Update: it was the refs' fault

[Stretch 74]

If anything, I'll give the mutts credit for making it interesting a lot longer than they should have. I was envisioning a 28-3 halftime lead based on that first quarter. UW didn't quit and while I blame Harbaugh for being an idiot and not punting.....they took the momentum provided and made it interesting. I was surprised at how worn out the Michigan defense looked early in the fourth quarter. It was starting to look like they were the ones that were going to get steamrolled late.

That said, once Penix misfired on a couple passes and the momentum flipped....the mutts got manhandled at the end of the game by a more motivated team in the moment.

That first paragraph is all correct. Michigan was dominant throughout the game, although Biggs is right about how the uw was able hang around, but you never got the feeling that they were about to break out. ~450 yards to 300 yards of total offense. And in the uw's three scoring drives, their TD drive was aided by a MIchigan PI call and a FG drive was helped with a roughness call. The uw made a living this year converting 3rd and 4th down plays, but the pressure kept them off balance all day, going only 4 for 19 on 3rd and 4th downs. That's not a measure of success.

 

[KRUSTYtheCOUG]

They are to people who just read headlines . As a coach and one that is an underdog you want to be in striking distance, Ie one score in the 4th quarter . Biggs is right on this one.

Yes, one score game with uw near midfield and a 3rd and 5 or so...penix perfect pass to their other RB who had plenty of room to run with a lead blocker. Drops the ball. If that is completed there's a great chance of uw eventually tying the game or making it 20-16. Changed everything. Michigan scores on their next possession, I believe. That's all I have to say about that.

 

[BiggsCoug]

That first paragraph is all correct. Michigan was dominant throughout the game, although Biggs is right about how the uw was able hang around, but you never got the feeling that they were about to break out. ~450 yards to 300 yards of total offense. And in the uw's three scoring drives, their TD drive was aided by a MIchigan PI call and a FG drive was helped with a roughness call. The uw made a living this year converting 3rd and 4th down plays, but the pressure kept them off balance all day, going only 4 for 19 on 3rd and 4th downs. That's not a measure of success.

I got the feeling they were gonna break out. And then they had a holding call lol. Awful timing.

The uw had a home run hitter in Penix and Rome. One swing of the bat and they’re in the game. Yes, Michigan was more physical. Yes, the uw can score from anywhere. Both can be true.

 

[95coug]

Right. The narrative that Michigan didn’t make any mistakes and we were just a call and missed throw from penix away from a one possession game is an interesting take. Michigan manhandled them. You could tell in the first quarter they were going to wear them down and run away if they didn’t make too many mistakes, and they did.

I didn't watch the game, but I saw the box score. When Michigan had 170+ yards rushing in the first quarter, it was 95% that UW would not win. That all by itself shows that the Michigan OL and backs had a big advantage. When you can run that effectively, it doesn't much matter whether the opponent can throw - you can keep their offense off the field if you have to.

 

[BiggsCoug]

I didn't watch the game, but I saw the box score. When Michigan had 170+ yards rushing in the first quarter, it was 95% that UW would not win. That all by itself shows that the Michigan OL and backs had a big advantage. When you can run that effectively, it doesn't much matter whether the opponent can throw - you can keep their offense off the field if you have to.

But yet somehow uw was still in the game ….. huh

 

[dgibbons]

Right. The narrative that Michigan didn’t make any mistakes and we were just a call and missed throw from penix away from a one possession game is an interesting take. Michigan manhandled them. You could tell in the first quarter they were going to wear them down and run away if they didn’t make too many mistakes, and they did.

It was basically how Michigan script’s a win. Michigan played their game.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

I didn't watch the game, but I saw the box score. When Michigan had 170+ yards rushing in the first quarter, it was 95% that UW would not win. That all by itself shows that the Michigan OL and backs had a big advantage. When you can run that effectively, it doesn't much matter whether the opponent can throw - you can keep their offense off the field if you have to.

That's the danger of just glancing at the box score. UW actually controlled the clock most of the game. When UW threw the pick that ended up icing the game, they had the ball for just under 30 minutes vs 25 minutes for Michigan. Some of that was Michigan getting huge chunk plays though.

 

[chipdouglas]

Joe Klatt had a great preview of the game last week, and he mentioned that if anyone was built to stop the Washington, it was Michigan. He compared the Washington offense to Ohio State, in how they throw the ball to elite receivers with an accurate QB. Said Michigan had to build their defense to beat Ohio St in order to win the Big 10. He said that he felt Penix was a better QB than the OSU qb, and the UW recievers were as good or on par with OSU. Said Michigan would bring pressure with 4 and drop the rest, and if Washington's line could protect with just the 4 rushers they's do well, if they didn't Michigan wins. And that's pretty much the way it played out, the one Defensive lineman for Michigan just ran over the right guard of Washington and knocked him on is ass many times during that game.

I'm beyond late here but this is one of 2 key points:

• By game's end, a desperate UW had erstwhile hero Michael Penix clutching his ribs like he just went 10 with Tyson. That is not about "holding receivers," it's about Michigan getting home CONSTANTLY. The idea that this same guy whose stats all came from garbage time was milliseconds from lighting it up is pure cope
• I can't stress enough: Michigan's 0-0 game plan was control the LOS and limit possessions. They were always going to do this - and win doing it - when it was close. And they did it effortlessly until explosive plays tempted them into airing it out, which yielded little success in the 2Q & 3Q. When they got back to it in the 4Q, they sealed it. A good analogy would be MMA. Imagine a good wrestler having success with it early, so he toys with his opponent trying to land a highlight reel uppercut - but his opponent is a good boxer, so suddenly it seems like a draw again, and thus he goes back to wrestling to close it out in the 4th round... the boxer's camp thinks "almost had him" but that's the wrong conclusion. You boxed to a draw but the only thing that took off the table was the highlight reel KO - your opponent was never in jeopardy and could have submitted you at any time on the ground. I mean, the idea that it was close is undermined by the fact that UW trailed the entire game. Hard to argue it was back-and-forth as such.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

When a ball control team plays an explosive team, it generally comes down to whether the ball control team can succeed by playing their game...run first, pass only if/when needed or a great opportunity presents itself. Michigan initially made that work. UW adjusted, putting more in the box and daring Michigan to throw. Michigan responded to UW's adjustments by throwing more, but that was not as successful for them. Michigan DB's held UW's WR's for the entire game (welcome to the B10; better get used to it), which degraded UW's effectiveness. They also mounted a good pass rush, which continually kept Penix from seeing open receivers (my biggest knock on Penix is his field vision), and resulted in Penix taking some body shots. Penix then got minimal help from his receivers. They made a few really nice catches, but also dropped the ball too often for that offense in that situation.

By the 4th quarter, UW's DL was worn down and Michigan was able to succeed with the original game plan. But as some have noted, a completion here or there (at least 3 times in the game) could have gone all the way for a score and/or altered the trajectory of the game. Had Michigan gotten behind, could they have caught up? We'll never know.