Well, it was a heck of a football game.
But, in the end, Michigan allowed too many big plays to the
South Carolina offense and lost the Outback Bowl, 33-28.
After digesting the game for a few hours, I still stand by
my initial feelings that this was Michigan’s game to lose, and the Wolverines
did just that.
It became clear during the game that South Carolina was not
able to really put a drive together on offense, and was living off the big
play.
Seemingly all Michigan had to do was keep the South Carolina
receivers in front of them to win, but the Wolverines couldn’t do it.
Offensively, I was pretty impressed with Michigan. I thought
Devin Gardner struggled with his passing accuracy, but he made up for it with
some big throws later in the game and he also had some really impressive runs
that sustained drives.
Denard Robinson looked like a competent running back. It is
one thing to run from the quarterback position, it is another thing to play the
role of the running back. Robinson did that well. He took the handoffs well. He
followed his blockers and made good reads on his running lanes. He was a
consistent presence in the offense and didn’t do anything to really hurt the
team.
Jeremy Gallon made some impressive catches during the day as
well.
The offensive line wasn’t outstanding, but wasn’t awful.
Obviously Jadeveon Clowney had some massive hits and a key fumble late in the
game, but it is going to be a tall order to keep him from making a big play.
Michigan had 29 more plays than South Carolina and held the
ball nearly 16 minutes longer than the Gamecocks, yet the Wolverines still
lost.
The Michigan defense didn’t come through today. Three
touchdowns of over 30 yards, a 64-yard run from Connor Shaw and even a punt
return for a touchdown (not that that’s on the defense, but it is still a
coverage unit). Those were the plays that Michigan had to prevent. It’s one
thing to allow one or two, but five plays of that nature is not acceptable from
this defense. Especially against an average offense in South Carolina, that had
just 21 rushing yards outside of Shaw’s 64-yard scamper.
I will get into Michigan’s season in a few days, but this
loss puts one last punch in the gut to the Wolverines’ disappointing season.
You have to call it disappointing. Michigan wasn’t favored in this game, but it
had a win there for the taking and lost. The Wolverines failed to beat any team
of significance this season and will probably finish outside the top 20 in the
rankings.
If Michigan is truly going to get back to being a national
power, 8-5 seasons won’t cut it. I am not trying to rain on the Wolverines’
parade, because an 8-5 season isn’t that bad in the grand spectrum of college
football. However, Michigan coaches, players and fans want to live by a high
standard, so I am holding them to that standard.
