Kornacki: Wolverines Still Hold Destiny in Own Hands
11/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 13, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- On a day when the College Football Playoff became a wild scramble for inclusion, Michigan joined Clemson and Washington as teams that lost while bracketed in the latest rankings to be headed to the national semifinals.
And the way the Wolverines were defeated was so stunningly similar to the way they lost here 31 years ago, when they were also ranked No. 2 and a walk-on kicker for Iowa lined up to ruin their undefeated season. Jim Harbaugh, the Michigan quarterback in 1985, was now its head coach.
It couldn't happen again, could it?
It did.
Hawkeyes walk-on freshman Keith Duncan drilled a 33-yard field goal as time expired Saturday night (Oct. 12) to make his team (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) bowl eligible while the Wolverines (9-1, 6-1) were left to wonder if they were headed to the Fiesta Bowl or Peach Bowl, where the Division I semifinals will be played Dec. 31.
Harbaugh got his team focused on that in the postgame locker room after the 14-13 defeat. The silver lining on a cloudy day when three of the top four teams lost was that, while misery loves company, it also assured that everything was still there to be had for Michigan in terms of the conference and national championship.
"He just said it was a tough loss and we'll continue to go to work and we'll control our own destiny," Michigan safety Dymonte Thomas said of Harbaugh's postgame address. "If we win out, we can see where it takes us."
Should the Wolverines finish the regular season by winning their last two games at home with Indiana this Saturday (Nov. 19) and at Ohio State (Nov. 26), they would advance to the Big Ten Championship game. If they win that, a spot in the national semifinals would surely be theirs.
No. 1 Alabama is the lone undefeated team from a Power Five conference, and there should be three teams with at least one loss joining the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff.
"It really doesn't matter what we feel like," said tight end and co-captain Jake Butt. "We can only control what we can control, and that's just to keep winning, and keep winning, and if we keep winning and doing those things, the rest will take care of itself."
Kenny Allen could've been the hero.
He was a former walk-on kicker himself before receiving a scholarship, and had never attempted a field goal from 50 yards or more, but absolutely nailed a 51-yarder with 9:35 to play. He supplied a two-point lead that would be one point too few.
"With Scott (Sypniewski) snapping and Garrett (Moores) holding and the guys up front blocking," said Allen, "it made my job really easy. It was just up to me to kick it through. I'm just going out there. It's my job to make field goals. I practice a lot, and that's what we've got to do when called upon."
He was being modest, and that's admirable. But, the truth is, Allen's kick was much more difficult to convert than the one that won the game.
Channing Stribling could've been the hero, too.
His interception with 3:43 left on the clock put victory within grasp for the Wolverines. Defensive end Taco Charlton leveled quarterback C.J. Beathard the instant he let go of a floater that Stribling came down with at the Michigan 16-yard line.
However, the Wolverines, who had only five first downs the entire second half, could not get the one first down they needed to very likely run out the clock. Then, on the ensuing punt, Mike McCray was flagged 15 yards for pulling the facemask of returner Desmond King and Iowa started its game-winning drive from the Michigan 36-yard line, already in range for a long field goal.
"We didn't make enough plays to extend drives and convert first downs," said Harbaugh. "And we missed some deep throws. Give Iowa credit. They tackled, they blocked, they played a very good football game. So, congratulate them and we move on."
Wilton Speight, who had gotten better every week and become a master of throwing the deep ball, completed only one pass for over 17 yards. The week after throwing for a career-best 362 yards against Maryland, he threw for 103 by completing 11 of 26 with one interception.
He had a chance to connect for a play that could've made a huge difference on Michigan's first possession of the fourth quarter. Darboh had two strides on his defender and a 51-yard touchdown was there for the taking, but Speight over-threw his favorite receiver and the Hawkeyes got a break.
"That was one that I put a little too much juice on it," said Speight. "I wanted to keep it away from the defender in the middle of the field, and just kind of over-cooked it a bit."
Allen saved that drive with his clutch, long-distance field goal that gave the Wolverines a lead that didn't hold up.
There was nothing on the statistic sheets to hint that this game would be close.
Iowa, reeling after a 41-14 loss at Penn State in its previous game, was ranked ninth in the Big Ten in total defense, 10th in rushing defense and 12th against passing defense.
Michigan, coming off a 59-3 win over Maryland, was leading the conference with a 47.8-point scoring average and was second in both rushing and total offense.
And yet, the Hawkeyes held the Wolverines five touchdowns under their average by limiting them to 201 total yards, 296 under their average.
"We just didn't get it done tonight," said Harbaugh. "We didn't do enough to make it go our way. That's the way I saw it."
And so, just as it was on Oct. 19, 1985, when Rob Houghtlin's 29-yard field goal made No. 1 Iowa a 12-10 winner over Michigan, a kicker without a scholarship found that he wasn't without love after kicking the game-winner.
The only difference was that Duncan kicked at the goal post at the opposite side of the field that Houghtlin did. The fans stormed the field again, completely filling the Kinnick Stadium field and shrieking for joy. Only this time they were busy taking selfies and shooting video on their phones. That was different, too.
The Wolverines were like so many salmon, making their way to their locker room at the same end of the stadium as where the kick was successful. It was a blur of noise and disappointment, and most of them walked off, while a few jogged away.
"It hurts," said Thomas. "You get upset in their hometown, and all their fans rush the field in front of you, cheering, yelling and screaming. But there's nothing you can do about it, just congratulate them and keep moving, and just try to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Still, once they reached the locker room and heard Harbaugh and their other coaches and team leaders talk about all their dreams still being attainable, Thomas and others began turning the page on a bitter defeat.
"We're going to bounce back," said Thomas. "We worked real hard in the offseason, and we know that if we win out, what lies ahead of us. So, we're going to get back to work Monday, and take care of Indiana, and take care of Ohio State.
"Coach Harbaugh said, 'Monday, let's get back to work. It's a new week, a new team. Don't look back at the past. Just worry about the future.' "
