The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1265378
THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 143 THE BEST AND THE WORST TOP FIVE INDIVIDUAL GAME PERFORMANCES 1. QB Shea Patterson vs. Indiana — Patterson was hot from the get-go in Bloomington Nov. 23, with the senior connecting on each of his first seven throws. He finished 20-of-32 passing (68.8 percent) for 366 yards with five touchdowns and one interception, which earned him Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week recognition. Patterson's five scores through the air are the most by any Wolverine in a regulation game and the second- most ever (Jake Rudock threw for six in a double-overtime win at Indiana in 2015). Though he was efficient, he also had three pass plays go for more than 40 yards. 2. Patterson vs. Michigan State — Though his performance against Indiana sits atop this list, Patterson's prior outing against the Spartans is a very close second. He completed 24 of 32 (75.0 percent) throws for 384 yards with four touchdowns, an effort that led the Wolverines to a 44-10 blowout of their in-state rivals. Also impressive was that Patterson's four touchdown passes were to four different targets. For his stellar outing, head coach Jim Harbaugh gifted Patterson the game ball, and he received the Big Ten's Co-Offensive Player of the Week award for the first of what would be two straight weeks. 3. WR Nico Collins vs. Indiana — Collins' three touchdown catches against the Hoosiers marked a career best for the wideout. He caught six passes and racked up a career-high 165 yards for an average of 27.5 yards per reception. The top highlight of the day was Collins' 76-yard score in the third quarter on a slant route. His other two touchdowns came on a 24-yard strike in the second quarter and a 19-yard toss later on in the third. 4. RB Hassan Haskins vs. Notre Dame — Haskins blossomed in front of Michigan fans' eyes last season, getting better and better by the week. In a torrential downpour at The Big House Oct. 26, the Wolverines rushed for 303 yards to Notre Dame's 47, with Haskins responsible for churning out a personal-best 149 in his first career start. Even though he didn't find the end zone in the 45-14 triumph, he earned the club's Offensive Player of the Week award for moving the chains with such success, notching six first downs. Haskins averaged 7.5 yards per carry, which included a 49-yard run in the third quarter — the longest rush of his career. His standout perfor - mance all came against a defense that allowed just 3.8 yards per carry and 153.1 yards per contest. 5. LB Josh Uche vs. Illinois — The Oct. 12 matchup at Illinois was one of three games in which Uche totaled five or more total tackles in 2019. The remarkable part was the fashion in which Uche collected his five stops against the Illini. All five takedowns came behind the line of scrimmage, for a career-high 5.0 tackles for loss. Among them were a personal-best 3.0 sacks. Junior defensive end Kwity Paye sat out the game with an injury, meaning Michigan needed Uche to step up. He played 42 snaps in the contest — tied for his second-highest total in a game all season — and excelled while doing so in the 42-25 triumph. Best Win: Notre Dame The momentum U-M picked up by staging a second-half comeback against Penn State in a 28-21 loss the week prior seemed to carry over to a monsoon under the lights at The Big House against No. 8 Notre Dame Oct. 26. The Wolverines came out angry and dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Michigan rushed for 303 yards, highlighted by redshirt freshman Hassan Haskins' 149. Senior quarterback Shea Patter- son was asked to just manage the game, completing half of his 12 passes for 100 yards with two touchdowns. The Maize and Blue didn't turn the ball over, despite the wet conditions. Notre Dame, on the other hand, lost two fumbles in the contest. The Irish never got anything going on offense, only rushing for 47 yards in a game where the cliché rang true — the team that runs the ball better will win in a "weather game." Irish junior quarterback Ian Book struggled throwing, too, completing just 8 of 25 attempts for 73 yards with one score. Michigan just looked a step or two faster all night long in a 45-14 thrashing. Worst Loss: Wisconsin The way Michigan's Sept. 21 game in Madison turned into a debacle makes it the worst loss of the season. Wisconsin controlling the time of possession battle by a margin of 41:07 to 18:53 told the story of the game. The Badgers rushed for 359 yards against an outmanned Michigan defensive interior, including 203 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries by All-American back Jonathan Taylor. Quarterback Jack Coan completed 13 of 16 passes for 128 yards, cashing in every time Michigan sold out against the run. Meanwhile, the Wolverines' offense was only able to muster up 40 rushing yards. They did produce 259 through the air, but much of that came in garbage time late and they completed only 40.5 percent of their throws with two interceptions. Wisconsin had the game in hand at halftime, taking a 28-0 lead into the locker room in what ended up a 35-14 embarrassing loss to open Big Ten play. Michigan and redshirt freshman running back Hassan Haskins (right) avenged a 2018 defeat at Notre Dame with a dominating 45-14 win in the rain Oct. 26 at Ann Arbor. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Senior Shea Patterson became the third quarterback in program history to eclipse 3,000 passing yards in a sin- gle season, throwing for 3,061 in 2019. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL