Opinion: Michigan has figured out how to win tough games
Michigan won another close game on Saturday afternoon against Penn State, 21-17.
While the game turned out to be exceptionally close, and the Wolverines needed a go-ahead touchdown with under six minutes, plus a stop on defense to seal the deal — it shouldn’t have been so close.
Michigan didn’t do itself any favors against the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines gave up some big chunk plays in the first two quarters that allowed PSU to get two field goals — bend but don’t break. In the second half, the maize and blue went down the field the first drive and got a touchdown, but then the offense went dormant, again. The Wolverines weren’t able to do anything until Cade McNamara hit Erick All for a 47-yard touchdown to all but win the game.
With that being said, it appears that the Michigan Wolverines have finally learned how to win games — it’s the mentality.
In the preseason, the Wolverines over/under for wins this season was 7.5 wins. How many people thought the maize and blue would be sitting at 9-1 at this point in the schedule with a legit shot to make it to the Big Ten Championship game, and be in the conversation of being in the playoff?
Let me get the loss out of the way, the MSU game, it was bad, poor, or whatever else you may want to say. While the officiating was also poor, the Wolverines lost that game, and there were plenty of things they could have done to win the game, but they didn’t — they also should have won.
Here’s the thing about Michigan, in recent years, it has lost the majority of the close games, especially being on the road. This season, Michigan has beaten Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Penn State on the road — all of which people thought the Wolverines could lose to.
The narrative behind Michigan and Jim Harbaugh is that they can’t win big games, but this year, the tables have turned. Yes, the maize and blue lost yet again to the Spartans, but they took care of Washington — who was predicted to be up towards the top of the Pac-12 — and Wisconsin very handily. The Wolverines also beat Nebraska and Penn State with major adversity beating its chest at Michigan.
Being able to finish games and pulling out wins, in the end, is a full-on mentality, because Michigan has talent, it always has, but it didn’t always believe. I give full credit to Jim Harbaugh cleaning house this season in terms of coaches and bringing in basically a brand new staff. It has appeared to make a gigantic difference in the locker room with confidence, energy, and a belief that this team can go out and win the tough games. I also believe that players have really stepped up in leadership as well. We have heard in the past couple of years, that leadership was an issue, but not anymore.
Michigan’s record is now 4-1 in what I would consider big games this season — I consider Washington a big game with it being the second game of the season and the high projections that it had going into the season.
Last year’s Wolverine team would have folded during the Nebraska and Penn State games when adversity struck, but this year’s Michigan team is built differently.
The Wolverines have two games left on this schedule and the big one being Ohio State, who they haven’t beaten since 2011. I’m not going to say Michigan will beat Ohio State, but I do believe the players believe that they will — that’s what truly matters. It’s been a long time since Michigan has defeated the Buckeyes, and teams have to play games for a reason — anything can happen on Nov. 27.
Who really knows what’s going to happen in these next two weeks, but all I can say is, this is a refreshing view of Michigan football when it can finish games off in victories.
List
3 things we learned after Michigan defeated PSU
