A 24-17 road loss to open the year. An offense out-gaining the opposition despite various struggles on the offensive line. A supposedly stingy defense with a few too many breakdowns.
When perusing the box scores, these statements reflect two games of the Jim Harbaugh era: Utah 2015 and last Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Notre Dame. Against the Utes, the Wolverines failed to crack three yards a carry, relying on the arm of transfer quarterback Jake Rudock to tighten the margin to a one-score contest late.
Sound familiar? In South Bend, transfer quarterback Shea Patterson led a brief fourth quarter surge after quarters of a mostly ineffective run game — only this time it was less than two yards a carry.