Michigan Football: Are the Wolverines ready for Ohio State?

Michigan football had a chance to beat Wisconsin, but couldn’t close the deal. Are the Wolverines really ready for Ohio State? The results say no.

Remember all the flap last August?  About how young and untested Michigan’s defensive secondary and offensive line were and how unlikely it would be for the Wolverines to bounce back as national championship contenders?

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Yeah, well, a young Michigan football team, riddled with injuries matched Wisconsin punch for punch for most of the game, at one point racking up twice as many yards on offense as the Badgers.

Brandon Peters overthrew his receivers in the first quarter, but settled down and showed more composure than we had seen earlier in tough spots.  Throughout the first half, Michigan football looked national contender strong.  In the second half, inexperience and very unfortunate mistakes let Wisconsin take control.

Wisconsin’s a good team with a lot to lose in facing Michigan and whoever ends up vying for the conference championship (Ohio State); the stakes for Wisconsin high, were much higher than for Michigan.

Both teams showed up ready to play smashmouth football.  Wisconsin passing more than Michigan, but Michigan’s offensive line dominating at the line of scrimmage.  At the half, tied, the game was too close to call, and there were guarded hopes that a win might put Michigan back in the national conversation.

No such luck, and yes, luck did play a part as the Wolverines lost opportunities to score and gave away a touchdown on a bizarre returned punt.  A young team made the sorts of errors that are tough to ignore.  There were moments when the defense seemed unsettled, finding difficulty in lining up. Something is up with special team play, as kickoff and punt returns have hurt the Blue throughout the season.

Before being knocked out of the game, Peters fumbled at the goal line, a heartbreaking mistake.  Michigan football was able to recover and put together a nice drive that put the Blue in position to score again until a penalty for a false start put an end to that drive.

Once again a close call, a touchdown pass caught by Peoples-Jones that was taken back, turned opportunity into regret.

Michigan Wolverines Football

The Wolverines are battered and bruised as they get off the bus and start preparing for the game against Ohio State, and Ohio State has shown steady improvement, bashing an unimpressive Illinois team 52 – 14.  Once again, the stakes are high for both teams.  A win against OSU would go a long way in restoring pride to Wolverine nation; a win for OSU would put them in a position to be considered for the playoffs, even with two losses.

The Detroit Free Press has raised alarms about Jim Harbaugh’s coaching, as expressed in their first response to the loss at Camp Randall:

“It’s hard to blame Harbaugh for a fumble at the goal line. Or for a botched replay — U-M sure looked like they had a touchdown when Donovan Peoples-Jones dragged his foot in the back of the end zone. Peters fumbled the ball away seconds later.  It’s even hard to blame Harbaugh for the strange punt return that gave the Badgers the lead. And yet, he’s the head coach, and his teams, at least in these kinds of games, keep finding ways to lose … Still, a pattern is emerging. Other teams keep finding ways to make plays. The Wolverines do not.”

Bad luck, dumb mistakes, close call.  Michigan has a lot of game film to watch and a lot of corrections to make in order to keep up with Ohio State’s formidable offense.  Michigan has to score in the red zone and keep OSU’s defense on the field.  Peters may be back, Karan Higdon, Ty Isaac, Kareem Walker, and Michael Onwenu may be healthy.

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Every break will have to go Michigan’s way in this last game of the season, a game Michigan fans had reason to anticipate with excitement until games against ranked opponents indicated that the Wolverines just might not be ready this year.