Head coach Chris Ash is out at Rutgers, and Michigan was the team that finally forced his administration's hand. Ash finished his career 0-4 against U-M, his teams outscored 208-21.
His last press conference was his latest praise for a team that pounded him at the line of scrimmage.
“We’ll give credit where credit is due … I absolutely feel just sick and awful for our guys because they continue to show up every single day and grind and work, but hats off to Michigan and give them all the credit,” Ash said.
The game was not competitive from the opening possession. Rutgers won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving Michigan the ball to start the game.
The Wolverines had fumbled in all three of their opening drives in the first three games of the season, but turned that trend around against the Scarlet Knights with a five-play, 80-yard drive that took just 2:08. That drive started what was a productive day for Michigan through the air, something that it had yet to show through three games, including in its 35-14 blowout loss in Madison a week ago.
U-M threw for a season-high 335 yards passing with 276 of those yards coming from senior quarterback Shea Patterson.
“They threw and caught the ball exceptionally well, [and] protected the quarterback exceptionally well,” Ash said.
The pass protection had been shaky in Michigan’s early season struggles, as well, but was a strength against a Rutgers defensive front that registered just one sack on the day.
“Their offensive line in pass protection played extremely well today. We didn’t come close to getting to them,” Ash added.
The Wolverines also had struggles at the line of scrimmage last week, getting carved up by Wisconsin’s offensive line defensively, giving up a staggering 359 yards on the ground before allowing Rutgers’ to gain just 46 rushing yards a week later.
“Today, we played a really good defensive line. They controlled the line of scrimmage,” Ash said, complimenting the Michigan defensive front.
If there was anything close to a turning point in the game, one could point to Rutgers’ decision to go for it on fourth down and three from the Michigan five-yard line. U-M sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson made a big hit to stop Rutgers quarterback Artur Sitkowski short of the line to gain, resulting in a turnover on downs.
That play ended up being the Scarlet Knights' last scoring threat.
Ash was not one of those who thought that play was pivotal, however, pointing out that many other situations lead to his team’s defeat. He stuck with his decision to roll the dice, electing to not kick a field goal with his team down 14-0 early in the second-quarter.
“There was nothing wrong with going for it. We’re playing a really good team on the road … you want to be aggressive and you don’t know how many more opportunities you’re going to be down there,” Ash reasoned. “It was a bootleg, guy in the flat, and they did a good job of covering.”
Ash is right ... that play would not have changed the outcome of the game. His team was overmatched all afternoon against a hungry Michigan team playing with a self-proclaimed chip on its shoulder. It did, however, bring his tenure to a fitting conclusion.
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