Michigan Football: 5 things we learned from loss at Penn State

Patterson shows poise, guts and promise

There is a lot of blame to go around after the Wolverines 28-21 loss. But it’s hard to put that blame at the feet of Shea Patterson.

Simply put, it was one of his finest performances as a Michigan football quarterback. With his team down 21-0 and many thinking he could be headed for the bench soon, Patterson stopped thinking and started playing.

He put together long drive after long drive and was spectacular on third and fourth down. His numbers, which were 24-of-41 for 276 yards and 34 rushing yards weren’t off the charts, but remember, this came against a very good defense, one allowing eight points per game.

On that last drive, Patterson did all he could. He threw darts, he dodged defenders and he put that last ball right on the money. The red zone package is terrible and is cost Michigan again, but that wasn’t the fault of Patterson.

While it doesn’t help much now, if Patterson can play like that over the last five games, Michigan has a shot to run the table and that includes Ohio State.

The toughest games are now at home and while any sort of championship seems like a pipe dream, Patterson still has time to turn around his legacy, a la Tom Brady, with a few big wins down the stretch.