ORLANDO, Fla. – Grading all aspects of Michigan football’s 35-16 loss to Alabama in the Citrus Bowl:

This grade was on its way to being an ‘A’ … until it wasn’t. Alabama adjusted in the second half after U-M’s offensive line dominated in the first, and it was so bad that the Wolverines ran six times for no yards in the fourth quarter, aided by sack yardage.

Freshman Zach Charbonnet managed 57 yards in the first quarter alone, with redshirt frosh Hassan Haskins adding 21. However, they were non-factors in the second half, when Alabama pulled away.

The Crimson Tide appeared to bring more men to the line of scrimmage and dare the Wolverines’ receivers to beat them, but they couldn’t. Charbonnet finished with a team-best 84 yards on 13 carries (6.5-yard average), while Haskins added 61.

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There were plays to be made, at times — some of them were, too many of them weren’t. Michigan’s receivers continue to struggle to get open, and senior quarterback Shea Patterson struggled at times to find them when they did. He was (unofficially) 0 of 7 on deep balls not aided by a flea flicker, and while he overthrew a couple, there were tight windows in which to throw.

Junior Donovan Peoples-Jones is still an average at best route runner, sophomore Ronnie Bell drops too many balls and junior Nico Collins is somewhat limited as a strider. Freshman Giles Jackson was a bright spot (four catches for 57 yards) and will continue to improve, but this group just isn’t explosive enough, and Patterson still takes bad sacks (two Saturday) and is inconsistent.

Bell (53 yards) and Collins (48) also snared four receptions.

Given the absence of senior tackle Carlo Kemp and redshirt junior counterpart Michael Dwumfour, the front seven exceeded expectations before running out of gas in the fourth quarter.

Alabama running back Najee Harris had only 51 yards at halftime, aided by a 25-yard run, but he exploded in the fourth quarter for 69 to finish with 136 net and two scores. The Wolverines did a solid job filling the gaps until they wore down late and did a much better job containing the edges than they did against Ohio State.

“If not for a few big plays …” is this defense’s mantra.

Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy set the tone early by getting behind U-M’s fastest defensive back, freshman Daxton Hill, and the Crimson Tide also managed passes of 58, 42 and 25 yards. Jeudy was the MVP with six receptions for 204 yards and a touchdown, and Mac Jones out-dueled Patterson in completing 16 of 25 passes for 327 yards with three scores.

Redshirt junior kicker Quinn Nordin was one of the players of the game, nailing three big field goals. His 57-yarder seemed to give the Wolverines momentum heading into the half, and even provided a 16-14 lead.

Freshman Giles Jackson provided two big kick returns, including a 50-yarder to open the game, and sophomore kicker Jake Moody only had one kickoff returned, huge given Alabama’s prowess in the return game.

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