Offense Notes: Patterson, U-M Show Grit & Resilience, But Come Up Short
When the Michigan Wolverines' football team went down 21-0 with 7:22 remaining in the second quarter, it looked like the Nittany Lions would win Saturday night's contest in Happy Valley handily.
U-M's offense fought back, however, and had a chance to potentially send the game into overtime with only 2:01 remaining.
The Maize and Blue first got on the board when freshman running back Zach Charbonnet found the end zone from 12 yards out at 2:55 of the second quarter, trimming Penn State's lead to 21-7 at the time.
With U-M's defense forcing three straight Nittany Lion punts to begin the third quarter, Charbonnet helped the Wolverines creep even closer when he scored on another 12-yard touchdown run at 1:05 of the frame, trimming the margin to 21-14.
The Maize and Blue did not wilt following a PSU touchdown early in the game's final frame that stretched its lead back to 28-14, stringing together a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off with a one-yard quarterback sneak by senior Shea Patterson on a fourth-and-goal play.
A massive scrum occurred at the goal line on the sneak, and the play had to be reviewed. With no clear evidence to overturn it, the call on the field stood.
Michigan held onto the game's momentum when its defense forced a Nittany Lion three-and-out, once again giving the ball back to the offense for a potential game-tying drive with 6:54 remaining.
U-M began its series at the PSU 47-yard line and advanced to the Penn State three-yard line, but Patterson's fourth-and-goal pass to sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell in the end zone was dropped with just 2:01 remaining.
A touchdown would have knotted the game at 28, but PSU's offense was instead able to pick up a crucial first down on its ensuing series, ending the game in the process.
“Offensively, we played a whole 60 minutes," junior center Cesar Ruiz said in the postgame. "We didn’t give up, and we did what we had to do. We came out trying to execute the plays the best we possibly could, and we had the fight in us.
"We played hard on every single play. We played strong, tried to minimize all the mistakes and I thought we made a big jump.”
Patterson Impressive In 276-Yard Passing Performance
Patterson's passing statistics may not jump off the page (24-of-41 passing for 276 yards with no touchdowns and a pick), but the senior played like a veteran and made critical plays in the second half when the club needed him most.
Accuracy had been an issue for him for much of the season, but his throws were consistently on the money, and he actually chipped in 34 yards on the ground as well (his most since accumulating 68 last November against Indiana).
Michigan's crucial nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that cut PSU's lead to 28-21 began with the senior connecting on pass plays of 13 and 15 yards to junior wideout Nico Collins and redshirt junior tight end Nick Eubanks, respectively.
Patterson later hit Bell on a 35-yard completion on a third-and-four play that took U-M down to the PSU 6-yard line, with the series later ending on the one-yard quarterback sneak.
Though the Maize and Blue did not score on their final possession of the game, Patterson made another vital completion when he hit freshman tight end Erick All for 10 yards on a third-and-six play that took U-M down to the PSU 7-yard line with just 3:36 remaining.
In all, the signal-caller found seven different pass catchers on Saturday (Collins, Bell, junior wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones, Eubanks, redshirt sophomore receiver Tarik Black, All and Charbonnet), and has actually connected with at least five different targets in every game this season.
His 276 passing yards, meanwhile, were tied (with the Rutgers contest earlier this year) for the second most he had thrown for in a game during his time at Michigan, only trailing the 282 he accumulated in last season's 42-21 win over Maryland.
Patterson's 41 attempts were the most he had ever logged in the winged helmet, beating out the 36 he had against Florida in last season's Peach Bowl.
“I felt safe back there," the senior noted. "I felt like I was in rhythm the whole night. The O-line did a heck of a job.
"I felt like I had plenty of time, and that opened up the running game a little bit with Zach Charbonnet. He had a good night on the ground."
More Michigan Football Offense Notes
• Michigan became the first team to score more than 13 points on Penn State this season. The Nittany Lions had been the first club since Louisville in 2013 to limit each of their first six opponents to 13 points or fewer.
• Following his 81-yard effort, Charbonnet has now rushed for at least 81 yards in four of the team's seven games, including a season-best 116 last week at Illinois.
• Collins' six receptions tied for his most in a contest, while his 89 yards were his second-best effort in a game. The only time the junior had tallied more yards was last year at Ohio State when he had 91.
• PSU had been averaging 4.5 sacks per game entering the weekend, but only registered one against Michigan.
• U-M did not fumble on Saturday, marking the first time all year it did not put the ball on the ground at least once in a game.
• Senior running back Tru Wilson did not play, while redshirt freshman running back Christian Turner only saw action on special teams.
• Senior tight end Sean McKeon did not see the field either on Saturday, despite returning from injury last weekend and receiving four offensive snaps against the Illini.
• All's 10-yard reception on a third-and-six play with 3:36 remaining in the game was the first catch of his career.
• Charbonnet's two-touchdown night gave him seven scores on the season, with only Mike Hart and Tyrone Wheatley (nine each) compiling more in their freshman seasons at Michigan.
• Bell finished with 82 yards on five catches, including a long of 35. He now has at least one reception of 20 or more yards in five of the U-M's seven games this year and has also registered at least 81 receiving yards in five contests.
• PSU had been allowing 8.2 points per game (second best in the country), 259.7 yards per outing (fourth) and 1.59 yards per carry (first) entering Saturday, but allowed U-M's offense to rack up 21 points, 417 yards and 3.4 yards per rushing attempt.
• The Wolverines had three touchdown drives of 65 yards or longer, with each of them taking 4:27 or less — one on eight plays for 75 yards, another in eight plays for 65 yards and a third in nine plays for 75 yards.
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