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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It happened time and time again on Saturday. Penn State found itself in long yardage situations, but Michigan failed to make it pay. The Nittany Lions found multiple ways to move the chains: the quarterback run, attacking the Wolverines soft zone coverage and running through missed tackles.
It proved to be the difference in a 27-17 win for PSU — it’s first of the season.
It’s the second time this year that the maize and blue faced a team that very well could go winless this year, save for their game against Michigan. Though MSU is, at the time of this writing, up big on Northwestern, that was a game in Big Ten Week 2 that the Wolverines had no business losing, yet did, and this Saturday saw an equally feckless effort.
After the game, Jim Harbaugh put the blame on the coaching staff for the defensive woes, noting that they weren’t putting the players in the right position to get off the field and give the offense another chance.
“We got hurt throughout the game with the slant route, the quarterback draw, perimeter screens and tackling wasn’t good enough as well,” Harbaugh said. “Coming up with the right call at the right time to get the stop and also make the tackle to get our defense off the field, we came up short.”
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On that side of the ball, while some aspects appeared to be better than previous games, new problems arose.
The cornerbacks, Vincent Gray and Gemon Green, did a solid job in their assignments, and star wideout Jahan Dotson was held to his second-lowest output of the season, with just three catches for 30 yards. But the safeties constantly found themselves lined up against Parker Washington, who amassed nine catches for 93 yards, rarely seeing any contested balls along the way.
But 163 yards passing allowed tells you that the secondary mostly did its job. It was the run defense that got gashed, once again.
Earlier in the season, the roles were reversed. Michigan couldn’t stop the pass to save its life, whereas the run game was fairly contained. In recent weeks, the interior run was mostly stuffed, but the perimeter was open for the taking. This week, none of it was working towards the defense’s advantage.
Not only that, but the Big Ten’s surest team in tackling — at least according to PFF — faltered greatly on that front, letting the Nittany Lions escape and move their way down the field after first contact.
Again, Harbaugh harped on the mistakes, including those implemented a the coaching staff that didn’t put players in a position to succeed — even if the players also refused to help themselves.
“There (were) times where we didn’t have the edge set and we folded back in and let the play bounce, no question about that,” Harbaugh said. “We gotta tackle better. There (were) too many missed tackles. Got to take away what an offense is trying to do to you as well, with the right call at the right time. A lot of things came together that we didn’t, we weren’t as effective as we wanted to be.”
On the other side of the ball, Michigan’s chances at coming away with a win dwindled after Cade McNamara left the game with a shoulder injury. While he did return, Harbaugh says that he wasn’t the same player as he was before the injury.
Nonetheless, he was happy to see him out there battling, even though his 12-for-25 for 91 yards was but a shell of his last outing against Rutgers.
“It was a gritty performance by him,” Harbaugh said. “That’s a tough kid. A lot of respect for Cade coming back. Very gutty. But the shoulder did tighten up as the game went on.”
Offensively, Harbaugh says that Michigan could not do what Penn State could — which was finish drives.
The Wolverines repeatedly banged their proverbial heads against a wall time and time again, and even when Michigan found itself at or around midfield, it frequently stalled out. The maize and blue attempted to convert three fourth downs and were only successful once.
“Guys were battling,” Harbaugh said. “Key situations — the first half, we weren’t able to extend the drive. Had some third and short opportunities. Penn State was able to convert their third and shorts. Thought that was also — we’re not getting the stop at the critical time and not getting the first down offensively. That was a big part of the game.”
So where does the team go from here? What do they have to play for?
They’re 2-4 on the season, a far cry from expectations at this point. Maryland, 2-3 on the year, is perhaps the only winnable game left out of the three remaining, depending on the matchup that the Wolverines draw in Big Ten championship week.
Harbaugh says that this team has not given up, even if sometimes it appears it has on the field, at times.
“For football, for the opportunity, for our team,” Harbaugh said. “There’s really only two real options. One other, to press on and find a way.”
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