Offense Notes: Patterson Enjoys Career Day, Lights Up MSU Through The Air
The Michigan Wolverines' football team put on a passing clinic during Saturday afternoon's 44-10 blowout of Michigan State, with senior quarterback Shea Patterson compiling 384 passing yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
It was by far the best statistical game Patterson had ever enjoyed in a Michigan uniform, with the senior shattering his previous career high of 282 passing yards (set last year in a 42-21 win over Maryland), while also tossing four scores for the first time as a Wolverine (he had thrown three in a contest seven different times).
Not only did Patterson rack up the yards and touchdowns in Saturday's beatdown, but he was also efficient. He connected on 24 of his 33 passes, a 72.7 completion rate which is his second best of the season (trailing only the 73.9 connection percentage he posted in the 52-0 triumph over Rutgers on Sept. 28).
The senior's yardage total was very similar between the two halves (182 prior to the break and 202 after halftime), though three of his four scoring tosses occurred in the game's final two quarters.
Junior receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (from 18 yards out), junior wideout Nico Collins (a 22-yard TD) and freshman receiver Cornelius Johnson (a 39-yard score) were the recipients of Patterson's three second-half scoring tosses, while redshirt junior tight end Nick Eubanks reeled in the lone one of the first half (from five yards out).
"He was really good all day, sharp in every way, whether he was seeing the field, making the throws, or picking up the third-and-29," head coach Jim Harbaugh said in the postgame. He complimented Patterson for completing passes to nine different receivers and breaking Tom Brady's old record for passing yards by a U-M quarterback against Michigan State.
Ronnie Bell Enjoys A Career Day As Well
Patterson wasn't the only offensive Wolverine who played the best game of his career on Saturday, with sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell setting new personal records as well.
He hauled in nine receptions for 150 yards, breaking his previous career highs of seven grabs (in the Sept. 7 win over Army) and 98 receiving yards (in the Oct. 12 triumph at Illinois).
The sophomore was Patterson's favorite target all afternoon, bringing in five more catches than anyone else (Peoples-Jones' four grabs were the next most on the team) and 102 more yards than any other U-M player (Peoples-Jones' 48 yards were also the second most).
Seven of Bell's nine catches and 118 of his 150 yards came in the first two quarters alone.
Despite the career effort, Bell failed to find the end zone once again and has yet to score his first TD of the season.
“[Senior safety] Josh [Metellus] let me know 20 seconds ago I still haven’t got in there," Bell said with a laugh in the postgame presser. "It hurts every time. It’s alright, though, because I’ll get in there eventually."
"Ronnie Bell had a tremendous game," Harbaugh added. "He was all over the field — bubbles and then yards after the catch. [He was] running physical and tough on the boundary, not looking to step out of bounds and coming out the other side making the first downs.
"Over the middle, he was right in there making the tough plays and catches. He blocked really well, too. You’re going to see a lot of really good blocks by Ronnie when he didn’t have the ball.
"He just played really good and tough. He’s a really good football player."
Miscellaneous Michigan Wolverines Football Notes
• Michigan's 467 total yards marked the fourth time in the last five games U-M eclipsed the 400-yard mark. The club's 384 passing yards were its most in a contest since compiling 387 in a 59-3 win over Maryland on Nov. 5, 2016.
Patterson's 384 marked the highest total for a U-M quarterback since Jake Rudock racked up 440 in a 48-41 double-overtime win at Indiana in 2015.
• Patterson now has 4,757 passing yards in his U-M career, which is good for 10th in school history. He needs only 103 more yards to tie Steve Smith (1980-83) for the No. 9 spot.
• Patterson's 24 completions tied a career best, with the senior also accomplishing the feat earlier this season in the Oct. 19 loss at Penn State (he went 24-of-41 passing against the Nittany Lions).
• Senior tight end Sean McKeon's 46 receiving yards were a season high and the most he had recorded in a game since tallying 59 in the 14-10 loss to Michigan State on Oct. 7, 2017.
• Freshman wideout Giles Jackson was Michigan's leading rusher on Saturday with 32 yards on only two carries. Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet carried seven times for 30 yards, while redshirt freshman Hassan Haskins rushed six times for 13 yards and a score.
Michigan as a whole compiled 83 yards on the ground.
• U-M's 44 points were its most against MSU since its 45-37 triple-overtime victory over the Spartans in 2004.
• Johnson's 39-yard TD grab in the fourth quarter was the first score of his career, with the 39 total yards he accumulated also standing as a career best.
• Bell became the first Michigan player to tally 100 receiving yards in a game this season, with his 150 standing as the most for a U-M player since Amara Darboh logged 165 in a 32-23 triumph at MSU on Oct. 29, 2016. Bell's nine catches, meanwhile, were the most for a Wolverine since Jehu Chesson racked up 10 in a 48-41 triumph at Indiana on Nov. 14, 2015.
• Collins' 22-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter was his fourth score of the year and the 10th of his U-M tenure.
• Michigan extended its home-winning streak to 13 games, with its last loss in Ann Arbor occurring to Ohio State on Nov. 25, 2017.
• Patterson became the first Wolverine quarterback to toss four touchdowns in a game since Wilton Speight did so in a 51-14 blowout of UCF on Sept. 10, 2016.
• Senior running back Tru Wilson's 10 carries (for 26 yards) were tied for the second most he had ever registered in a game. He also carried 10 times in the Oct. 12 win at Illinois, and his career high was 11 in a 45-20 victory over SMU last season.
• U-M converted eight of its 13 third downs.
• Saturday afternoon was the first time the Maize and Blue threw three touchdown passes against Michigan State since Chad Henne did so in a 28-24 triumph in East Lansing in 2007.
• Peoples-Jones' 18-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter was his fourth of the season and the 12th of his career. It was also the second straight year he tallied a score against the Spartans, hauling in a 79-yarder in the 21-7 victory at MSU last season.
• Eubanks' five-yard TD reception in the second quarter was his fourth career score and third in his last four games.
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