How the Wolverines Have Turned the Corner With Dominant Football
10/27/2019 11:27:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Whatever began late in the first half last weekend at Penn State continued for all 60 minutes against Notre Dame. The University of Michigan has turned the corner and become a tornado on the football field against some of the best teams in the country.
Michigan, ranked No. 19, completely dominated the No. 8 Fighting Irish Saturday night (Oct. 26) in a stunning 45-14 victory. The Wolverines ran over them early -- with a 167-20 rushing edge in the first half during a pouring rain -- and Shea Patterson threw two touchdown passes before Dylan McCaffrey added another scoring pass in the second half.
Add the 21-7 scoring edge over the Nittany Lions after falling into a 21-0 hole and coming up just short of forcing overtime on the road, and Michigan (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) has gone on a 66-21 roll against two storied opponents in its last 93 minutes of play.
Wolverine coach Jim Harbaugh told ABC-TV's Maria Taylor at halftime in State College, Pennsylvania: "This will be our finest hour." He was sensing something, and that something became quite clear in this one.
Harbaugh, after beating Notre Dame with a 437-180 edge in total yardage, discussed what he'd felt even before the game at Penn State.
Haskins
"Yeah, I saw it coming," said Harbaugh. "Just watching them prepare, watching them practice, watching the detail in the meetings, and just how important it was to them. The day-in, day-out work in practice, the growth, you could see it."
His players sensed the turnaround coming, too.
"I think in the second half of the Penn State game we kind of found our stride," said Patterson, who completed 6-of-12 passes for 100 yards while never turning the ball over against the Fighting Irish. "We realized after that game, going into this week, that from Monday's practice we had to come out that way from start to finish. You can't come out flat and expect to make a comeback. We had to help our defense. Our defense did the job tonight, and we executed all night offensively. I think the results spoke for themselves."
Tailback Hassan Haskins, who started and carried 20 times for 149 yards, said, "I just think that in the second quarter (at Penn State) we were coming together, doing our job, offense and defense. I just felt like there was something special coming."
Middle linebacker Cameron McGrone said, "In the second half against Penn State, we found out what our team can really do, and that we can do it whenever we want. ... We still believe our best football is ahead."
Safety Josh Metellus added, "We wanted to start fast as a defense, and we just pride ourselves on limiting a team under 17 points. We feel we can win every game if we do that. Once we got going in the first half, we just went at it with a one-play-at-a-time mentality, and at the end of the game we're going to end up winning. So, that's what I felt we were doing, keeping a calm head, not getting too hyped and trying to be Superman. Everybody was trying to make the play, doing their job, and that's when I feel we're executing at our best."
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly won the pregame coin toss, but instead of deferring to take the second-half kickoff, he opted to take the opening kickoff and play on offense,
"The defense saw it as disrespect -- thinking they could take the ball first and make something happen," said McGrone, who had a game-high 12 tackles and a quarterback hurry. "So, right from the start, we had to show 'em we could make something happen every play and they couldn't gain on us. ... They definitely didn't really believe in our speed and ability to get to the edges."
McGrone, who began starting after Josh Ross was injured at Wisconsin, is one of the biggest speed differences the Wolverines have realized in recent weeks. So are freshman nickel back Daxton Hill and freshman wide receiver Mike Sainristil, who started and led Michigan with three catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Young players with great speed and instincts are a big reason why a team that appeared to be taking on water has become a real battleship on game days.
"We're just so fast," said Harbaugh. "We're running so good."
McGrone
The downpour that was pounding down long before kickoff and didn't let up until early in the second half determined how this game would be played. The forward pass -- which both Michigan and Notre Dame did much to popularize as a new offensive weapon some 100 years ago -- was virtually no weapon at all in the first half.
Which team took control would be determined by who ran the ball best. It was that plain and simple -- old-time football.
And that wasn't even close in the first 30 minutes of play. The Wolverines had 34 carries for 167 yards, while the Fighting Irish rushed 15 times for 20 yards.
When Zach Charbonnet bulled his way in for the one-yard score that made it 17-0, Wolverine right tackle Jalen Mayfield pounded the air with his fist in a show of pure joy.
