Wisconsin 35, Michigan 14
That felt like a game of a bygone era, and not the one Jim Harbaugh constantly evokes. Michigan lost to Wisconsin in a start-to-finish debacle that'll shake even the most steadfast optimist's confidence in the program, at the very least until they can play on a big stage without getting stunted on.
Nothing went right. For the third straight game, Michigan lost a fumble on their opening drive, this time Ben Mason deep in Badger territory. There was no running game. Dylan McCaffrey replaced an ineffective Shea Patterson at quarterback until getting knocked out of the game by a dirty hit to the head. Wisconsin back Jonathan Taylor hit the century mark before the first quarter ended. Their quarterback, Jack Coan, completed 13 of his 16 pass attempts.
I’m gonna cry after the halftime show #BigNoonKickoff
— Charles Woodson (@CharlesWoodson) September 21, 2019
The rumored walking wounded, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Zach Charbonnet, suited up but made little impact until well into garbage time. Even on the shutout-breaking touchdown, Sean McKeon appeared to hurt his knee after landing in the end zone. A desperation Wolverine touchdown was overturned just before yet another lost fumble.
This was coming off a bye week.
— Ace Anbender (@AceAnbender) September 21, 2019
Okay, I slightly overstated things. The onside kick was lovely, even if it failed to provide the final score with an unearned veneer of respectability. Patterson's pitch to Jon Runyan Jr. provided a much-needed moment of levity. The late eff-it bombs to Nico Collins and Tarik Black provided a blueprint for what this offense should have been doing all along, for the love of all things sacred and holy.
Sorry.
203 yards on 23 carries. [Bryan Fuller]
A disaster of this magnitude brings with it major questions, the most pressing of which is: where is the offense we were promised in the offseason? And there are so many others. How do we distribute the blame for the offense's performance? When (if?) both quarterbacks are healthy, who starts? What the hell happened to the offensive line? What defensive alignment can be effective with this set of personnel? What the hell happened to those guys, too?
When does this stop? If it doesn't, when do we ask The Big Question that it's still too soon to ask no matter what's said on sports talk radio this week?
I certainly don't have the answers. Jim Harbaugh, Josh Gattis, and Don Brown are going to need to come up with some.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
September 21st, 2019 at 3:57 PM ^
That pretty much covers it. Maybe the only other point to add would be that the Army game makes it harder to see this as a fluke.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:26 PM ^
I guarantee there will be some clown calling in to WTKA to talk about how good MTSU, Army, and Wisconsin are. Probably going to talk about how all the team's goals are still achievable too. Sam and Ira will agree with everything he has to say anyhow.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:53 PM ^
I dunno... i think even jakefromannarbor is gonna have a hard time calling in with his regular cheery mood.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:00 PM ^
I can't remember if there was anyone positive about us after OSU 2015. But this game felt a lot like that one to me :(
September 23rd, 2019 at 8:51 AM ^
I can't even listen to that guy anymore. As soon as he comes on, I turn off the radio. He's insufferable.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:33 PM ^
All our goals technically are still achievable; you'd just be a fool to think we're actually going to achieve them.
Beat OSU - No chance
Win the Big Ten - No chance
Get invited to the playoff - No chance
Beat MSU - Could still happen
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
Awful in every respect. Period. Full stop. Losses to ND, MSU, Maryland, OSU and PSU upcoming. Per usual. They will beat the bad teams and get beaten by the good teams. BPONE until proven otherwise.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:57 PM ^
The caller won’t need to say it. Sam will say it at the top of the show. I was dumbfounded listening to the roundtable this week at how utterly detached from reality the predictions were. I would at least have expected a dose of objectivity from Ed and his numbers, but all he could come up with is that the spread was wrong and Michigan should be favored.
September 21st, 2019 at 6:38 PM ^
Brian comes on having watched tape, brings up problems and how it could foretell more bad things to come. Sam laughs about how much of a downer Brian is. Rinse and repeat.
Sam is a blind cheerleader and nothing more. I only tune in for the roundtable anyhow. The rest is 100% fluff.
September 21st, 2019 at 6:40 PM ^
Same here about not tuning in. I love Sam as a person, good guy in a lot of ways, but his takes on the team are just unbelievable these days. I think you worded it in a way that I've been thinking but unable to put into words.
September 21st, 2019 at 9:29 PM ^
Oh yeah. No judgement of Sam as a person or anything like that. I just find that the product he puts out to be undesirable. The opinions voiced are just not valuable because they don't seem to have any analysis or at least if there is some analysis they're not willing to voice any negative aspects of it.
