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B1G Monday Morning: Michigan’s dream season almost turns into a nightmare already

Ryan O'Gara

By Ryan O'Gara

Published:

The college football world, perhaps resting up for Texas A&M/Clemson and LSU/Texas later on Saturday afternoon, was unexpectedly called to attention during the first slate of games. Could mighty Michigan, a popular pick to win the Big Ten and reach the College Football Playoff for the first time, lose to a service academy?

As it turns out, yes, absolutely. Army, a 22-point underdog that got paid $1.5 million just to show up, nearly became the latest in embarrassing home losses for Michigan. And right as Michigan’s supposed dream season was getting underway, it almost collapsed.

I don’t blame Michigan’s players for what some may deem as excessive celebrating a 24-21 win over Army in double overtime. You get 12-15 chances a season to enjoy months of hard work and preparation. But unfortunately, a large percentage of fans were watching the end of that game closely and took note. So now, instead of being in the CFP talk, folks will wonder: This is where Michigan is at now, gleefully celebrating double-OT wins against a three-touchdown underdog?

If you thought the pressure was intense for fifth-year head coach Jim Harbaugh and Michigan before, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The ideal scenario for Michigan through two games was to go unnoticed and quietly take care of business before playing at Wisconsin in two weeks. So much for that.

Michigan, for all of the talk about modernizing its offense and getting speed in space, handed off the ball 33 (!!!) times to a true freshman running back, who by the way is much more bruiser than speedster. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Zach Charbonnet, who looks like a fine player and is shouldering an admirable amount of responsibility so early in his college career, finished with 100 yards.

Hey Josh Gattis, speed in space? More like three and a cloud of dust, which is exactly what the Wolverines were trying to get away from.

And you could tell the fans were like, what the heck? After two straight Charbonnet carries to open overtime, they started booing. This isn’t what they were promised.

The fans were sold on Gattis bringing some of what helped turn Alabama and Penn State into high-flying offenses to Ann Arbor. Harbaugh would take a step back, and this would be Gattis’ show. Michigan paid Gattis handsomely not to follow Mike Locksley from Bama to Maryland to become the Wolverines’ offensive coordinator

But there was always that question of when push came to shove and Michigan’s back was against the wall, what would happen? Would Michigan revert to Harbaugh’s old-school approach featuring a power-running game, or would the Wolverines stick to their new identity and give the keys to Shea Patterson?

It seemed like we got our answer on Saturday. Not including the fake punt, the Wolverines attempted 30 passes and ran the ball 46 times. As Pat Forde quipped on Twitter, “The Michigan offense has become more one-dimensional than Army’s. Which is basically impossible.”

But it isn’t as if Patterson inspired any trust. He lost two fumbles on Saturday and has now fumbled four times this season, losing three. If Patterson can’t hold onto the ball against Middle Tennessee State and Army, what will happen against Chase Young, AJ Epenesa, Kenny Willekes and Yetur Gross-Matos?

Here’s the list of FBS players that have fumbled four times this season:

1.      Shea Patterson (Michigan)

2. Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA)

That’s it. And the list of FBS players who have lost three fumbles includes just Patterson, Louisville quarterback Jawon Pass and Thompson-Robinson.

Here’s what is concerning about this. Surely, Harbaugh/Gattis stressed all week about how important ball security is, because against Army, you don’t get many possessions. Army’s goal is move the ball four or five yards at a time and sustain long drives. Just ask Oklahoma, which ran just 40 plays last year against Army and needed overtime to escape with a win.

So when Michigan loses fumbles on three of the first four possessions, that’s a red flag. How desperate did it get? Michigan went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 30 late in the first half. And then proceeded to go for it on fourth down twice in the fourth quarter, one time bypassing a 36-yard field goal attempt that would’ve given it the lead.

Say what you will about Michigan’s offense last season, but at least it took care of the ball, with just three lost fumbles. Through six quarters this season, Michigan fumbled seven times, losing five. This offense hasn’t looked prolific; it has looked sloppy.

We figured there would be growing pains, and of course, potential early-round draft pick Jonathan Peoples-Jones has yet to play at wideout this season. But who has looked more impressive to you? Locksley up at Maryland, which is averaging 71 points per game, or Gattis at Michigan? Locksley is also in his first year, and the Terps played a ranked Syracuse squad.

