The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1133554
THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 143 Best Win: Penn State The Nittany Lions entered the Nov. 3 contest at The Big House 6-2 and ranked No. 14 in the country and were coming off a 30-24 victory over No. 18 Iowa. None of that mattered to the revenge-minded Wolverines (PSU had blown out U-M 42-13 in 2017), who dominated the visitors from State College, 42-7. The ferocious Maize and Blue defense sacked fifth-year senior quarterback Trace McSorley twice on his club's opening possession before forcing a punt. On its first series of the day, the Michigan offense strung together an eight- play, 76-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown, with all eight plays coming on the ground. The lead ballooned to 14-0 at the 6:52 mark of the second quarter when junior quarterback Shea Patterson found sophomore wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones in the corner of the end zone on a perfectly thrown 23-yard strike. The Maize and Blue held a 14-0 lead at the break and limited the Nittany Lion offensive attack to just 77 yards in the first half and minus-six on the ground. Patterson's second scoring toss came late in the third quarter when he found redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry all alone in the end zone on a seven-yard pass, making the score 21-0 and initiating the rout. Things went from bad to worse for Penn State when U-M fifth-year senior cor- nerback Brandon Watson ran back an interception 62 yards for a touchdown to close out the third quarter, increasing Michigan's advantage to 28-0. Fourth-quarter scoring runs from senior Karan Higdon and junior Chris Evans put U-M up 42-0 with 7:44 to go, and the Wolverines looked to be in store for a shutout. Penn State spoiled that notion when it found the end zone with less than two minutes to go. The 42-7 win was sweet revenge for both the Maize and Blue and for defensive coordinator Don Brown, whose defense was torched for 42 points and 506 yards in 2017. In the 2018 matchup, the Nittany Lions mustered just seven points and 186 total yards. The showdown was arguably the most complete game Michigan played all year and capped off a stretch of three straight victories against ranked op- ponents (triumphs over No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 24 Michigan State preceded it). Worst Loss: At Ohio State U-M entered the Nov. 24 contest with a 10-1 record and ranked No. 4 in the country, knowing it had to pick up a victory to clinch its spot in the Big Ten title game. OSU, meanwhile, also came in at 10-1 and No. 10 in the nation with the same stakes on the line. The matchup was viewed by most as a toss-up (though Michigan was actually tabbed as a slight favorite by many betting outlets). Warning signs were present for the Maize and Blue from the onset, though, with OSU redshirt sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins having no trouble picking apart the Wolverine defense en route to three first-half touchdown passes. A U-M secondary that had not allowed an opponent to throw for more than 209 yards on it all season was torched for 222 yards in the first half alone, yet Michigan trailed just 24-19 at the break. Ohio State led 27-19 midway through the third quarter, when redshirt sopho- more Will Hart's punt was blocked and run back by the Buckeyes for a touch- down, making the score 34-19. The Scarlet and Gray scored four more touchdowns to claim a lopsided 62-39 victory. Haskins finished with 396 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, while OSU as a team racked up 567 yards on a U-M defense that hadn't allowed more than 385 all season. The 41-15 blowout loss to Florida in the Peach Bowl was also a strong candidate for this spot on the list, but didn't quite hold the same magnitude of disappoint- ment the setback in Columbus did. THE BEST AND THE WORST The Wolverines played their most complete game of the year in a 42-7 domination of Penn State, capping off a stretch of three straight wins against ranked opponents. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL