The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/246097
Sometimes the offense faltered, failing to consume time or put more points on the board. Sometimes the defense broke down, yielding inexplicable TD drives at the most inopportune times. Both sides of the ball (plus special teams) were responsible for three losses — Penn State, Nebraska and Iowa — that Michigan should have won. Ineffective Leadership: Following UM's narrow 28-24 win over Akron, fifth-year senior captain Taylor Lewan promised Michigan would come out hungry the following week and punish Connecticut. Instead, the Wolverines played poorly, barely escaping with a 24-21 win. That response from the Maize and Blue turned out to be a warning sign. When the going got tough, the Wolverines … folded. Against Penn State. Michigan State. Nebraska. Iowa. Kansas State. They showed resolve only against Northwestern and Ohio State, but their fight in those contests appeared to be more anomaly than the rule. Michigan elected four captains, but none of them seemed to know how to inspire their teammates, while every setback seemed to wreak havoc on an emotionally fragile team devoid of true leadership. Lack of Improvement: Michigan's staff began the season with high expectations for the defensive line. However, the unit was not able to put consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, only posting 11.5 sacks for the season compared to 12.0 in 2012 and 17 in Hoke's first year. The offensive line, meanwhile, strug- gled throughout the season. U-M's coaches tried just about everything, but following 12 games and 15 bowl practices, Michigan's running backs were held to 13 yards on eight carries by Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. The offense also suffered five tackles for loss in the 31-14 defeat. The defense gave up 440 yards of offense and a 6.6 yards-per-play average in the bowl loss. The dismal final game performance capped a campaign in which any individual improvement by players was overshadowed by the team's failures. Four Encouraging Points Experience: Michigan went into 2013 with 246 career starts among its roster players, but four players — offensive tackles Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield, tailback Fitz Toussaint and safety Thomas Gordon (all seniors) — were responsible for 105 of those starts, or 42.7 percent. U-M had little starting experience at quarterback (four starts), receiver (18), tight end (five) and defensive line (18). Michigan will say goodbye to a few key players, and will be younger at tailback (two career starts) and wide receiver (13), but the Maize and Blue will be older and more experienced at quarterback (17 career starts), tight end (18), defensive line (50), linebacker (75), defensive back (54) and even, to some degree, along the offensive line (42), where six eligible lettermen earned at least two starts. Overall, U-M will return a roster that includes 280 career starts, a 14 percent increase from 2013. The defense will return nine starters (players that made