Michigan junior quarterback Shea Patterson has helped put U-M firmly in the playoff hunt, 9-1 and No. 4 nationally with two games to play. Still, it was suggested to head coach Jim Harbaugh that there’s the perception the Wolverines don’t rely on Patterson enough to move the chains.
Harbaugh said Monday he’d always be a believer in a strong running game. That and an improving offensive line are big reasons U-M is pounding opponents and winning fourth quarters.
But Patterson has answered the bell when asked, especially Saturday in a 42-7 win at Rutgers. He was outstanding on third and longs throwing into a biting wind, and Harbaugh insisted he’s been everything asked and more this entire season, having completed 67 percent of his passes with 17 touchdowns against only three picks.
"He’s pushing it downfield. The plays that he’s made out of the pocket this entire year … accurate,” Harbaugh said on 97.1 The Ticket's Jamie and Stoney Show Wednesday. "He’s completing darn near 70 percent of his passes. What [more] do you want him to do?"
Patterson has done a great job protecting the ball, but not at the expense of being who he is. He’s confident in his arm and his accuracy, and both were on display Saturday when he threw on the run. He’s got maybe one peer — Harbaugh himself in the mid-1980s — when it comes to finding receivers while moving.
"There was a third-down play, a tight window on the sideline. He was on a full-speed run, looked like a shortstop making a throw,” Harbaugh said. “I knew that was going to be tight, and he put it in the tightest window you can put it in. That was taking a chance."
He threw another one across his body to Peoples-Jones while rolling left, and yet another to redshirt freshman Oliver Martin after eluding pressure.
“That was a scary deal, had to be thrown in that exact perfect spot,” Harbaugh said. “[But] I woud say I have a lot of trust in him. I’m not going, 'Oh my god, what’s he doing out there?' I don’t ever have that feeling. Everybody trusts him. He’s playing the game. There are no shackles or handcuffs on him.”
And yet there’s been plenty of talk that U-M isn’t using him enough because he’s “only” averaging 192.7 yards passing per game. That’s more a product of a balanced offense, however, one that’s been dominant in the second halves of games.
"Shea does what you ask him to do and does it really well,” Harbaugh said. “Some weeks it's more with his legs and running the ball and picking up first downs, but every week he’s continued throwing the ball and throwing it accurately, and we’ve gotten big plays and third down conversions. I think it's been consistently good.”
He’ll have one more home game this year to add to his already impressive season. Some believe it will be his last in a Michigan uniform.
Either way, it’s going to be an emotional day for the seniors and others playing their last games.
"I'm sure it's going to be a nostalgic moment, it always is,” Harbaugh said. “It doesn't really hit you until after the game's over when you're walking up that tunnel with the guys for the last time. I know that's how I felt when I was a player.
“You hope and pray and are working really hard right now to have them have the experience of a win. My experience was a loss in my last home game at Michigan, to Minnesota. We're going down toward the finish line, so to speak, and you just don't want to hit snooze button. This is the time to be up and at it, and everybody doing everything they possibly can to put our team in position for success.”
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