How Michigan football reversed a cursed trend in win at Penn State

If Saturday felt like a game that Michigan football rarely wins, you are not wrong. Week 11’s 21-17 victory at Penn State snapped a 16-game losing streak to AP-ranked teams (PSU was No. 23 this week) when facing a fourth-quarter deficit.

Michigan led 14-6 in the fourth quarter, but it disappeared in an instant. The Nittany Lions got big plays from quarterback Sean Clifford and wide receiver Jahan Dotson on the game-tying drive with 7:35 to go. Then, quarterback Cade McNamara was sacked and fumbled on Michigan’s own side of the field on the ensuing possession.

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RELATED: Wolverine TV podcast: Instant reactions after Michigan football’s win at Penn State

Here we go again. Here comes the collapse. The opposing team almost always makes the plays it needs on both sides of the ball down the stretch. Michigan does not.

We have seen this movie before.

However, Mike Macdonald‘s defense held strong and forced a field goal attempt in a sudden change situation. Any defender or coach will tell you how difficult that is to do. Macdonald and his unit played as good a game that could have been asked after being on the field for 33 plays in the first quarter.

Staring a 17-14 deficit in the face and a loss that would have launched a thousand think pieces, the Wolverines needed a play on offense to match.

Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis dialed up one of his best play calls at Michigan in a “gotta have it” situation. The Wolverines hit Penn State with one of those patented crossing routes that allowed Erick All to slip out 47-yards down the field for a game-winning touchdown.

“Did that just happen?”

Sure did.

Michigan is firmly committed to making things more difficult on itself than it needs to be for whatever reason. It has been a staple of the Jim Harbaugh era. The Wolverines often fail to put teams away in this showdown-type of situation. Sometimes the moment is too big for a player. Someone might miss an assignment or drop a pass. Maybe a penalty occurs somewhere. Perhaps the play call fizzles out.

Whatever it is, Michigan fans have seen it. The cover-all bingo card is full. Saturday was different and emblematic of a program that has been through everything. Harbaugh has been content to hammer away and lean on the run game in defense to put away wins. It works against lesser opponents, but rarely in the big ones. However, sometimes you just have to execute the plays that are called.

Mission accomplished.

It does not erase the missed opportunities of the past, but the late comeback was a hell of a response in Michigan football’s most desperate hour yet.

There was so much riding on the final 7.5 minutes of this game. 9-1 looks a heck of a lot different than 8-2 would have, especially with what is still ahead for Michigan. It would be hard to sell that things have changed in Ann Arbor if this November went like some of the others of late have.

The Wolverines have developed a reputation for fading down the stretch. Not Saturday. Not this team.

Given what is on the line for Harbaugh moving forward, it is hard to argue this might not be his biggest win at Michigan. It keeps them alive in the Big Ten East and their goals in front of them, albeit with needing an assist from Ohio State against MSU. It keeps alive a shot at another showdown with the Buckeyes for the division title, this time in Ann Arbor.

Failing to close out Michigan State a few weeks back still stings. The only thing that can undo that is a win over Ohio State. That might be a tall ask, but this group has proven it will not flinch. Michigan is battle-tested and prepared for a 60-minute football fight each week.

There is still business to take care of at Maryland next weekend, but this is not a Michigan team that will fold as past iterations have. They might get beat, but they are going to keep fighting until the final bell. The job won’t accomplish itself on chutzpah alone down the stretch and there are still demons to exorcise. Questions about if the offense can be aggressive enough are warranted. Despite a big play late, Gattis’ unit did not exactly light up the scoreboard. Thankfully, it did not need to.

The only way to truly kill a narrative that has built over almost seven years of football is to go out and do it again. Fans and pundits are right to poke at Harbaugh and Michigan football for failing to deliver in big moments, but Saturday was a poke right back.

Michigan still has plenty of work to do, but it is a unified group of guys that believes in itself and its coach’s vision. We can argue until we are blue in the face if they have what it takes from an Xs and Os standpoint. They have what they need between their ears and in their bellies. There is a belief among the group that should not be discounted.

That’s a heck of a place to start.