It's no different when Desmond Howard predicts a big year for Michigan... every year. It's not like there's something rewarding as a Michigan fan to listen to people do the Lou Holtz homer schtick for our team. I just don't get why they feel the need to.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:28 PM ^
Perhaps because they're the "official voice" of UM, they are not supposed to be overly negative or critical. I see no problem criticizing this program. Maybe UM is afraid of feelings getting hurt, which would be fitting in this pussified 2019 society. As for Desmond, I don't recall his ever picking the opponent to beat Michigan. Kirk has picked against OSU at times. There is nothing wrong with admitting you think your favorite team will lose. I expected a loss today. Maybe not an ass kicking like that, but I was fully prepared for a loss, which is why I was not even that mad. I'm over it and looking forward to Rutgers. That will be a nice bounce back game. Then it's onward to Iowa.
September 22nd, 2019 at 1:01 AM ^
The Athletic Department has openly tinkered with WTKA since the mid-2000s. This isn't a function of 2019 or whatever the hell else you're talking about here. They've always been sensitive about what makes it to air over there and/or voices they don't want to hear airing it.
See: Dave Shand, etc.
September 21st, 2019 at 6:38 PM ^
If we are surprised to see Ed wrong about something, then we are clearly living in strange times.
September 21st, 2019 at 9:54 PM ^
If you want the radio station to bash the team along with you, not going to happen, Sam and Ira jobs are to stay cool and professional on the air, not gnash their teeth and scream and cry. They have to handle callers doing that. I couldn't do their jobs.
Spath will probably field more of the gnashing until the M Zone takes over.
And, as usual, Ace, you delivered an ace writeup, even under these circumstances.
September 22nd, 2019 at 8:41 AM ^
For my own part I concede to not seeing what was in front of me. Post Army I told Dave Nasternak that I thought this looked like a 6-6 team, that "they might not even win six." Over the next two weeks, a half dozen viewings of the Army game, looking at both Wisconsin's games, looking at recruiting ratings of the Wiscy team (help me for that) and evaluating the teams they played, I convinced myself this was a pretty even game.
When I went into the studio my intention was to say the spread looked about right, Wiscy by 3 or 4. But, and I have no idea why, I picked UM to win, and win by 6 no less. My 3% Neanderthal got the better of me.
Brian, to be fair, picked Wisconsin by 2 on this site (I think), so maybe he was caught up in the wake of my woeful and optimistic pick while we were at WTKA.
I agree my thinking about the game was inept. But who really thought UM would be completely dominated on both LOS? Who thought that UM could not take much advantage of their WRs and the pedestrian Wiscy secondary? Who thought Chryst and his staff would out prepare Harbaugh and his staff, and to such a degree?
Ordinary thinking was that Wisconsin would win a competitive game or a reasonably competitive game. That was wrong, also.
For my part I apologize and I wish I could see through the mist to see where this team and program are going. It seems possible UM can right the ship and make a run. It has happened before. It is possible we are so lacking in the physical game that we get beaten up by every team with a pulse. Without a review, UM looked, well, weak. Right now, it is hard to see our QBs enduring, at the very least.
I was on record (on air) of not favoring the Harbaugh hire. For reasons I still think were correct. But I don't think we should panic yet, though this event was even more woeful than my thoughts about it.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:28 AM ^
The fans who are angriest right now are probably the ones who expected a win yesterday -- on the road, even though Michigan looked terrible, and Wisconsin great, the first couple weeks. Maybe it's because I thoroughly expected Wisconsin to win decisively (thought our D would play better, but still), that I don't feel betrayed and am not in a Fire Harbaugh mood. More of an "Ok, let's see what this offense looks like by the end of the season" mood. It just makes too much sense that, with a new-ish offense and an inexperienced D-line, a trip to Madison would be the most likely loss on the schedule. Not saying they're going 11-1, but 6-6 at best is way too pessimistic. You are projecting zero improvement in that case.
September 22nd, 2019 at 3:03 PM ^
No apologies are needed. You are one of the faithful who still has M Harbaugh blinders on. What is troubling is that you continue to believe that UM can "right the ship" and claim that "it has happened before". When is this "before" you are referring to? Are you trying to invoke the "Bump Elliott" era when M "bumped" around as perennial losers, though he did make it to and won the Rose Bowl one of his ten years before Bo was hired? Or, are you referring to the promotion of Loyd after G-man was released? Perhaps, you are time-travelling back to the days of Fritz or even Yost? Quite frankly, you've stopped making sense.
