Jay Harbaugh, senior running back Karan Higdon and former U-M quarterback John Navarre all appeared on the Inside Michigan Football radio show at the Pizza House tonight in Ann Arbor to discuss Saturday’s loss at Notre Dame and what needs to happen moving forward.
Jay Harbaugh Explains how Close the Offense was to Making Plays on Saturday
Michigan’s run game struggled mightily on Saturday with only 58 rushing yards and a 1.8 yard per carry average, although the offensive line deserves plenty of blame as well.
Despite the struggles, Harbaugh said he was pleased with the offensive plan the U-M coaches came up with.
“We had a good plan with the run game,” he insisted tonight. “Some little things could’ve been done differently, and there were more yards to be had if everyone — the running backs, quarterbacks, receivers and offensive line — would’ve done just a little more.”
It was obvious by the tone of his voice that Harbaugh wasn’t taking any shots at his personnel, but he’s correct when he says that everyone needed to do more.
That includes Higdon, who only rushed for 71 yards on 21 carries.
Harbaugh said he’s not concerned about the individual running backs’ yardage, though, and only views them as successful if the team wins.
“A threshold for yardage is irrelevant for them,” he explained. “You want to be the winningest group of running backs — all those guys in the past are remembered for how well their teams did, not necessarily the individual accomplishments.”
Junior running back Chris Evans, meanwhile, only received two carries for one yard on Saturday night, and was expected to play a much larger role.
Harbaugh confirmed that was not indicative of the playing time he’ll see moving forward.
“He improved his strength and put on so much bulk this offseason,” the position coach said. “Chris is running stronger and is playing with more authority — he had some chip blocks on defensive ends during the game, and is playing like a different player.
“The blitz pickups were actually good throughout the night, but the movement in Notre Dame’s run game gave us a few more problems.
“Coach [Ed] Warinner has a great vision for the way he wants his guys to play on the offensive line, in terms of how he wants to run and attack a defense.
“Warinner wants us to master one thing, and then move on to something else once we get that down. This allows our backs to be able to have success running something over and over. I trust what he’s teaching, because he has more experience in college football than years I’ve been alive.”
Higdon Pleased With Offensive Line Play
Notre Dame looked like it may run away with things when it went up 21-3 on Saturday night, but the Wolverines never backed down and actually had a chance to send the game into overtime on their final drive.
"Our guys are consistent, and kept on fighting," Higdon recalled. "We could tell Notre Dame was getting tired and tried to capitalize when we saw that. As we continued to run the ball, they started to ease out of their blitzes because they saw holes were opening up.”
The much-maligned Wolverine offensive line has been heavily criticized, but some experts have noted that its play wasn't actually as bad as originally thought after taking a second look.
Higdon was in that same boat.
“When you break down the film, they did a heck of a job," he insisted. "The tackles did great, even though ND’s defensive line got the best of us at times."
The senior running back also liked what he saw from junior quarterback Shea Patterson, and promised his play will only get better.
"He has a lot more in the tank," Higdon exclaimed. "We'll start to see it as he gains more poise and confidence.”
John Navarre Offers Words of Wisdom
Former U-M signal caller John Navarre knows a thing or two about quarterback play, and was encouraged by what he saw from not only Patterson, but redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey as well.
“Shea has toughness," Navarre confirmed. "He stood in there and took a beating, but kept coming back. He showed great command and confidence in the offense, and so did McCaffrey."
Navarre didn't suffer many losses while quarterbacking Michigan's offense throughout the early 2000s, but did offer some words of wisdom to those overreacting to Saturday's defeat.
“The fan base needs to remember that a lot of great Michigan teams have had early season losses, and still went on to win the Big Ten and play in the Rose Bowl," he explained. "It can be deflating, but all is not lost.”
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