Offense Notes: U-M Struggles Mightily In Every Offensive Facet In Loss

The Michigan Wolverines' football team wasn't able to get anything going in any facet offensively in Saturday's 35-14 loss at Wisconsin, racking up just 299 total yards.

The Maize and Blue mustered only 96 yards in the first half, with 68 of them actually coming on a pass play from senior quarterback Shea Patterson to sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell on U-M's first offensive snap of the day.

The Wolverines' turnover issues continued later in the drive, however, when junior fullback/defensive tackle Ben Mason fumbled at the Badger seven-yard line, the first of four U-M turnovers.

"That was another really good play by them," head coach Jim Harbaugh said afterward. "The tackle was right on the ball, and the ball came out. We started working Ben — he’s worked some at tailback, and we were working him especially this week. That was unfortunate."

In fact, U-M did not get on the board until there was just 2:08 remaining in the third quarter, when Patterson found senior tight end Sean McKeon for a six-yard strike, making the score 35-8 at the time (redshirt sophomore receiver Tarik Black hauled in the two-point conversion pass).

U-M's lone other score of the day occurred with 4:56 remaining in the game, when Patterson hit junior wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown.

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The offense's final stat line saw the club throw for 259 yards (though Patterson was just 14-of-32 passing), but rush for only 40 on 2.1 yards per attempt.

After averaging 95 yards per game through the Wolverines' first two victories, freshman running back Zach Charbonnet carried twice for just six yards.

U-M also finished the afternoon without converting any of its 10 third-down attempts, while allowing six tackles for loss and two sacks.

"Can’t win a game when you’re 0 for 9 on third down," fifth-year senior left tackle Jon Runyan said in the postgame. "I thought offensively we really didn’t get into the rhythm we wanted to.

"I felt we had a good week of practice and game plan going into this game. Credit to Wisconsin's defense — they played really well and were countering stuff we were trying to get going and just got the best of us today."

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After turning the ball over five times in its first two games, Michigan committed four more turnovers on Saturday.

The first was the Mason fumble, and the second occurred midway through the second quarter when Patterson was picked off by Badger redshirt junior safety Eric Burrell (the first interception U-M had thrown all year).

The final two giveaways occurred on the Maize and Blue's last two drives of the contest — first when Patterson fumbled with 2:55 remaining at the UW 16-yard line, and then when redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Milton tossed an interception on the club's final series.

Michigan has now given the ball away nine times on the year, after committing 12 turnovers all of last season.

• Black's two-point conversion grab following U-M's first score was Michigan's first successful two-point conversion since Patterson found then-sophomore wideout Nico Collins in the end zone last October in the 38-13 rout of Wisconsin.

• Runyan and Peoples-Jones each returned to action after missing the club's first two contests with injury, with the former starting and the latter appearing as a reserve. Peoples-Jones' five-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter was the ninth TD catch of his career.

• The Wolverines' 299 total yards of offense were its lowest total since mustering 277 in the 26-19 Outback Bowl loss to South Carolina on Jan. 1, 2018. The last time Michigan had at least four turnovers also occurred that day, when the club committed five.

• Patterson's 43.8 completion percentage was the lowest of his U-M career, breaking his old low of 56% (14-of-25 passing) in the 21-7 win at MSU last year.

• McKeon's six-yard touchdown catch late in the second quarter was his second of the year and the sixth of his career. His only other one this season occurred on a 28-yard pass play in the season-opening win over Middle Tennessee State.

• The last time Michigan was held scoreless in the first half of a game was in its 10-9 victory at Northwestern in 2014, when the score was 0-0 at the break.

• Bell's 81 receiving yards tied his career high, which was set two weeks ago against Army.

• U-M's 2.1 yards per rush was its worst mark since it averaged 1.8 in last season's 24-17 loss at Notre Dame. The Wolverines' 2.4 yards per attempt two weeks ago, meanwhile, were its lowest in a victory in the Harbaugh era (since 2015).

Additionally, its 40 overall rushing yards against Wisconsin were its fewest in a game since compiling minus-21 in a 13-10 loss to Nebraska on Nov. 9, 2013.

• Patterson's 68-yard pass to Bell on Michigan's first offensive snap of the day was the Wolverines' longest play through the air since the senior quarterback found Peoples-Jones for a 79-yard touchdown in the third quarter of last season's 21-7 victory at Michigan State.

It was also the longest grab of Bell's career, with his previous high being a 56-yard scoring grab (thrown by redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey) registered last September against Nebraska.

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