Season in review: Michigan
Team: Michigan
Record: 10-3 (7-2 in B1G)
High moment of the season: Beating Indiana on senior day
Michigan obviously had better wins in 2016. Beating Colorado, Penn State and Wisconsin were all far more impressive.
The Indiana game got the nod because of what it clinched. Michigan ran the table at home, and got the do-or-die regular season finale at Ohio State that it wanted. The Wolverines finally got to get excited for Ohio State with everything on the line. Gone was the frustration of the Iowa loss. Michigan still had everything in front of it.
With the snow coming down in the Big House — that game was by no means the prettiest — the aftermath was perfect.
When Mom lets you play in the snow for an extra five minutes before coming in for dinner. pic.twitter.com/NGKIYnQhE8
— Saturday Tradition (@Tradition) November 20, 2016
Low moment of the season: Ohio State loss
It simply doesn’t get any more heartbreaking than that.
To blow a double-digit lead, end up on the short end of 50-50 calls and lose on the last play of a double-overtime game is bad enough. Any one of those elements is frustrating. Add to that equation that it came in the biggest rivalry game of the season with a conference championship and a potential College Football Playoff berth at stake, and that’s just downright devastating.
Michigan can debate the officiating until the end of time, but the result was the same. That game will always be a painful memory for the Wolverines because in every sense, it was an opportunity wasted. Unfortunately that became the theme of the season.
Most meaningful play: Jourdan Lewis’ interception vs. Wisconsin
Before the Wisconsin game, Michigan hadn’t beat a top-10 team since 2008. While the world was still trying to figure out if the Badgers were legit — they obviously were after beating LSU — Michigan was trying to show that it was truly a contender.
Lewis’ interception capped that game off in incredible fashion, which by the way, that’s a game-tying Wisconsin touchdown if his dive comes up short. Not only did it seal the victory and prove Michigan was worthy of its top-five ranking, it gave Michigan some serious style points heading into the meat of conference play.
This was one of the best interceptions you’ll ever see on any level:
Team MVP: Jabrill Peppers, football player
You can debate whether or not he’s worthy of being an elite next-level prospect, but the Orange Bowl was a perfect reminder just how valuable Peppers was. His playmaking skills in all three facets were lacking in that first half. With Peppers in that game, Michigan might not have had to dig its way out of that early hole.
Peppers did everything and more that Michigan asked of him, including a shift in his defensive position. Safety, linebacker, slot corner, punt returner, kick returner, wildcat quarterback, running back…whatever. He was the most electrifying player on Michigan’s offense and he was only used a handful of plays per game on that side.
Instead of calling Peppers “overrated” because he was a defensive back who didn’t intercept a bunch of passes, ask Jim Harbaugh how hard it’ll be to replace him. That’s valuable.
Grade: B
There’s two sides of the coin to this answer because frankly, Michigan essentially played two different seasons. Wilton Speight’s shoulder injury had something to do with that, but not all of that.
On one hand, Michigan started 9-0 with three victories against three top-15 teams. And on the season, Michigan had the No. 1 defense in the country (Deshaun Watson’s last-second touchdown in the title game clinched that).
On the other hand, Michigan finished 1-3 and blew fourth-quarter leads in all of those losses. The Wolverines had the talent, the experience and the schedule to make the College Football Playoff. They nearly did that, but instead, they finished third in their own division behind two much younger teams.
Michigan’s 2016 season will forever be the one that got away.