A funny thing happened on the way to five Michigan blowouts leading up to the “real” part of the schedule. But nobody’s laughing.
The Wolverines found themselves in a real game at Northwestern — a real, one-more-mistake-and-you-lose dogfight. In some ways, it seemed unreal, Pat Fitzgerald’s 1-2 Wildcats racing out to a 17-0 lead prior to Michigan’s eventual 20-17 escape.
Some reacted with predictable serenity, pronouncing the Wolverines doomed in upcoming contests against Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State. Others took it a little farther, melting down like they’d just received an alert from NORAD regarding incoming nukes.
Former Michigan offensive lineman Doug Skene — owner of five Big Ten championship rings and not a sky-is-falling proponent — still pointed out his favorite football team didn’t do itself any favors.
“This could absolutely be another case of ho-hum, it’s Northwestern. This is not a red-letter game. We will play down to our opponents, and then we will play up to our opponents, which is a really dangerous game to play when you haven’t won a championship in a decade and a half,” he noted, on TheWolverine.com postgame podcast.
He also put that warning into perspective.
“If you watched the game at Northwestern and you think that’s going to be good enough to win on the road up there in East Lansing, I’ve got news for you — it ain’t happening,” Skene advised. “We’re going to have to get a lot better and a lot more effective, especially early.”
Early has been Michigan’s issue of late. The Wolverines dug a 21-3 hole at Notre Dame and couldn’t dig out, losing 24-17. They nearly buried themselves in Evanston, relying on almost three quarters of shutout football and junior quarterback Shea Patterson’s feet and arm to scramble out.
Part of the issue simply involves execution. At Notre Dame, the Wolverines were two third-and-long stops away from a shut-down defensive performance. At Northwestern, U-M’s offense couldn’t get out of its own way early.
A sack on Patterson killed Michigan’s opening possession, after they’d won the toss and chosen to receive — a rarity. The second time the Wolverines touched the ball, a pair of quarterback hurries sunk them.
“The worst thing you can do for a quarterback is allow him to get hit, pressured and or sacked early in the football game,” Skene said. “It causes his feet to get jumpy, and then bad things can happen from there. Thank goodness, good things happened, because Patterson made some plays with his feet.”
Eventually, that is. Not before the Wolverines torpedoed themselves several more times.
Wide-open junior tight end Sean McKeon dropped a pass to negate a big-gainer. After Michigan finally scored, penalties by redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry and redshirt junior offensive tackle Jon Runyan blunted potential scoring drives.
The question becomes, does a bad start on the road against an inferior team become predictive of impending destruction? Skene recalled Bo Schembechler looking to make certain his Wolverines entered enemy territory with the right attitude.
He’d stand as the busses rolled up and bark: “Park the tanks! We’re here to take over!”
The Wolverines need that outlook, Skene asserted.
“It takes a mentality that you need to stand back and watch what’s about to happen,” he said. “I’m about to demoralize you in front of your girlfriend, mom, dad and grandparents, right here.”
Michigan radio sideline reporter Doug Karsch appreciates Schembechler and the classic crews of Wolverines as much as anyone. He’s not convinced that a stumble early at Northwestern means an impending string of losses.
“Ohio State has been pretty dominant in the last few years, and Michigan has played them toe-to-toe,” Karsch said. “Michigan doesn’t show up against Ohio State and play like that very often. Michigan did get housed last year at Penn State. Penn State’s got to come to The Big House this year.
“If people want to hold up what they saw on Saturday night and say this is clearly evidence that Michigan is going to get smoked in those two games, I would just say tap the brakes. It was, relatively speaking, not the greatest performance. We all get that.
“But I don’t think it’s indicative of how they’re going to play in those big games, especially at Michigan Stadium.”
As always, the bottom line involves winning. The more non-championship seasons that roll by, the easier it is to take an arms-folded, “Show me” approach.
That’s understandable. That’s also the challenge for Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines, in the days and years to come. They not only have to park the tanks, but begin blowing rivals up with them.
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