I don't know what to do with this.

Michigan fell in a 21-0 hole at Penn State and looked well on their way to yet another road debacle against a ranked opponent to add to that stat everyone mentions when Michigan goes on the road against a ranked opponent. Everything from the gameplan to the execution looked ugly. On one side, the Wolverines slammed into the PSU defensive line and dropped potential first downs; on the other, Sean Clifford started hitting shots downfield, including a slot fade to KJ Hamler, who Michigan should've recruited harder, for what looked at the time like an insurmountable three-touchdown lead. Jim Harbaugh called for a punt on fourth-and-one in PSU territory. The officials probably missed an offensive pass interference on the second PSU touchdown.

Then, in a way seemingly designed to inflict maximum emotional pain on both fanbases, Michigan clawed their way back into it. Patterson responded to the Hamler touchdown by leading an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 12-yard Zach Charbonnet touchdown run—though only after an improbable Ronnie Bell snag-a-fumble-out-of-midair-and-run touchdown was negated by penalty. After a deeply bizarre sequence in which Harbaugh had Jake Moody attempt a 58-yard field goal—surprise, it was short—and James Franklin turtled with three timeouts at midfield, the teams went to the locker room with the score at 21-7, Penn State.

The defense set a different tone in the third quarter, limiting PSU to 16 yards, but it looked like the offense failed to take advantage until their final drive of the quarter, when Charbonnet accounted for 45 yards and a touchdown to pull Michigan, improbably, within seven points.

Like cats toying with prey, PSU batted the lead back up to 14 to open the fourth quarter; Hamler found himself one-on-one with Josh Metellus and Clifford made no mistake in taking advantage of a safety defending one of the country's fastest slot receivers. But Michigan fought back again; Bell took a screen 35 yards and Patterson banged in a QB sneak to make it 28-21.

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Ronnie Bell's teammates comfort him on the sideline. [Barron]

The defense booted Penn State off the field in three plays, setting up a drive for the tie. While nothing came easy, Patterson looked in his element, hitting receivers on time when plays worked as designed and creating with his legs when they didn't. A crossing route to Erick All set Michigan up with first and goal, but two runs and an incomplete pass only advanced the ball to the three-yard line to set up fourth down.

Patterson niftily escaped pressure, stepped up in the pocket, and found Bell with a sliver of space over the middle. The pass slipped through Bell's hands and fell harmlessly to the turf. Following a first down run by Hamler, PSU knelt out the clock.

All I know is I feel for Bell, who was shown crying on the sideline by ABC's cameras after the drop; he'd played a hell of a game to that point. Patterson's near-heroics inspired newfound confidence, though his stat line (6.7 yards per attempt, no TDs, one INT) looked familiar. The coaching of Harbaugh and Gattis often confounded, but the second-half gameplan looked sound. The defense looked like it was going to take a 2017-style pasting until they stiffened up considerably. Michigan looked overwhelmed by a night game in White Out conditions until they turned that crowd into a collective nervous wreck.

I don't know. Michigan is clearly not winning the Big Ten, and the rest of the schedule is going to be tough, and losing stinks. This time they went down fighting. Whether that's of great comfort is up to you.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]