Wolverine Watch: Michigan off the canvas and punching back

“My personal approach was very similar to a fighter getting back up after getting knocked down. You get up, the referee wipes your gloves, and you come back even more determined, with even more resolve — to prepare, to work harder, to find a way, to finish, and to win.“

— Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh

Jim Harbaugh said it himself, and it’s true. The way Michigan fights back in the next four games will define the 2021 season. Set aside the pain, the what-ifs and why-nots, the cringing angst and even embarrassment of blowing a 30-14 lead in East Lansing in the nastiest Big Ten rivalry.

Get up and punch back.

The head coach kept it zipped up tight in the moments following U-M’s 37-33 shocker at Spartan Stadium. He likely wanted to wait until some of the seething emotion drained away, and to get a second look at it all.

What he saw amounted to his boxer dropping the gloves for a moment, after getting an unexpected nudge from the ring referee. Then the opponent delivered a devastating combination of blows.

Let’s be very clear here. The Big Ten replay official did NOT cost Michigan its most important football game of the 2021 season so far. But the honorary cousin of Spartan Bob assisted in that effort.

In true walk-and-chew-gum-at-the-same-time fashion, let’s also acknowledge Harbaugh’s team played a major role in its own demise. The one-step-behind defensive personnel scrambles, field goals instead of touchdowns, and a devastating fumble at the worst possible time all became major factors in the Wolverines’ tumble to the canvas.

Regarding the officiating, Harbaugh opened up a bit, two days after the fact. On his Inside Michigan Football radio show, he left no doubt about how he felt regarding redshirt freshman linebacker David Ojabo’s strip sack of MSU quarterback Payton Thorne and junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson’s end zone recovery thereof.

“Some things were out of their control,” Harbaugh said. “Especially the review and overturn of the sack-fumble. Should have never happened. [There was] no conclusive evidence.

“They said that his shin was down. I said ‘half a shin?’ It looked like there was no conclusive evidence. Anyone with a non-partial view knows it has to be irrefutable. You feel for the players that deserved better when other reviews were left to stand or overturned based on what was called on the field.”

You simply do not re-officiate the play. In this case, that rules guideline got ignored, in a game-changing usurpation of power.

Not that Harbaugh stood perfectly fine with the officials on the field, their one-way eye in the sky notwithstanding. On Michigan’s potential game-winning drive with under two minutes to play, sophomore wideout Cornelius Johnson got taken out of a pass play as collateral damage when MSU defenders collided.

(Note to Michigan academic advisors: Get Johnson into a drama class, ASAP. Had he played up the obvious contact at all — especially if it involved a tumble to the turf — it might have drawn out a latent droplet of courage among the real estate salesmen who understood location, location, location far too well.)

“We got stopped on fourth down — clear pass interference,” Harbaugh said, in matter-of-fact definitiveness.

Again, the Wolverines cost themselves the game, in many ways. But they did have help.

Now, it’s about getting up. Part of that involves realizing the gains made, even in a loss still stinging like a Trinidad Scorpion pepper rubbed on a tongue sore.

One, redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara demonstrated grit, savvy and some spectacular throwing ability, in an immensely tough environment.

“He really played outstanding, in almost every way,” Harbaugh said. “I thought he played really well. He made some of, not just the best throws he’s ever made, but some of the best throws you can make.”

Two, if Michigan needs anything on offense, it’s a play-making wide receiver. Welcome to the big time, freshman Andrel Anthony.

Everyone saw Anthony pull away on a 93-yard touchdown catch-and-go, running from the Spartans faster than he escaped his hometown of East Lansing in recruiting. They witnessed his high-rise TD catch from freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

And as Michigan sideline reporter Doug Karsch noted, one that didn’t count should still factor heavily into Anthony’s assessment.

“I think the best catch that was made all day was the one that was ruled out of bounds,” Karsch said, in our From The Sidelines segment.

“He was covered. That throw was one of those throws that went to where only he could get it. It happened right in front of me. The perspective I had was that ball was too high and behind him for him to even make a play, and I thought it was going out of bounds.

“He jumped up in the air and was able to reach back, make that catch and almost get a foot down, all while pretty well covered. That was impressive.”

More needs to be impressive, and quickly. From the defenders and their schemers figuring out a quicker or jettisoned sub system, to touchdown scorers putting junior field goal kicker Jake Moody on hiatus, to lessons learned on handling the football in crucial situations, the Wolverines must jump off the canvas with a fury.

Remember, skeptics destined this team for 7-5, or even 5-7. How it counterpunches those assessments into submission, along with opponents, determines this boxer’s final score card.

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Here’s a look at Michigan’s playoff chances.

Here’s video of Michigan athletes discussing a players-only meeting.