The latest Odyssey doubleheader was blessed with beautiful weather in which summer said, “Don’t count me out just yet.”
The sold out Glass Bowl was rocking for a once-in-a-lifetime visit from 5-time national champion Miami. When the Hurricanes sprinted off to 21-0 lead, Rocket fans were gloomy. However, a TD drive just before halftime reduced the deficit and rejuvenated the crowd.
Despite a fierce pass rush from Miami’s excellent defensive front, Toledo twice reduced Miami’s lead to 7. Hanging on to a 28-21 lead, the key drive occurred late in the 3rd quarter when Miami converted 3 third down conversions and one 4th down conversion to take an insurmountable 35-21 lead. If unsuccessful on any of those conversions, the crowd would have been loud enough to hear at the Michigan state line.
Both teams could be buoyed by their QB play. “Maligned Malik” Rosier no more? The Hurricane QB tossed two TD passes and added 3 TD runs as he scampered for 80 yards. For the Rockets, the biggest question entering 2018 was who was going to replace Logan Woodside at QB. Question answered!! Mitch Guadagni was calm in the face of Miami’s pass rush, often found his talented receivers and showed a lot of ability to step up in the pocket and run when needed (77 yards rushing on the day).
Overall, the game was a great advertisement for college football. Please, Power 5 teams, make more visits to the Group of 5!! Fun environment when it occurs.
A quick 55 minutes later, we walked into the Big House, expecting to see a rout. Surprise! Michigan found itself in a dogfight with downtrodden SMU. Michigan punted on its first two possessions and was nursing a 14-7 lead with 17 seconds to go in the half. SMU was driving in UM territory. Ben Hicks threw an ill advised pass that Josh Metellus intercepted. Metellus more than made up for his pass interference infraction on the previous play. He made a spectacular 73-yard return as the half ended. A stupendous momentum changer and the first “Reverse Hail Mary” the Odyssey has seen.
The second half was sloppy. When a televised game, replete with 3 minute media timeouts, is coupled with numerous penalties, the game loses its flow. As Donald Trump might tweet, “SAD”
Michigan does not appear to be playing up to its ability. Is it coaching that accounts for the inordinate number of penalties or just an unfocused team? In the first half, Jim Harbaugh’s play calling might have made Bo Schembechler look like a raving maniac in comparison. Coach, you now have a quarterback! Let him play! Shea Patterson looked great, but he only had 18 passing attempts. And to try to grind it out on the ground when you only have, at best, a very average offensive line does not make a ton of sense. Michigan’s tackles have taken most of the heat but, honestly, their interior often was unable to dominate the SMU defensive line in rushing attempts.
Michigan will be heavily favored when Nebraska comes to town next Saturday. But if the Wolverines play like they did on Saturday, expect the game to be a bit closer than the experts think, particularly if Nebraska’s wonderkind freshman QB is fully recovered from the injury suffered in last week’s heartbreaker against Colorado.
SMU made a QB change in the 2nd half and the move achieved some very positive results. WIlliam Brown gave the Mustangs some hope for the future. UM did not effectively cover mighty mite, James Proche, as Proche wound up with 11 receptions for 166 yards.
In the doubleheader, 3 teams seem headed on an upward trajectory. For Michigan, Shea Patterson gives the Maize and Blue a lot of hope. But in both the Notre Dame game and yesterday, there is still a lot to clean up if Jim Harbaugh is going to get his critics off his back.