Isaiah Hole
Not-So-Quick Reactions: Michigan Topples Illinois 42-27
After watching the first half live, I had a prior engagement and had to watch the second half on delay. I can understand why Michigan fans were freaking out after Illinois scored 25 unanswered points to climb within three, 28-25 early in the fourth quarter.
• In fact, my first "reaction" is what even an untrained novice could see - the Wolverines have no killer instinct. And in my opinion, that stems from their head coach and the decisions he makes when it comes to putting his foot on the throttle.
After Michigan allowed a six-play, 67-yard touchdown drive near the end of the first half, it took possession with 55 seconds remaining at its own 25-yard line. With the Wolverines getting the ball to start the second half also, this was the perfect opportunity for U-M to deliver a double whammy - some points before the half and points immediately to start the second half.
Instead, Michigan went run, run, run, bled the clock to 00:00 and then opened up the half with a four-yard fumble recovery loss, a second-down run (on 2nd-and-14), and an incomplete pass. All the momentum was suddenly with the Fighting Illini, and with it on their side, the Illini rattled off the next 18 points, putting a definitive scare into the Maize and Blue.
One could argue the coaches lacked the confidence in their quarterback at that point to run a two-minute drill and go for the touchdown, but if that's the case, and the coaches don't trust their QB in a clutch situation, then why is he Michigan's quarterback?
Jim Harbaugh's poor clock management has been a consistent source of consternation but equally offensive is that a coach that used to step on his opponents' throats hasn't made an appearance in Ann Arbor or on the road since ... maybe the 2015 season when U-M delivered daggers against Florida?
Last week against Iowa, Michigan hung on for dear life, its coaches and offensive players saying they did what they could to help the defense ... trying to win field position and avoid turnovers. That's either true, and U-M didn't go for the jugular, allowing an opponent to hang around and hang around, or that's not true and the Wolverines used it as an excuse to explain their ineptitude.
Either way, the message came from the top, and that's a sad indictment for a coach that was billed as a mercenary that would provide the program with confidence (bordering on arrogance) to finish off opponents and seasons.
• While I couldn't watch the game live, I did track conversation on Twitter, and there was considerable finger-pointing at senior QB Shea Patterson for a lackluster third quarter in which Michigan generated 11 yards of offense. Patterson wasn't great, but this is one time where I believe the criticism was over the top (and I'm a consistent critic of Patterson's).
While Illinois' receivers were making big plays in traffic, three consecutive Patterson throws fell to the turf after hitting targets in the hands. Junior receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped a long sideline throw (tough catch but one he could have had); sophomore WR Ronnie Bell adjusted poorly to a ball in flight for another drop (U-M was awarded a pass interference but it was minor and certainly wasn't the reason he didn't come down with the reception); and senior tight end Nick Eubanks dropped the easiest of the three throws on a crossing route.
Patterson still isn't keeping the ball enough on read-option plays and he didn't make a lot of "championship" throws but the calls for his backup, and the multitude of negative adjectives hurled his way, were misguided.
I don't think Patterson is a good enough quarterback to lead Michigan to wins over Penn State and Ohio State this year. I do believe that if redshirt sophomore Dylan McCaffrey was healthy enough to play Saturday he should have been given a series or two, in case he has the intangible qualities to be the guy for the Wolverines, but I refuse to trash Patterson and his game when objectively watching, his performance was not awful.
I'd rate it as average to above-average.
Now, you want to argue that "average" is simply unacceptable from a senior with 19 career starts in a winged helmet given an extremely long leash from these coaches for reasons that don't jibe with Harbaugh's rhetoric of meritocracy ... and we've got a different conversation piece that I would likely agree with, but he was fine against Illinois.
• Redshirt freshman RB Hassan Haskins' first four carries went 29, two, 28 and nine. He then didn't touch the ball again for 36 offensive plays, three second-quarter drives, three third-quarter drives and two fourth-quarter drives. How does that make any sense?
Why is junior fullback Ben Mason the No. 1 target on a pass play? Why are the coaches always outthinking themselves?
Football is incredibly intricate and nuanced. It's not as easy as every one of us armchair quarterbacks make it out to be, yet there is also a simplicity to it: use your best players and play to their strengths and not their weaknesses.
Michigan's coaches don't seem to understand either particularly well.
• Weird day for the defense. At times, Don Brown's unit looked invincible, recording 12 tackles for loss, including four sacks, registering eight pass breakups, and holding Illinois to just 64 yards rushing on 43 carries. But the Wolverines also yielded four straight scoring drives (three touchdowns and a field goal), including a 15-play, 80-yard drive in which U-M allowed three third-down conversions and a fourth-down conversion.
This one felt a bit like the Army game, where the defense found itself on its heels, and then suddenly, the Maize and Blue bore down and made big plays when they had to have them, forcing two fourth-quarter fumbles, the second deep in Illinois' territory that led to a one-yard touchdown plunge and the clinching score.
Senior linebacker Josh Uche (five tackles for loss) and senior defensive end Mike Danna (one sack and that late-game forced fumble) filled in terrifically for injured starter Kwity Paye. Redshirt freshman linebacker Cam McGrone (11 tackles, two for loss) took another step forward, and senior Jordan Glasgow (11 tackles, one PBU) had his second consecutive strong effort after a rough stretch this season.
• Michigan should have won this game 49-7 or something like that. That U-M allowed an Illinois team that through the first 25 minutes looked like it should be relegated to Division II, to rally to within three is alarming, and offers legitimate concern ahead of the Wolverines' trip to Penn State.
