It’s easy to point at the drop.
On fourth-and goal with 2:07 left, the game-tying touchdown spiraled in the air towards sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell. Senior quarterback Shea Patterson eluded pressure in the pocket and eyed Bell straight ahead of him in the end zone. Patterson flung the football to Bell, and Michigan was about to shush a roaring Beaver Stadium by evening the score against then-No. 7 Penn State.
The ball was in Bell’s hands. Until it wasn’t.
The ball slipped through his fingers as he was hit, and it fell harmlessly to the ground. The Wolverines were unable to obtain another possession and came up short in Happy Valley, 28-21.
It was Michigan’s second conference loss of the season, and now the Wolverines’ preseason goals of winning the Big Ten championship and going to the College Football Playoff are all but shot.
That may not have been the case if Bell held onto that ball.
It also may not have been the case if Michigan did not butcher another start in a big road game.
