Michigan punter says with clean catch he could have executed punt
Michigan punter Blake O'Neill said Tuesday he was confident he could have gotten his late fourth-quarter punt off had he handled the snap cleanly against Michigan State.
O'Neill's dropped punt snap helped Michigan State take a 27-23 win over Michigan on the final play of the game. The Spartans blitzed O'Neill, who fumbled the low snap. The ball then flew into the air as defenders converged upon him and Jalen Watts-Jackson ended up in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown (and suffered a dislocated hip on the play).
"It wasn't too bad," O'Neill said. "The protection was good, the snap was in my catch zone, and, if anything, just put me back out there for the next one and I'm sure I'll make the kick."
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O'Neill's confidence that he could have gotten the ball kicked with a good catch may be a bit brazen. Michigan State had no one back to receive the punt and no one lined up on one of the gunners outside Michigan's formation. It meant that the Spartans were rushing 10 defenders at Michigan's eight blockers on the inside of the formation. It was a bit of a mismatch.
Michigan had two gunners on the outside on the play, meaning one was uncovered. O'Neill was asked if he could have thrown the ball to the uncovered player for an easy first down to run out the clock. He said it was not an option.
"No, I could have gone AWOL but I learned against BYU that’s not a good option," O'Neill said, referencing a fake punt play from Sept. 26. He took off on a punt that was not apparently a designed fake. While he got nine yards on the third quarter play, he didn't get the first down and heard an earful from coach Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines.
Sunday, interim Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett issued an open letter to fans who were taking out their frustrations on O'Neill via social media.
For more Michigan news (and thanks for the videos), visit TheWolverine.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
