Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh met the media Monday to talk MSU and Indiana. Here’s our take on his comments:
NEWS: Redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight will miss several more games before he returns.
HARBAUGH: “Multiple weeks. I don’t know if he’ll be out for the year."
VIEWS: He also confirmed there are some “cracks” in the signal-caller's vertebrae.
This is a bigger blow than most believe, including those who thought fifth-year senior John O’Korn was the better option, regardless. Make no mistake … O’Korn deserved the start after playing well at Purdue, but there is a reason Speight was starting and part of it was better decision making.
O’Korn is better at eluding pressure, but he’s still a ‘gunslinger’ who takes off too soon. He had three picks against Michigan State, leading to Michigan's 5-0 deficit in turnovers last week — one of the big differences in the game.
U-M needs Speight back as soon as possible, and no matter who is behind center, the line, the tight ends and the running backs need to do a better job blocking for them. It’s been poor.
Harbaugh confirmed O’Korn would be his quarterback going forward over redshirt freshman Brandon Peters.
“We’ll go through it, make corrections, make improvements and we’ll move on,” he said.
NEWS: Junior running back Karan Higdon provided a spark in the running game, averaging 5.4 yards per rush. Harbaugh was questioned why he didn’t run him more.
HARBAUGH: “Karan played well. You want to question the play calling … that usually is the case when something doesn’t work.
"What I want to do is look at the film. I’ll learn from it. I’m not going to get into questioning the play calling. It’s a very convenient thing, right? It’s a very easy thing to do. If the play worked, it was a great play because it worked. If the play doesn’t work, would you wish you had done something else, a different play call? Sure. It’s very easy to do.”
VIEWS: He mentioned hindsight being 20/20, and he’s right in a sense. A third-and-three draw play to sophomore Chris Evans in the fourth quarter, for example, looked like a bad call, especially since the weather had cleared up a bit.
“We run a third-down draw against Florida, it works … great play. We call a play that doesn’t work … would you wish a different play?” Harbaugh said. “It’s a very easy thing to do.
“I think that’s what people do. It’s just a fact of what anybody does … ‘Should have thrown it or should have run it.’ If you threw it and it didn’t work, you wish you would have run it. As a coach you go through it, look at where you can make corrections and where you can make improvements.”
He’s right. It’s a chess match, and they got beat on that play.
The bigger issue would be going empty backfield on third down in a monsoon, etc., and not being able to scheme some plays (like the screen pass MSU scored on for its second touchdown).
Something’s off, and it needs to be fixed.
“We call the plays together as a staff,” Harbaugh said. “The final say … I have that on the play calling.”
NEWS: Michigan ranks near the bottom of the conference in several offensive categories and seems to lack an identity.
HARBAUGH: “We’re in the process of [developing one]. We had a ballgame that stuff happens. Things happen. We had fumbles, turnovers … we had things that just occur. A shotgun snap to their quarterback who fumbles it and picks up a critical first down.
“Things happen during a course of a game, and you don’t know why they’re happening but they keep happening. That’s where you go back and learn from it, look at it, make corrections and move on with the mindset of not letting it happen again.”
VIEWS: But it shouldn’t happen against a rival, especially the turnovers, which have been a problem all year. Take away two drive-ending fumbles in MSU territory and the Wolverines might have escaped with a win in a game in which they played terribly.
But the bounces were not in their favor, as he noted. That’s why it’s important to play clean games against decent football teams … so the back isn’t against the wall when the weather moves in, etc.
NEWS: Redshirt junior Juwann Bushell-Beatty replaced redshirt sophomore Nolan Ulizio at right tackle during the game.
HARBAUGH: “I can understand the quarterback question and quarterback controversy, but I would never really discuss a right tackle, guard or center controversy. But yes, we’ll look at that during the week.”
VIEWS: Neither player appears to be the answer, so it will be interesting to see if, say, redshirt sophomore John Runyan Jr. gets a look on the right side this week. Why he hasn’t is a mystery, but this staff isn’t stupid … there must be a reason, and they are going to play whoever gives them the best chance to win.
Right now, however, poor blocking, particularly on that side, is costing them any chance for sustained offensive success.
NEWS: The defense held Michigan State in check in the second half, but the offense couldn’t get it done. Harbaugh said there was no finger pointing going on.
HARBAUGH: “I don’t sense that … we’re not frustrated. We look forward to getting back today and doing everything on both sides of the ball and special teams to contribute to a victory. We’re fortunate to have an opponent to play this week, and opportunities ahead of us.”
VIEWS: He’s not frustrated either, he said … just ready to get back to work.
But there has to be some frustration. He has a championship-level defense and just lost to a mediocre rival at home because of the offense. If they want to accomplish anything this year, they need to figure something out. And now.
It’s possible … look at Penn State’s turnaround last year, for example. U-M doesn't have the same horses on offense, obviously, but the offense just needs to be decent for this team to be good. That’s not too much to ask.
NEWS: Harbaugh dropped to 1-4 against Michigan State and Ohio State with Saturday’s loss, but he insisted they do put an emphasis on those games.
HARBAUGH: “I’m well aware of what the record is. Against MSU and OSU we’re 1-4. The record against all other opponents is 23-3. We know what the records are.
“We want to win those games. We want to win every game we’re playing. We want to win them all. Most importantly, we want to win this one, our next game.”
VIEWS: It is what it is, and media will have a field day with it because of all the attention Harbaugh demands. And no, it’s not good enough.
But Harbaugh is a break, or a better call or two, away from being 3-2 (MSU punt game in 2015, OSU last year), and those things tend to even out. If the football gods were just, Saturday’s Hail Mary as time expired would have been completed to make up for the 2015 punt game fluke.
This year’s game shouldn't have come down to that, of course. U-M didn’t match MSU’s intensity and gave it away with five turnovers. It’s the second time in five rivalry contests that the Wolverines didn’t rise to the game (OSU 2015 being the first), and that needs to end.
NEWS: Indiana is 3-2 with its only losses to Ohio State and Penn State.
HARBAUGH: “This is a very good football team. We’ve had very competitive games with them. I think they’ve played very well and are playing very good this year, especially at home … that’s what we’re doing today, making those preparations.”
VIEWS: The spread is 5.5 points, so it’s certainly no gimme, especially with the Wolverines’ offensive woes. This is a game Michigan can’t afford to lose … it says here they rise to the occasion.
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