Wolverine Watch: Good To Great Will Be Tough
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Jim Harbaugh built a good football program in Ann Arbor over the course of four years. It remains well short of a great one, and deep down, he knows it.
Given the historical backdrop in Ann Arbor for what Bob Ufer described as “man’s inhumanity to man,” good isn’t good enough. Everybody knows that.
The Wolverines are beginning to make a habit of ending seasons by losing to Ohio State and then dropping a bowl game, sometimes in embarrassing fashion. Embarrassing, in this case, involves an 0-2 finish by a combined score of 103-54.
That’s sobering, no matter who leaves the stage early.
To be fair, the Michigan squad taking the field in the 41-15 rotten-fruit beating in the Peach Bowl bore little resemblance to the Wolverines that went 10-2 in the regular season. The heart and soul of their defense, junior captain linebacker Devin Bush Jr., watched from afar, an extra early exit for the NFL. Junior defensive end Rashan Gary sat it out as well, making in-game injuries to redshirt sophomore linebacker Devin Gil and sophomore defensive lineman Kwity Paye hurt that much worse.
On offense, 1,000-yard rusher and senior captain Karan Higdon kept his legs safe for the NFL, and U-M responded with 77 yards on the ground against the Gators. Fifth-year senior right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty also didn’t play, although he’d gotten nicked up earlier, like Bush.
It might not have mattered, the way Florida racked up big plays on both sides of the ball in a second-half deconstruction of Michigan’s ill-fated post-season. But it sure didn’t help.
Asked if the defections made a significant difference, junior quarterback Shea Patterson proved refreshingly blunt in a somber post-game session.
“Yeah,” Patterson said. “We can say, ‘We’re all we’ve got and we’re all we need’ as much as we want, but are we a better team without Devin Bush, Rashan Gary, Karan Higdon and whoever else didn’t play? No, we’re not.
“They’re a huge part of our team and our success this year. Missing them definitely did hurt. They’re doing, respectfully, what’s best for them, and I couldn’t be more happy for them. But we’re going to take what we learned from this game and use it for next year.”
Fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich — who put off a surgery to play in the bowl — didn’t shy away, either.
“It hurt us,” Winovich insisted. “Every second you turn around, somebody else is getting hurt or cramping, going down. Even my own mom — who is a workhorse, and I totally admire her opinion — was saying when we were down 20, pointing at the bench [saying] that, 'Hey, at a certain point you’ve got to start looking out for yourself.' To me it’s like I’ve never mailed it in in my life. I’ll be damned if I’m about to give in to these guys and just roll over and quit.
“It hurt us, and maybe guys took that in a negative light during the game. I don’t know. I’d have to use one of those machines … that gets into peoples’ brains to see how they were feeling.”
The Wolverines certainly hung tough through 30 minutes, a missed 52-yard field goal away from a halftime tie. After intermission, U-M’s hopes crumbled away like dirt huts in an earthquake.
Michigan interceptions, big play after big play by Florida and the Wolverines’ inability to finish drives all combined to crush Harbaugh’s crew.
It will look different come spring, of course. The Wolverines will bring in the next wave of performers, get others healthy and declare themselves ready to take the next step.
But that next step is mammoth, and those in winged helmets received an ice-cold reminder of it in late November and late December. Harbaugh said after the game that Michigan enjoyed a good season, and that it would have been great had the Wolverines knocked off the Gators.
He’ll get an argument any time greatness involves a 23-point loss to Ohio State and no Big Ten championship. Either way, the gap remains.
Seniors like Winovich and safety Tyree Kinnel deserved better. They and younger players were left to absorb the punishment the combination of attrition, injuries and the Gators dished out.
Harbaugh did some soul-searching after last season. He made a host of changes, including to his coaching staff. He sounds like it’s more fine tuning needed at this point, despite the late-season swoon.
But good to great involves the toughest gain of all, against a college football world ready to stonewall anyone attempting it.
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