I'm glad you are "on record" for not favoring JH. Quite frankly, many of us were not gung ho over his choice of HC and while it doesn't do much good to review the reasons why (NFL doesn't necessarily translate into a good college coach, Stanford is no surrogate for M, Qb's don't necessarily make good football coaches for many reasons, The Michigan Man Myth, etc.) he is our HC. So the question is what to do next?
The truth is the program is at an inflection point - it has been five years since the JH experiment and M really hasn't been that competitive for 15+ years. Currently, we have some players who appear to have reasonable talent on paper though they have never realized their paper potential and are missing the fire and fundamentals of playing as a cohesive unit. All one has to do is turn on the TV, watch how Wisky dominated with good but not 5* talent, or see the emotion, speed, and exciting play of the Georgia v. ND game for example. I have no love for Kirby Smart or Brian Kelly (he went through a few tough years) though they seem to have turned their programs around. Heck, take a look at Dan Mullen in FL or Ed Orgeron at LSU, they seem to have revived the unrescusitable. Maybe they are "flashes" in the pan, but at least the clubs are exciting to watch, have some energy, and aren't tripping over their shoe laces at every turn?
Should the faithful panic? That depends, though a dose of sobering reality might be in order. Based on the present trajectory and current state of the program, M is destined to be a middling CFB team for the foreseeable future. We can attract decent, though not top talent and are seemingly unable to develop a dynamic squad with skill players performing consistently at peak levels in all of the key positions. Basic fundamentals of preparation and execution are lacking throughout the team. I have no doubt that individually or broken down by unit, the kids are working hard, spending time in the conditioning room, watching tape (maybe?), and running drills. Yet, they seem unable to pull it together on game day and are pushed around, covered, make mental mistakes, and simply fail as a team. Look at Coan yesterday - a three star recruit of middling talent - who looked like a stud, simply because all of those around him were executing making the whole process seem like a simple practice. In other words Wisky realized the affirmations of Michael Jordan and every great athlete that (to paraphrase MJ) the moment one strays from fundamentals; technique, work ethic, or mental preparation, the bottom will fall out. I daresay, it appears that the bottom has fallen out. This program needs to regroup, recommit, and adopt the fire and lessons of MJ, JH included.
September 22nd, 2019 at 5:34 PM ^
Ed Orgeron? C'mon, please stop this.
Until this year, no one on this board - and few people anywhere - had anything positive to say about Ed Orgeron other than his incomprehensible babble is funny.
How has he "revived the 'unrescusitable'"? He's 20-9 at LSU.
Les was 114-34, FFS.
Orgeron took over a strong program with 1 big issue - they couldn't beat 'bama. How's good-'ol Ed doing?
Orgeron is 0-3 vs. his main rival, twice shut out.
Last year LSU got beat 29-0 at home. Harbaugh got crucified because OSU beat us by 23 on the road.
JH may or may not be the best choice for UM, but he inherited a program that was 46-42 under its previous 2 coaches. He's won 72% of the time at Michigan.
Goofy Ed Orgeron, Crazy Mike Leach - who just gave up 67 to UCLA. Seriously, do people really want us to fire JH and replace him with one of these guys?
The guy we have isn't perfect, but he's damn sure better than those two.
September 22nd, 2019 at 6:58 PM ^
I think you missed his point completely. He wasn't arguing for Eddie O or anyone else rather he was remarking on how other coaches have turned around troubled programs. None of us really knows what is going on inside the Michigan club house, although I have to agree with the suggestion that there are serious problems with motivation and work ethic.
September 22nd, 2019 at 8:43 PM ^
I see his and your point, but he did in fact specifically mention Orgeron.
I find it laughable to bring up Ed Orgeron as an example of how things should be done.
One could argue LSU did the same thing Michigan did - hired a young, seemingly "modern" coach to re-vamp their offense - though LSU's is only passing game coordinator. Joe Burrow probably has more to do with their success than an assistant who's not even a coordinator.
Two quick points: First, most people thought JH did the right thing when he hired Gattis. He was thought to be open-minded and willing to adapt, while D'antonioni was mocked for basically standing pat. Now everyone is ripping JH for the move. Changes sometimes take awhile, and sometimes they never work. It's been 3 games.
