Wolverine Watch: U-M Stands More Ready To Bust The Badgers
Jim Harbaugh runs a better football team onto the field each week this year than he did 12 months ago. There’s no doubt about that.
Everyone’s about to find out how much better.
The Wolverines are 5-1 heading into the tougher back half of the schedule, just like they were last season. Most of the minefields loom dead ahead, starting on Saturday with Wisconsin.
The No. 15 Badgers and their behemoths lumber into town Saturday night for a Big Ten East-West showdown. ESPN GameDay will be on hand, 115,000 shaking The Big House and millions more looking on via television.
There’s no better time to declare that this year isn’t last year — or even close.
A year ago, the Wolverines led the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium, 10-7, with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter. Wisconsin hadn’t scored on offense, getting absolutely stonewalled by the Michigan defense.
In the Badgers’ opening eight possessions, they’d managed three first downs and 100 yards of offense. Even the cheese curds tasted lousy for the home crowd.
“The defense had allowed no points,” recalled Michigan radio sideline reporter Doug Karsch. “But there was that punt that was laying on the ground, and Wisconsin picked it up and went 50 yards for a touchdown, which is why Michigan was only up 10-7 in that game. They made it more difficult on themselves with that play and with fumbling on the 1-yard line going in.”
Then it all fell apart.
Quarterback Brandon Peters got knocked from the game, Michigan’s second starting QB to be hospitalized in a hazardous season behind center. John O’Korn stepped in, going 2-of-8 passing for 19 yards in the fourth quarter.
Don Brown’s defenders couldn’t continue to bar the door, in a 24-10 loss.
“Eventually, the defense ran out of gas,” Karsch observed. “In Wisconsin’s final four possessions in that game in Madison a year ago, Michigan’s defense allowed 11 first downs, 232 yards of offense, two touchdowns and a field goal.”
A repeat in 2018 appears unlikely. Junior quarterback Shea Patterson (68.8 percent passing, 1,187 yards, 10 touchdowns, three interceptions) stands more advanced midway through the regular season than anyone the Wolverines could put on the field at Camp Randall.
His backup, redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey, appears in command and unruffled when entering a game, even under the lights at Notre Dame.
Better quarterback play represents a major reason U-M is averaging 38.2 points per game at the midway mark, compared to the 25.2 they managed last season.
Turnovers and sacks? Last year Michigan turned it over 21 times, losing 11 fumbles and saw QBs hit the deck 36 times at the hands of opponents. This year, the Wolverines have lost one fumble for five total turnovers and been sacked eight times.
“Shea does a really good job with decision making, accuracy, his timing,” Harbaugh said. “He protects the ball in the pocket, escapes the pocket, and has a knack of making the right escape move from the pocket. In terms of scrambling, he’s smart when he’s out of the pocket.
“He’s good with decision making and good with the ball handling. He does an excellent job in that area.”
Junior captain and offensive guard Ben Bredeson — Wisconsin born and bred — insists this offensive line is better, understanding when a defensive line begins to fold and taking advantage.
“You can tell when they’re starting to get tired, starting to give out,” he said. “You’ve just got to push harder for a little bit more. Sometimes it’s a matter of getting one or two more touchdowns on them, and they start to give in.
“Last year, we would get to that point, people would feel it, kind of lax up, and the other team would score and get back in the game. This year, we’re not letting that happen, and that’s paying off for us.”
Wisconsin won’t quit. Kings of the Big Ten West, they’re the proverbial one-eyed man in the land of the blind. The Badgers are good enough to come in and steal one.
Michigan is good enough to not let it happen. The Wolverines are strong enough to score more when they have the chance. Their defense insists they’re built for four quarters this season, and they’ve got the chance to prove it.
“You have to limit the mistakes, and keep your defense, A, off the field, and B, out of bad position,” Karsch noted.
If that happens, there’s no Badger avalanche at the end, against a team that’s still thinking big.
“We’ve got to win out to have a chance to make the College Football Playoff and win the Big Ten,” junior tight end Sean McKeon said. “Those are both our goals. The next game is the most important game.”
It’s the start of a stronger finish, and that could mean everything.
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