program and prove that it can win a game against a Top 10 team, and once again, the Wolverines showed they're just not capable of doing so. 

Jim Harbaugh has elevated Michigan from the depths of despair to a position near the top of the Big Ten and a legitimate Top 20 team in college football. He has given no indication he's the caliber of coach that can take his team to the next level, leaving U-M in a perpetual state of good but never great. 

Whether you agree or not is up to you. Whether you will hold out hope or not is up to you. Just don't be surprised if a Big Ten title and playoff season never comes with Harbaugh in charge.