Michigan Football: 4 things on Wolverines bye week to-do list

Patterson has to get right

It was clear as the game progressed on Saturday that Patterson wasn’t close to himself.

The numbers don’t tell the full story. Patterson was a perfectly cromulent 19-of-29 passing for 207 yards, hardly a statline that screams something’s wrong.

However, the eye test looks much worse. Patterson faced a surprising amount of pressure — not his fault, but a problem for Michigan football nonetheless against Army’s small defensive front — and couldn’t do anything to avoid it.

Aside from the two fumbles he gave away, to go along with his first-play fumble last week, he committed a crucial an intentional grounding penalty at the end of the half. This forced Quinn Nordin into a much longer field goal than anticipated, which missed wide.

While Patterson occasionally showed touches of his usual precision on slant routes, he spent most of the afternoon sailing throws over the heads of receivers. Most glaringly, he just missed Ronnie Bell on the first quarter for what should have been a 58-yard touchdown, and went 0-for-3 on Michigan’s second overtime drive, putting the defense in an unenviable position preventing a walk-off touchdown.

Much of the senior’s sloppiness has no excuse. But it was reported last week that Patterson sustained an injury on his fumble against Middle Tennessee, and if that’s the case, the bye week couldn’t come at a better time.

For Speed in Space to become a reality, the Wolverines need a confident, veteran distributor who takes care of the football and finds his playmakers. They didn’t have one on Saturday, but they have two weeks to find him again.