This was two-way domination in the trenches.
"The offensive line was tremendous," said Harbaugh. "Defensively, they had it wired. They were shutting down just about everything that was being thrown at them. And then, offensively, they made some creases and had some really crisp blocks. The backs were squeezing through 'em and breaking tackles, and we hit a trap play early that was big. We hit another couple inside runs, a couple outside runs. We also had excellent pass protection against a very good defensive line.
"And it was four quarters. I think they understand the adrenaline that's in these type of games, and they've really grown a lot. A wonderful job."
It's a basic message of all coaches: "Play hard and smart for 60 minutes!"
As simple as it is to demand that, it's another thing to get it. And that these Wolverines are accomplishing that might be the biggest reason they are succeeding right now against high-quality opponents.
They also topped 400 yards in total offense at No. 6 Penn State, and establishing the running game in high gear has been critical.
"The O-line did their job," said Haskins. "I thank them for that. They made holes for me, and I just did my job."
Center Cesar Ruiz was central to the success, carrying out part of the game plan with his ability to move quickly on his feet and take out defenders.
"When I pulled," said Ruiz, "I was able to open some holes. I think that was one thing they weren't really expecting, and that was really an advantage for us to have me on the perimeter a bit."
Offensive guard Michael Onwenu added, "It felt good to impose our will, and I'm glad I didn't have to pull. He did my job for me."
Guards normally do more pulling than centers. But regardless of what scheme or play was run, the Block M took care of business.
Patterson said, "They set the tone. I'm just really proud of them and the way they played all night. And they gave these guys the ability to make plays when they needed to."
Charbonnet was dynamic in the first half and finished with 15 carries for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Tru Wilson also scored a touchdown and ran for 45 yards on six carries. Michigan rushed for 303 yards and 5.3 yards per carry.
Sainristil
Notre Dame led the Football Bowl Subdivision in opponent passing completions per touchdown with a 25.8-to-one ratio, but the Wolverines had three touchdowns with merely eight completions.
The Irish struggled to get anything going offensively.
Notre Dame's starting tailback, Tony Jones Jr., had eight rushes for 14 yards. He entered the game with 557 yards on the ground and a hefty 7.0-yard average.
Irish quarterback Ian Book had thrown for 1,419 yards and 14 touchdowns. He completed only 8-of-25 passes for 73 yards and one touchdown.
The Wolverines dominated from the start, and while a 17-0 lead at half time was pretty significant, it didn't secure victory -- especially against a team as talented as the Irish.
Michigan began the second half with three consecutive three-and-out possessions and allowed Notre Dame a cracked door for a comeback. And the Irish finally scored on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Book to tight end Cole Kmet.
Collins
It was up to the Wolverines to answer, and they did so over and over again.
Haskins burst up the middle for 49 yards to set up a dramatic and unlikely eight-yard touchdown pass from Patterson to Donovan Peoples-Jones. Patterson got the pass off the instant before getting crushed, and DPJ caught the ball while going down.
Patterson fired a 16-yard pass to Nico Collins, and Wilson capped off a drive with a 27-yard touchdown run. Then McCaffrey hit Sainristil for a 26-yard scoring pass.
Michigan had scored four touchdowns in five possessions.
The game was over.
The rout was on.
The two winningest teams in the history of college football aren't scheduled to meet again until 2033 in Ann Arbor and 2034 in Notre Dame -- the agreement announced the day of this game -- and Michigan will hold bragging rights for 14 years.
"That's a win I know I'll remember forever," said Patterson, "and I'm sure everyone in the locker room will. I was just so happy to be a part of that, and collectively as a group, it's a great feeling. ... I'm just very proud of our team tonight."
Harbaugh sees this team as something special.
"They've had some tests and taken some criticism," said Harbaugh. "But they had the mindset to keep working and keep growing. That leads to really great victories and success like our players had tonight. It's as great lesson for them because not everybody can do that.
"That's why I'm so proud of our team and have so much respect for the guys, to be able to know that at a young age. That's good. It bodes well. They're a tight-knit team and they've been raised right. They understand that work and improvement is going to lead to success."
