Offense Notes: Patterson, U-M's Offense Sluggish In 10-3 Victory
The Michigan Wolverines' football offense struggled mightily in Saturday's 10-3 victory over Iowa, finishing the day with just 267 total yards.
All of the club's 10 points came in the first quarter, when sophomore kicker Jake Moody connected on a 28-yard field goal at the 12:19 mark, and then when freshman running back Zach Charbonnet found the end zone from two yards out at the 8:33 juncture.
The Maize and Blue racked up 159 yards on eight possessions in the first half, but saw four of those eight drives end in punts, one concluded with a turnover (an interception thrown by senior quarterback Shea Patterson) and the half's final possession ended with a missed 57-yard field goal by redshirt junior kicker Quinn Nordin.
The game's second 30 minutes resulted in much of the same, with Michigan accumulating just 108 yards on six possessions, punting four times.
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The other two resulted in a missed 34-yard field goal by Moody in the fourth quarter, and the final series of the game ended when Patterson took a knee to ice the victory.
The senior quarterback's inconsistent play was a large reason for the offensive struggles on Saturday. He connected on just 14 of his 26 attempts (53.8 percent) for 147 yards.
Michigan's running game didn't provide much relief, either, compiling just 120 yards and averaging 3.6 yards per rush.
Despite the subpar offensive performance, head coach Jim Harbaugh had plenty of praise for both Patterson and his offense moving forward afterward.
"I thought they took what was there," he explained. "This was like every Iowa-Michigan game I’ve ever been associated with — 12-10, 10-3, 13-10, something like that. I thought Shea, in particular, took what was there, and sometimes there wasn’t anything there. He managed the game extremely well and did the job on the turnovers — we won that battle.
"I thought our offensive line played really physical and went up against some really good players too."
Michigan's Rushing Attack Still Not Able To Find Its Stride
U-M's 3.6 yards per tote actually marked the club's second-highest rushing average this season, trailing only the 5.2 the team posted in the season opener against Middle Tennessee State.
There was once again a lack of explosive runs, with redshirt freshman running back Hassan Haskins' 18-yard scamper marking the longest rush of the day for the Wolverines.
Michigan had two runs of 15 yards or more against Iowa (Haskins' 18-yarder and a 15-yard rush by Patterson), after having only recorded only three all year long. Two of the previous three occurred in the 40-21 victory over Middle Tennessee State — a 41-yard scamper by Charbonnet and 15-yard dash by Patterson — while the third happened last week against Rutgers when Haskins logged a 15-yard rush.
Entering the weekend, U-M's one run of 20-plus yards was tied for 124th (out of 130 teams) in the nation.
Charbonnet, meanwhile, led the way on Saturday with 13 carries for 42 yards, after registering a combined seven attempts for 28 yards over the team's last two games (two carries for six yards Sept. 21 at Wisconsin, and five attempts for 22 yards last Saturday against Rutgers).
"On our first couple drives, we were moving the ball pretty well and running the ball with success," redshirt freshman right tackle Jalen Mayfield said in the postgame. "That’s what we pride ourselves on — we moved the ball like that on the first couple drives and then late in the game too.
"I think that really helped us and gives us hope for the rest of the season."
Miscellaneous Michigan Football Offense Notes
• Patterson's 53.8 completion percentage (14-of-26 passing) was his second lowest in a Michigan uniform. The only game where he had a lower percentage was earlier this season at Wisconsin, when he only connected on 14 of his 32 throws (43.8 percent).
• Freshman wideout Mike Sainristil's eight-yard reception in the first quarter was the first catch of his Wolverine career.
• Sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell failed to record a reception for the first time since last season's 41-15 Peach Bowl loss to Florida, snapping his stretch of four straight games with at least one catch.
• The win was U-M's 11th consecutive in Ann Arbor, with the last home loss occurring in a 31-20 setback to Ohio State on Nov. 25, 2017.
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey (concussion) and senior tight end Sean McKeon (unspecified injury) each missed their second consecutive outings.
"Seems like they area on the verge of being better, but we’ll wait and see," Harbaugh revealed after the game.
• The last time Michigan won a game while scoring 10 or fewer points was on Nov. 8, 2014, when it picked up a 10-9 triumph at Northwestern.
• The Wolverines' 267 yards of offense were its fewest in a tilt since they recorded 234 in a 24-10 loss at Wisconsin on Nov. 18, 2017. Saturday's 267 yards also marked the club's lowest total in a victory since registering 256 in the 2014 triumph at Northwestern.
• The win improved Michigan's all-time record to 42-15-4 against Iowa. Five of the Hawkeyes' 15 victories in the series have come since 2009.
• Junior receiver Nico Collins' 51-yard reception in the first quarter gave him at least one catch of 30 yards or longer in five of the team's last seven outings dating back to last season. The junior also has 11 such games over the past two years, with a grab of at least 40 yards in eight of those 11.
Collins' three receptions for 63 yards on Saturday extended his catch streak to 19 games, dating back to the Jan. 1, 2018, Outback Bowl loss to South Carolina.
He now leads the team with 269 receiving yards, six yards ahead of Bell, who paces the squad with 17 catches. Collins' 20.7 yards per reception leads all Wolverines with multiple grabs.
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