Michigan Football: The good, bad and ugly from Peach Bowl loss
The Good: Pass catchers and young guys standing out
It’s hard to find much to be happy about it in a 41-15 loss, however, the game was actually closer than the final score said. Patterson’s two picks gave Florida one touchdown and set it up for another after a short field. Without that and a bunch of missed opportunities for the offense, it could have been closer.
The truth is, the game should have been closer if Jim Harbaugh and Pep Hamilton had any clue how to use their players. It’s easy to see that Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones are the two best skill players on the offense and they were again against Florida.
Impossible to ignore that Michigan is opting to run offense without its best players on the field any time Collins, DPJ and Black aren't on the field together near the red zone.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) December 29, 2018
Peoples-Jones caught eight passes for 71 yards and scored the Wolverines only touchdown on a fade to the end zone. Maybe if Michigan tried that more, they wouldn’t be such a lackluster team in the red zone. Collins also had a big game, catching five passes for 80 yards including a 41-yarder.
Tarik Black even caught two balls for 15 yards. Those three guys should always be on the field. Just about every damn down. Yet, Harbaugh has them on the bench for Sean McKeon, who can’t catch and Mason, who brought zero value to the table in a game like this.
Black should have caught a touchdown but dropped it, hopefully, that will motivate him cause he has been close to his old self. Still, he looked better. Even Zach Gentry picked up 27 yards and caught two for 39.
Outside of that, there were few bright spots. Chase Winovich played alright, although he didn’t show up until the second half. Kwity Paye generated good pressure but missed a few chances to make a game-changing play. On those same lines, Christian Turner was UM’s best back with seven carries for 32 yards. He also caught a pass for 17. Yet, if he keeps his feet in bounds on that end around, maybe the outcome is entirely different.