UW-Michigan Replay: Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson makes enough big plays to keep UW defense off-balance

Jeff Potrykus reviews Wisconsin’s 38-13 loss to Michigan on Saturday night.

AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson wasn’t spectacular Saturday night, but he made enough big plays with his feet and his arm to keep UW’s injury-depleted defense off-balance. 

Patterson set up Michigan’s first touchdown with an 81-yard run on a read-option around left end. 

He scored the back-breaking touchdown on a 7-yard run, on another read-option, this time around right end to help the Wolverines take a 21-7 lead in the third quarter.

Patterson victimized outside linebacker Zack Baun on the first run and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel on the second. 

Patterson finished with 214 total yards – 124 passing and 90 rushing. 

Modest numbers, but good enough to hurt UW at critical times. 

OFFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME

Michigan faced third and 1 at the UW 7, looking to build on a 13-7 lead early in the third quarter. 

Patterson faked a handoff to tailback Chris Evans and sprinted right toward the corner of the end zone. 

Van Ginkel appeared to get caught too far inside, was blocked by a tight end and Patterson was able to get to the edge. 

RELATED: Michigan dominates Wisconsin, 38-13

NOTES:UW has to regroup after loss crushes high hopes

BOX SCORE:Michigan 38, Wisconsin 13

COLLEGE FOOTBALL:Live scoreboard, box scores, conference standings

Patterson then was able to get over the attempted tackle of cornerback Deron Harrell near the goal line and reach the ball into the end zone.

Patterson then hit wide receiver Nico Collins for the two-point conversion and the Wolverines’ lead was 21-7. 

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME

UW trailed by just 10-7 in the second quarter after a Michigan field goal when Alex Hornibrook tried to throw on first down. 

He threw toward the left, where UW had both Kendric Pryor and A.J. Taylor in the area. 

Cornerback David Long appeared to be in zone coverage and went up high to tip the ball. Fellow cornerback Josh Martellus caught the deflection and gained 31 yards to the UW 15 with 4 minutes left in the half.

UW’s defense forced the Wolverines to settle for a 33-yard field goal and a 13-7 lead, but the momentum swing was something the Badgers never stemmed. 

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY OF THE GAME

UW’s punt-return unit was hurt by a roughing-the-snapper call in 2016 at Michigan and suffered the same fate Saturday. 

The dubious call Saturday proved to be costly.

Lined up at the Michigan 49 and nursing a 13-7 lead, Michigan long-snapper Camaron Cheeseman drew the call. That gave the Wolverines a first down at the UW 41.

Michigan took advantage of the call to cover the final 41 yards in just four plays. 

Patterson scored on a 7-yard run and added the two-point play to give Michigan a 21-7 lead with 10:21 left in the third quarter. 

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

» Hornibrook has lost both his starts at Michigan and his numbers have been forgettable. 

He completed 9 of 25 passes for 88 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in a 14-7 loss in 2016.

He completed just 7 of 20 passes for 100 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown Saturday

The combined numbers: 16 of 45 for 188 yards with five interceptions and two touchdowns. 

» UW marched 71 yards on just four plays on its third series of the game. The Badgers managed a combined 77 yards on their next eight series. By then, the deficit was 38-7 and the game was over.  

» To call UW’s secondary injury-depleted would be a huge understatement. 

Senior safety D’Cota Dixon (foot) wasn’t able to play. Cornerback Faion Hicks (leg) was knocked out. Safety Scott Nelson, who missed the first half because of a targeting call the previous week against Nebraska, was in for a handful of plays in the second half Saturday before suffering a leg injury. 

QUOTABLE

“To beat a good football team – and Michigan is a really good football team – we’ve got to play better and you’ve got to make those plays that change momentum in the game. And we didn’t make enough of them.” – Paul Chryst, UW coach 

BY THE NUMBERS

10 Points off turnovers for Michigan

11 Tackles by UW safety Eric Burrell

18.2% UW’s third-down conversion rate (2 of 11)

25 Largest margin of defeat for UW under Paul Chryst

320 Rushing yards allowed by UW, 189.8 more than the Badgers’ pregame average of 130.2 

NEXT 

UW (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) vs. Illinois (3-3, 1-2), 11 a.m. Saturday.

The level of competition drops considerably for UW. The Illini built an early 7-0 lead against visiting Purdue on Saturday but then fell apart and suffered a 46-7 loss to the Boilermakers. The Illini drove 77 yards on six plays for a touchdown on their second possession, managed just 173 yards the rest of the game and allowed 611 total yards in the ugly loss.