With what most would’ve considered the best preseason roster in the Big Ten and the rival Buckeyes transitioning, it all seemed to line up so well — so much so that the only acceptable outcome seemed like a trip to the College Football Playoff. But now, it’s hard to feel good about where Michigan is at. It has road games at Wisconsin and Penn State and also gets Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State at home. If you barely beat Army at home, you’re losing at least one of those — and probably several of them.

For as good as Army played, it gave Michigan so many chances. It put the ball on the ground nearly as much as Michigan, it fell asleep on a fake punt, it threw an interception at the goal line. And yet, Michigan rarely took advantage, averaging just 2.4 yards per rush and allowing four sacks.

In a way, you have to feel for Patterson, who finished 19 of 29 for 207 yards. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten and on certain days, he’s one of the best in the country. And yet he’s been looking over his shoulder all preseason as Harbaugh has been insistent on playing two quarterbacks. I can’t blame Harbaugh for wanting to keep Dylan McCaffrey involved and engaged. In this era of quarterbacks transferring from one program to the other (can’t say I blame them, by the way), you have to show the love. Maybe Harbaugh made a promise to the 4-star recruit, who is talented and can contribute. But you have to sympathize with Patterson a little, who at any time is apt to be pulled for a random play so McCaffrey can whip a pass into traffic.

Michigan has some soul-searching to do the next two weeks while on bye. Oklahoma made the CFP after beating Army in OT, but for Michigan to do the same, something has to change. And fast.

Notebook

A look around the Big Ten

The best former Alabama assistant in the Big Ten right now is…

Not Josh Gattis. It’s Mike Locksley, who has Maryland rolling. The Terrapins have scored 142 points in two games. I’m sure there are a lot of Big Ten basketball coaches who would love to average 71 points per game.

After last week’s 79-point showing, we said, well it’s just Howard! This week, Maryland dropped 63 points on the team some consider the second-best team in the ACC and the best chance at handing Clemson a regular-season loss.

Virginia Tech transfer Josh Jackson has flown a bit under the quarterback transfer radar with 5-star recruits Justin Fields and Hunter Johnson joining the Big Ten, but Jackson has been as impressive as Fields (and much more than Johnson). He threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns and has a 7-1 TD-INT ratio through two games. And Anthony McFarland continued to stake his claim as the best back in the Big Ten, scoring three touchdowns and racking up 120 yards on 16 touches.

This takes some of the wind out of Syracuse’s sails, as it was hoping to host College Gameday with Clemson coming to town next week. Now, apparently GameDay will be in Ames for Iowa State/Iowa. And that reminds me…

The first-place team in the Big Ten is…

Iowa! The Hawkeyes opened the conference slate with a 30-0 triumph over lowly Rutgers, which will be battling Illinois for the bottom spot in the Big Ten. This is the kind of start to the season that Michigan wanted. Iowa didn’t do anything spectacular, per say, but it has been solid in picking up two opening wins.

There are a lot of teams that would love to have Nate Stanley as their quarterback. He has six touchdown passes and no interceptions in two games. And he’s slinging it to his wide receivers. This may be Tight End U (hello, TJ Hockenson!), but all six of Stanley’s touchdown tosses have gone to wideouts.

OT? Oh my…

That was my reaction while writing about the Michigan game as I passively watched Nebraska. It went from up 17-0 late in the third quarter and in complete control, to overtime. And then to another defeat to rival Colorado, 34-31. There is something just off about this Nebraska team. First, it was the players weren’t practicing well enough, namely star quarterback Adrian Martinez. Then the Huskers take the foot off the gas and squander a chance for a momentum-boosting win. They need to get it figured out before Ohio State comes to town. And don’t overlook NIU, which hung with Utah.

There were two other overtime games in the Big Ten, and it won both. You already know about Michigan, so how about Minnesota? Again, something feels just a little off about the Gophers so far, even though they are 2-0 after a 38-35 victory at Fresno State in double overtime. They’ll certainly take it after going out West and starting at 10:30 ET, but they have a lot of improvements they need to make

The non-quarterback most likely to win the Heisman…

It has to be Jonathan Taylor, at this point. Even Patrick Mahomes agrees.

The thing I appreciate most so far from Taylor is that he’s clearly not been satisfied with what he’s already accomplished as a runner. No, he wanted to be a more complete player. After not being a pass-catching threat in his first two seasons, Taylor already has three receiving touchdowns in two games and he has more yards through the air than he did all of last season. He’s the same type of rusher, too, with five touchdowns on the ground (giving him eight total).

