NOTE: The views expressed in this EDITORIAL do not necessarily reflect the views of Detroit Sports Nation or a majority of its writers and should not be misconstrued as such. The views contained within are the views of the author and the author alone.
Ah, that feeling when reality smacks you in the face. We, as human beings know this feeling all too well. We all experience it; just ask Michigan State last week.
The Spartans were riding high, fresh off their 27-24 upset victory over Penn State. They were ‘a team of destiny.’ They were heading to Columbus as a double-digit underdog yet again, ready to prove all the doubters wrong once more. They were ready to take a big step towards clinching another trip to Indianapolis, a season after they went 3-9.
Then reality punched them squarely in the face. Ohio State severely punished the Spartans in all aspects of the game, leaving them to only wonder ‘what just happened?’ and ‘how did things go from that great to this bad that fast?’ Michigan State learned the hard way that they were not yet a true contender to win the Big Ten in 2017.
Now for the record, I am NOT saying that Michigan is going to go to Madison and get beat 48-3. First of all, Wisconsin doesn’t have that type of firepower. Secondly, and maybe more importantly, I don’t expect the Wolverines to lay an egg like the Spartans did last week, that was tough to watch. But I do expect the same type of message to be sent to this Michigan team on Saturday when they play at Wisconsin.
This is where the real discussion begins: has Michigan actually improved the last three weeks, or have they just beat up on poor competition? Well, the answer is both.
Let me explain: Michigan has absolutely improved the last three weeks. Their biggest improvement has been on the ground. Junior running back Karan Higdon has established himself as the feature back, running all over the likes of Rutgers and Minnesota. The only thing that could slow him down was an ankle injury that kept him out of the second half against Maryland last week.
The offensive line is finally starting to get a nice push in the run game, opening holes for Higdon and Chris Evans, to a lesser extent. They still have some struggles in pass protection, but at the very least they have improved in that area over the last three weeks too.
Brandon Peters has provided a nice spark at quarterback, after taking over for John O’Korn midway through the second quarter against Rutgers. But Peters hasn’t been asked to do very much to this point, it’s been easy for him to be a game manager against lesser competition. He and his wide receivers haven’t really developed much chemistry through the air just yet, and that’s going to be a problem against Wisconsin.
The defense is still really, really good. But I’m not going to call them elite until they can stop an offense with a pulse. The last time they played an offense with a pulse (Penn State), it didn’t go over so well. The Wolverines’ defense has continued to look outstanding against lesser competition, but they have to do that against the elite teams too.
I’m not sold yet; I’ll believe it when I see it.
You see, through the first month of the season the Wolverines looked this dominant too. Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt called Michigan “the most impressive team he had seen so far” back in the month of September. All of those Wolverines’ wins came against teams who currently have a losing record. As a matter of fact, Michigan still has yet to beat a single team with a winning record.
Now this isn’t all their fault; it’s hard to control that eight of the 12 twelve teams on your schedule have a losing record. Nobody thought that Florida would be this bad. But you can take advantage of your opportunities when you play against teams that do have a winning record. The Wolverines haven’t done that to this point; they’ll get another chance the last two weeks of the season.
After that month of September, the Wolverines went on to lose a sloppy 14-10 contest to in-state rival Michigan State, and then followed that up by getting blasted 42-13 at Penn State two weeks later. Now, they head to Madison to visit Wisconsin and end their regular season hosting Ohio State in ‘The Game’.
I don’t see them winning either of these games, and I don’t think either of them will be particularly close. Wisconsin will take away the one thing the Wolverines have improved at; their running game. As far as Ohio State, it’ll be a mismatch on both sides of the ball. The only thing that might save Michigan in that game is that raw emotion that comes from playing in a rivalry game, though that hasn’t exactly helped the Wolverines in recent memory. I expect both of these games to get ugly at some point because Michigan hasn’t improved enough overall in the last three weeks. It’s easy to think everything’s okay when you play Rutgers, Minnesota, and Maryland in consecutive weeks. Chances are, none of those teams are going to a bowl game.
This editorial isn’t a shot at Michigan’s football program, it’s a reality that’s about to smack the Wolverines in the face. This is one of the youngest teams in college football, who has a pretty bright future ahead; similar to their rivals from East Lansing. Those guys who wear green and white got sent back to reality last week; I’m afraid Michigan is next.
Fans are starting to get impatient with this team and head coach Jim Harbaugh because they can’t seem to beat their rivals or a team with a winning record. With the youth on this team, that’s acceptable this season. But it won’t be that same way in the seasons to come.