Second, while it's possible there is a problem with the team's morale, it's completely wrong and unfair to even imply that it's been an ongoing issue.
Notre Dame beat us pretty badly last year, yet the players weren't slacking when they went on to win 10 straight games. They didn't have a bad attitude when they beat the crap out of Wisconsin, PSU and MSU.
So, when did the "problems with motivation and work ethic" start? If there's a lingering funk from the OSU game, then JH has a tough issue he needs to address. JH can be perplexing, but he sure doesn't seem like a half-ass it kind of guy to me.
I'm as disappointed as anyone by yesterday's game; IMO it's unfair to accuse the players and coaches of being lazy and unmotivated after one loss.
I can't stand the prospect of the fanbase turning on the coach and the team, and more years of upheaval and turmoil.
September 22nd, 2019 at 6:02 PM ^
For UM, at least, I was thinking 1998. After losing to ND badly 36-20, and then being completely cranked at home by Syracuse (Donovan McNabb), UM went on to a 10-3 season, losing to OSU but beating #11 Arkansas in their bowl game 45-31.
I am not suggesting this will happen. Both lines seem unimposing. QB play has been pedestrian and isn't suited to the offense, IMO. But it has happened to Michigan and other teams.
September 22nd, 2019 at 7:42 PM ^
Yeah, that season was mostly rough. Many of the wins were 12-9 and 15-10 slopfests against bad opponents, before Brady and the offense clicked in November.
After seeing the Army game and knowing the Phil Steele type projections were way off, I recalibrated my expectations, and I see this as Year 1 of the new offense. Personally, it makes watching a lot easier. (Yes I was hoping the defense could steal a couple big wins, but the d-line lost too much.) I am most interested not in our W-L record, but the progression of the offense over the first 6-10 weeks, and how it performs against OSU, and what it means for future seasons.
I know most people didn't want a rebuilding year, but after last year, they claimed to want a higher ceiling for the program. The old Harbaugh offense gave us a floor of 8 wins and a ceiling of 10. The new approach is riskier, with a higher ceiling, but a lower floor. I accept that.
September 22nd, 2019 at 5:43 PM ^
thanks Craig.
Well, the Army game is funny, as a lot of people here were sounding the alarm on that game... I mean 2.4 ypc against Army (Rice had 6 ypc) is brutal and knowing Wisconsin was next up didn't feel many here with much confidence.
Seeing some posters constantly bring up "they took Oklahoma to OT last year" rationalizations was funny/sad because the actual advanced stats for Army's defense are not that good (versus P5 teams)... but all you heard was how good Army was, not how awful Michigan looked, which was pretty clear, especially the lack of adjustment as Brian rightly pointed out.
I didn't think Michigan was going to get smoked like that though.
Seeing things being missed on film isn't the same as believing all those mistakes are going to be correctable: sometimes those misreads are a function of the players/coaches not seeing things in real time: quarterbacks get the yips, coaches get tunnel vision.
Just because they can see these errors on film doesn't mean they'll be able to process the solution in real time, under the lights.
This team looks like a 7-5 or 8-4 team at best. Maybe they can win a rock fight with MSU. Surprise one of PSU/ND...winning versus OSU, it would be a miracle at this point. A split versus those 4 is probably the best case scenario, but i would not be surprised to just win one or lose all 4
September 21st, 2019 at 8:14 PM ^
Sam Webb knows next to nothing about football. Get that straight right now. Ira knows less.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:18 PM ^
Agreed. Sam is usually unprepared and doofy. Always says, “oh, I can’t remember right now.” Way to a prep Sam.
September 21st, 2019 at 9:13 PM ^
Ira is WAY worse because he actually gets flustered and just goes off on little rants til he can't keep his breath whenever somebody has the nerve to criticize players or coaches when they do a bad job.
September 22nd, 2019 at 7:46 PM ^
Ira is unlistenable because he talks so fast and doesn't stop unless someone cuts him off.
Sam is unlistenable because he talks so slow and can't spit out a simple sentence.
They seem like nice guys, but they are radio poison.
September 23rd, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
If they bother you that much, just don't listen to them.
September 21st, 2019 at 9:17 PM ^
You mean Sam Webb
September 21st, 2019 at 11:22 PM ^
That clown will be one of the 5 or 6 daily callers. The daily callers are part of the reason I rarely listen to that show anymore. I try to remember to listen to the segment with Brian, but Ed Fang is not needed. I also mute it every time Don from Ann Arbor calls, which is every Thursday during Brian's segment.