It was good to see Jack Coan connect with Quintez Cephus for a few big plays after he missed a few throws to him in the opener. Coan had a confidence-boosting line of 363 yards and three touchdowns on 26 of 33 passing.

Also, the Badgers have outscored their two opponents 110-0 this season and now get two weeks to prepare for Michigan, which hasn’t exactly lit it up offensively yet.

Justin Fields does it again

Fields is the real deal. He made it look easy on Saturday, against a Cincinnati team that won 11 games last year and already beat UCLA this year. While he hit a bunch of wide-open throws against Florida Atlantic, he showed a little more of his skill set in the 42-0 whooping. He showed some touch.

I also like how Fields doesn’t just look to run right away at the first sign of trouble. He really tries to stay in there and find an open receiver. And when one isn’t open, he’s so good at taking off.

With JK Dobbins, Chase Young and the rest of the Buckeyes doing their thing — and Michigan limping past Army — life is good in Columbus. Can we fast-forward their next two games and get to Nebraska and Michigan State already?

The bounce-back performances of the week go to…

This is easy – it’s Michigan State and Purdue. I wrote earlier in the week how both had something to prove. The Spartans broke 50 and took down Western Michigan by five touchdowns, and the Boilermakers beat an SEC team (as we know from last bowl season, that can be difficult). They did it in very different ways, too.

Michigan State got a terrific performance from redshirt freshman Elijah Collins, who ran for 192 yards on 17 carries in his first career start. I think he’s going to get a few more. And credit where credit is due, even if this was just a MAC opponent: Michigan State’s offensive line showed some promise. Michigan State accumulated 365 yards in the first half, more than the entire game against Tulsa. And Brian Lewerke did throw for 314 yards. It was an all-around great performance from the Spartans, the kind that you expect to see against lesser opponents.

Meanwhile, Purdue does not entertain the idea of running the ball. If you had Rondale Moore, would you? I can’t blame them. Purdue finished with just 17 rushing attempts for 34 yards. The offense is in Elijah Sindelar’s hands. When he really has it going, like on Saturday when he threw for 509 yards and five touchdowns, Purude is tough. But to be a real contender, I think the Boilermakers need a little more balance. Sindelar can throw you out of games, too.

But it was a good day for Purdue, which also honored the late Tyler Trent before the game. TCU comes to town next, and the Boilermakers will have a very good chance at knocking off an SEC team and a Big 12 team in back-to-back weeks going into Big Ten play.

Three Up, Three Down

Up

1. Mike Locksley

After putting up 63 points on a ranked team, I can only chuckle that the Maryland head coach was complaining about penalties, saying that five penalties for 30 yards are “more than I’d like.” Yeah, Nick Saban may have made an impression on the former Bama assistant.

That’s besides the fact that Maryland is arguably the most surprising team in the country.

2. Rondale Moore

He’s insanely talented, as his 13 catches for 220 yards showed. But he’s also crafty. Watch him use the official to his advantage and turn on the burners.

Also, this may have been his most exciting play, even if it got called back.

https://twitter.com/MrRoscoes/status/1170416415808974848?s=20

3. Comeback warriors

OK, this is a little tongue in cheek because Illinois and Penn State were both expected to win, but both fought off tough starts to improve to 2-0.

How about the Fighting Illini? Down 13-0 in the second quarter at UConn, Brandon Peters tossed four touchdown passes to rally Illinois. The Illini aren’t going to be an easy win in the Big Ten like they have been in past years.

And Penn State trailed Buffalo 10-7 at halftime but outscored it 38-3 in the second half for its second straight convincing win. The Nittany Lions had just 78 rushing yards, but Sean Clifford went for four touchdowns and 279 passing yards on just 22 attempts. A very efficient day.

Down

1. Michigan, the non-standard for offense

The biggest question in the Big Ten is Michigan’s offense. It has two weeks to figure it out, and oh by the way, it plays Wisconsin next.

2. Nebraska

We were all a little early on the Nebraska hype train. Or most of us, anyway. The Huskers just aren’t quite ready to take that next step, as they have proven twice this season.

3. Bye weeks early in the season

The season is only two weeks old, why do we need bye weeks already? I know, I know, making a schedule is tough. And this is obviously speaking selfishly as a viewer, but it would be great to see Wisconsin and Michigan square off next week. And yes, Rutgers too. There may be nothing we can do about early byes, but we sure don’t have to like it.

Ryan O'Gara

Ryan O'Gara is the lead columnist for Saturday Tradition. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGara.