Michigan Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh appeared on tonight’s Inside Michigan Football radio show to discuss his club’s 24-21 double-overtime victory over Army this weekend, and revealed what some of his biggest takeaways were.
Harbaugh began the segment with nothing but praise for his defense, spouting off in a lengthy rant about how impressive they were against the Black Knights and how they made several of the game’s most important plays that led to victory.
“No win is ever easy,” he began. “The defense played one of the best defensive games against an Army team in years, at least in the last couple.
“The thing that stood out was the hustle and the intense play the entire game. This was a hard-fought game for 60 minutes and then in overtime.
“The conditioning of the team was excellent. Two critical plays were stopped on the goal line resulting in [senior cornerback] Lavert Hill’s interception, and a tremendous play was made by [fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan] Glasgow leading up to it.
“You can say, ‘Hey, there’s the ball game with Glasgow making the play at the one[-yard line]. The interception was well-played — their wing was literally tackling [senior viper Khaleke] Hudson for an eight to 10-yard stretch, but Khaleke drove through it and forced that throw.
“The overtime drive also resulted in an Army turnover on the fumble — [sophomore defensive end] Aidan Hutchinson, [senior linebacker] Josh Uche and [junior defensive end] Kwity Paye were huge on that drive.
“[Senior defensive tackle] Carlo Kemp played over 60 snaps and was cut roughly 22 times — it was criminal at times. The 10-and-two rule was not taking place.
“Kemp deserved to be Defensive Player of the Game, along with Josh Uche. Kemp was stepping around minefields the entire game, so it was a great performance from him.
“Don Brown called a great game and had the guys prepared. It went all the way back to spring ball when he put extra emphasis on Army.”
Michigan was still missing two of its key components on offense in fifth-year senior left tackle Jon Runyan and junior receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, who each sat out last week’s win over Middle Tennessee State with injury as well.
Harbaugh simply said he’s hopeful to have the duo back on Sept. 21 at Wisconsin, but also explained the impact it will have on the rest of the offensive personnel once they do return.
“Jon is one of our top linemen,” the U-M head coach noted. “Donovan is one of our most productive offensive players and arguably one of our toughest guys, in terms of blocking and punt returns.
“[Redshirt freshman left tackle] Ryan Hayes had another good ball game. [Senior right guard] Mike Onwenu had the best ball game and I would call him our Offensive Lineman of the Week.
“He had no missed assignments and no penalties. Hayes was up there again with the big guys like [senior left guard] Ben Bredeson and [junior center] Cesar Ruiz.
“We’ll anticipate Jon being back at left tackle, and Hayes competing with [redshirt freshman] Jalen Mayfield at right tackle.
“Hayes has shown he belongs and is definitely our third tackle. He has earned that.”
Though it has obviously been a disadvantage not to have the services of Runyan and Peoples-Jones so far this season, their absences have had nothing to do with Michigan’s inability to take care of the ball.
The Wolverines’ five lost fumbles are more than any of the 129 other teams in college football, and Harbaugh addressed the three that occurred on offense on Saturday.
“When [senior quarterback] Shea [Patterson] starts to get tackled, his first response is to get rid of the ball and avoid the sack,” Harbaugh said. “We have to reinforce the mental keys of securing the ball when you get touched or tackled.
“Throwing the ball out of bounds and getting rid of it happens next. The backs missed a protection on the second fumble, and on the third, we keep reinforcing two hands on the ball in traffic.
“[Redshirt freshman running back] Ben [VanSumeren] didn’t have his other hand on the ball to secure it.”
“Ball security with the quarterbacks continues to be an emphasis [heading into the bye week]. Blocking up front is as well, because the procedure penalties got us again a few times.
“We’ll work on tempo too — just lining up in the no huddle system and getting a consistently fast pace with everyone where they’re supposed to be.”
Notes:
• The officials took a touchdown away from Michigan on Saturday when senior safety Josh Metellus ran back a fumble in the second quarter, but wrongfully decided his knee was down instead.
“They said it wasn’t reviewable and that the whistle had been blown,” Harbaugh revealed this evening. “One ref had seen his knee on the ground and thought he had the ball at that time. By the time he actually had the ball though, his knee was off the ground.”
• Army entered Saturday’s contest riding a 10-game winning streak (the second-longest in college football), with their last loss occurring last September in overtime at Oklahoma.
The Black Knights were not ranked this time around, however, which led to the question of whether or not they were undervalued.
“I don’t think they were underappreciated,” Harbaugh opined. “They were 27th in the AP or the BCS rankings. Everyone knows how good they are, anyone who watches them.”
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey only attempted one pass and saw just 11 snaps total on Saturday, a far cry from the 20 he saw against MTSU.
“All options are open,” Harbaugh noted when asked about still playing both quarterbacks moving forward. “You want your opponent to know that as well.”
• Sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell had the best statistical game of his tenure on Saturday, hauling in career-highs in both catches (seven) and yards (81).
Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet also put on a standout performance with 100 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first U-M freshman back since Mike Hart in 2004 to receive at least 33 carries in a contest AND rack up 100 yards.
“He has a high level of play,” the U-M coach said of Bell. “He was targeted eight times and caught seven, and three were third down conversions.
“He’s an ascending player and doing really well, and he and Charbonnet were our Offensive Players of the Game. Zach was a trooper and had to be getting tired.
“He’s probably a little sore today, but the way he soldiered up was impressive.”
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