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:20 AM ^
Does Don still do that horrific Bob Ufer impression? So cringy.
September 22nd, 2019 at 3:31 AM ^
It’s some guy named Dennis who does the Ufer schtick.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:24 AM ^
WTKA loves the homey type callers. My worst and I mute Jake from Ann Arbor. Not needed. The Thursday round table is informative and critical when needed.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
It's gonna be a very long week at WTKA. For me, there are no maize and blue glasses to look through. Many callers will be very critical of where this team is this year and where it's going and it won't be pretty.
Fact is MTSU isn't all that bad. Army may well make the Top 25 and Wisc coming at #7, just behind Ohio State.
That doesn't make Michigan a better team it's just that our first three games exposed us that much more. Question is, Can Michigan recover from this humiliating loss?
September 21st, 2019 at 4:58 PM ^
Of course it’s not a fluke. It’s Harball
September 21st, 2019 at 9:54 PM ^
You said that the Army game makes it harder to see this as a fluke.
I respectfully disagree. I think this game makes it harder to see the Army game as a fluke.
September 22nd, 2019 at 2:39 PM ^
Michigan got its butt kicked, no doubt. But I can't stop thinking about how easily this game could have been competitive. Shea made a great throw on that 65-yarder to Bell, then air-mails the RPO slant. That was as bad a mistake as the fumble.
Overturning Bell's diving catch was a huge swing and horrible call, but why was he diving? Why can't Shea hit open receivers consistently? He was better after coming back in. If Michigan matches that first TD drive, puts the score at 7-7 or 14-14, it's a competitive game to the end.
This isn't a bad team, but you can't make the dumb mistakes on the road when Wisconsin is executing perfectly. The defense won't be great, but with better QB play they can win any game on the sked.
Side rant -- Why have McCaffrey run?
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
My theory is this. They practiced all spring and summer with Gattis calling the O. Now that it’s game time Jim can’t let go and is trying to shove a round peg in a square hole by playing his brand of man ball and they aren’t equipped to do it. Hence the suck.
September 22nd, 2019 at 5:12 PM ^
Army was a fluke and Wisconsin is for real. Will definitely be a contender.
September 22nd, 2019 at 5:13 PM ^
Double post
September 21st, 2019 at 3:57 PM ^
Woodson’s debut on the Fox News and the entire broadcast team nailed it. It’s a program without identity,
September 21st, 2019 at 3:59 PM ^
They need to develop an identity, become a CFB team with fire and execution. Right now they look like a bunch of entitled athletes standing on the side of an NFL club and playing like the Lions.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:08 PM ^
That is the problem, they do not know who they are and Patterson apparently is not the leader that everyone thought he was. It is times like this where the offense looks to their leaders and if that leader is absent then there are problems. On top of that it looks like the OL has regressed this year, Ruiz is getting beat way to many times for someone who was talked about as an early entry for the NFL. Now if it comes out that these guys that are getting NFL hype are not performing, bench their asses.
That should wake them up.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:38 PM ^
Sounds to me they should have stuck with Speight and transition to McCaffrey
September 21st, 2019 at 9:24 PM ^
Harbaugh pushing for a QB competition is his first big mistake as a coach. He made Speight look over his shoulder on JOK and Peters instead of preparing as a returning starter. Because of it, he transferred out of Michigan. If he hadn't done it, maybe Speight progress as a QB in his 2nd year from a very good debut season and Michigan would be in good position the next couple seasons.
September 21st, 2019 at 9:57 PM ^
Dunno, I like Brandon Peters but can't see how him staying would make a difference today.
September 22nd, 2019 at 7:01 PM ^
Likewise, I don't know and guess that it would depend on the team and the players. Some people respond favorably to that arrangement while others simply shut down or transfer.
September 22nd, 2019 at 3:05 PM ^
Oh absolutely 93, those guys have proven to be VERY durable!
Great call!
September 21st, 2019 at 6:10 PM ^
At this point I’m finding it very difficult to single out and blame players. We have talented guys, it has become increasingly clear that there is not enough guidance coming from the coaching staff. That is really the only thing we have left to point to for all of our issues. I don’t have a idea of how to fix this and am not going to the shed to get the pitchfork but the coaching is the issue until proven otherwise.
Harbaugh needs to regain control of this ship because we have a lot of home games left on the schedule and I fear attendance is in jeopardy with the product people are seeing.
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