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ANN ARBOR – If Week 1 was up to Michigan's new offensive, Week 2 would be an opportunity to do things right.
And it took the Wolverines, ranked seventh, half a half to even do the basic fundamentals correctly. Like holding the ball on the ground and do not jump aside.
Michigan experienced another first period of misery on Saturday in their 24-21 overtime win against the Army, beating their 2-0 record this season. But enough to avoid criticism?
"There are some problems to settle," said Ben Bredeson, left captain and two-year captain. "I think we're doing a very good job now, we've been able to run the system for a spring ball, a camp and now two games.
"I love where we are."
For a second consecutive week, the Wolverines returned the ball during their first training and found themselves lagging behind. Quarterback Shea Patterson, after battling the Middle Tennessee State twice, ended Michigan's first attempt by exhaling the ball. The Army responded quickly with a 10-yard, 60-yard touchdown.
After Michigan responded to the attack with a personal touch and his defense rewarded him with a turnaround in the first-ever Black Knights game, Patterson was sacked by Army defender Elijah Riley. As Jim Harbaugh explained after the game, running back Christian Turner missed a defense and Riley surprised Patterson.
MORE: Shea Patterson continues to look for football for Michigan
The result was another bag (Patterson was fired four times that day) and escaped. Ben McDaniels, the coach of the quarterbacks, has garnered public attention.
"All the players on the field have great confidence in each other," said receiver Ronnie Bell, who scored seven passes, the highest on his team, for 81 yards. "And we know what everyone is capable and will do. At the end of the day, it simply means playing games. "
Offensive half Ben VanSumeren took part in the penalty shootout in the first half in the second quarter, and the Army turned a new possession into a slow, tedious and tedious hit. Michigan could only respond with a failed attempt of 55 yards on a drive in which he was penalized three times.
At that time against Middle Tennessee State, the Wolverines were imagined and had begun to take risks.
"Not today," Bell said. "Not so much today. But I feel offensive, managing how adversity has gone is simply the most important thing. Not necessarily the rhythm, but in a team. "
With Army in the red zone and two meters before taking a two-touch lead early in the third quarter, Lavert Hill caught up with two falls in the first game, including one that could have given an easy six-way to the senior defense. return. After Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins, Jr., retreated to one of four times of the day, Hill read Hopkins' eyes and intercepted his pass.
Michigan responded with an impressive command, recording 78 yards in 12 games for one of the first three touchdowns from pitcher Zach Charbonnet on Saturday.
"You just have to clean up a lot of details," said Charbonnet, who ran for 100 yards in 33 runs. "We must thank the defense for stopping them when we had these turnarounds. Just give us a chance to come back. "
RELATED: Charbonnet appears as the No. 1 RB with a game of 100 yards and 3 TD
Because for a while there, things seemed dark for the Wolverines offensive. He made three turnovers and five penalties in the first half, putting himself 14-7 behind against a team that had committed the offense to three options. The possessions would be limited, which would reduce the margin of error over time.
Worse, it was an offensive line that revived two young tackles. Jon Runyan, Jr., was prevented from playing to preserve a persistent injury (it is hoped that he will be able to play against Wisconsin on September 21, start of the game for Big Ten), which will allow the student to Redshirt's first year, Ryan Hayes, to resume his duties.
Michigan failed to convert into two key games in the fourth quarter in the fourth quarter, the two short-distance situations that saw the ball delivered to Charbonnet. He was stopped in the backfield for a four-yard loss on the first try while he needed two yards, and then won only one laid when he was in. needed two with 2 minutes and 26 seconds in the game.
The result was an almost crazy defeat. Army headed for the Michigan territory with its ultimate regulation strategy and prepared for a 50-yard field goal by kicker Cole Talley. The kick was just right and wide, opening the door for Michigan to take overtime control and score the win.
"As I told the team, it's like that we're fighting," said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. "That's how you scratch and scratch, both teams did that, I was very impressed with both teams.
"The way they stood and had the courage, the resilience, the vivacity of mind. This seems to be at a higher level this year with this ball club. I'm happy with that. "
Subsequently, however, Michigan no longer seemed to grow that a sigh of relief. Celebrating a victory did not seem commonplace given the evolution of things in the first two weeks. A cleaner football mark will be needed in the coming weeks, especially during the opening match of the Big Ten against Wisconsin on September 21st.
And a week after Harbaugh insisted on the "sprint mode" and improved the deficiencies of the first week of his team, the same kinds of mistakes appeared in the second week.
"I think we made some progress – in the way we ended the match," said Bredeson. "I'm really proud of the guys who fought, just about everything that could have gone wrong for us in this game." Everyone was able to stay together and finish it.
"A win is a win at the end of the day."
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