A wall.
Michigan had their hands on it all game, and it kept slipping through their fingers. Peppers dropped a pick-six after jumping a WR screen. Dymonte Thomas and Jarrod Wilson both dropped interceptions they had two hands on (Dymonte’s was then caught by a Gopher). Jourdan Lewis and Jeremy Clark probably could have grabbed a pair of Leidner ducks they played with Connor Cook-level respect. Thomas also let a perfect Blake O’Neill punt bounce through his hands for a touchback. Each time the Gophers capitalized.
For its part, Minnesota held on like men who don’t know what they’d do with their lives if they couldn’t run around in goofy armor for a chance to win some painted old pottery. On 4th and 5 on Minnesota’s last drive, K.J. Maye had one inch to catch a slant against perhaps the best cornerback in the country, and didn’t drop it. Neither did his receiver mate Drew Wolitarsky, who on the ensuing 2nd down beat Channing Stribling with a double move and hauled in a pass at the 1 inch line.
With the clock running Mitch Leidner moved his pieces around to set up a winning TD, but the Michigan defense chased him out of his pocket. That left 2 seconds for either a field goal attempt to force overtime, or a play to win. An average team against an average defense should get that QB sneak 9 times out of 10. But Minnesota was no average offense; they had a true freshman at center and other replacements all around him. And Michigan was no average defense. For one, Ryan Glasgow was the guy right over the ball. For two, D.J. Durkin was making the calls.
Harbaugh says Durking called the QB sneak, team rolled the dice and built a wall.
— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) November 1, 2015
Glasgow won the battle he’d won all game, the rest of Michigan’s goal line defense closed around him, and together they grasped the life out the old rival. For that they get to hold the Jug again.
While the Minnesotasphere will spend the next week replaying final scenarios (and the choice to play for a field goal at the end of the first half), Michigan fans will try to unpack all of the misfortunes and misplays that almost made the Little Brown Jug miss the flight home from its year abroad.
So much about Michigan has changed since then that it’s hard to remember this is still a team put together by Brady Hoke and held together by Harbaugh’s ingenuity. You can’t blame the old coach for everything, but Michigan’s recent history was all over this game.
Those weren’t all bad things. The interior defensive line was its magnificent self. Jourdan Lewis was. Chesson dropped one earlier but held onto his horizontal touchdown, and Darboh’s hands made sure it was 3 points, not 1, that Minnesota needed from our 1.
Hoke also left Jabrill Peppers, who, finally, was the answer one too many of Michigan’s questions. Need an athletic nickel to neutralize the spread? Peppers. Need a strong safety? Peppers. Cornerback. Kick returner. Punt returner. Running back. Slot receiver. Quarterback?
So yeah, this week we’re going to talk about the Morris-or-bust plan, because early in the third quarter Jake Rudock went to slide, and a defender tried to separate his head from his shoulders. It was the third time (the second was earlier in this game) this season he was clearly targeted with no call.
With Michigan down 23-21 at this point Harbaugh inserted Wilton Speight, whose play was about what you expect out of Wilton Speight. He did finally get his feet under him on the final drive, with his last two passes of the game the touchdown to Chesson and the two-point conversion to Darboh. Let that be the final word on wither Shane Morris.
(Rudock was on the sideline trying to throw after being examined and just about everyone noted Michigan informed the press it was a shoulder injury rather than, you know, making it a thing.)
Desmond Morgan did not have a good game, giving up a long run when he got out of his lane, getting caught too far inside on a long wheel route, letting Brandon Lingen sneak behind him for a long pass at the beginning of the 4th quarter, and letting Rodney Smith shuck him to give up a crucial 3rd and 17.
That and the dodgy score and the Halloween candy had Michigan perilously close to vomiting up a Hoke game in 2015. But they ultimately held it down, and the feeling will pass with time.