“We’re not good enough to make mistakes and beat anybody.”
That favorite refrain of Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, uttered once again after the Wolverines’ 38-28 loss to Iowa on Saturday afternoon, was as evident as ever on the Michigan Stadium field against the Hawkeyes.
Sophomore quarterbacks Denard Robinson and Tate Forcier combined for three interceptions, and sophomore running back Vincent Smith fumbled to bring the team’s turnover total to four.
The Wolverines were penalized eight times for 66 yards, including a couple that stalled Michigan drives.
Michigan’s special teams weren’t much better — a field goal was blocked and two late crucial kickoffs went out of bounds.
Though Michigan attempted a fourth-quarter comeback on the shoulders of Forcier, it was ultimately too little, too late. The deficit was too large to overcome, the mistakes too glaring.
“It was turnovers and penalties — things you talk about all the time that you can’t have and win games,” senior offensive lineman Steve Schilling said after the game. “We had four turnovers and some big penalties that killed drives. We still had 500-something yards of offense and were able to move the ball pretty much when we wanted, but you can’t turn the ball over or have those drive-killing penalties.”
Multiple Michigan players discussed the turnovers following the game, and they had a common perspective: The offense had little trouble moving the ball against Iowa’s vaunted defense, but it kept shooting itself in the foot with a bad read, bad throw or bad penalty.
“Turnovers were just ridiculous,” Rodriguez said. “We were so good early in the year at taking care of the ball. … We were our own worst enemy in the first half with the silly penalties. That’s just ridiculous and we’ve got to get that cleaned up.”
Clean-up duty includes a lot.
According to junior wide receiver Darryl Stonum, it’s making the right reads and being in the right place at the right time. Schilling said it’s important the team rallies together after two straight conference losses.
Those statements are accurate, and that’s not even taking the defense into consideration.
Statistically, it was the defense’s third-best performance — the unit gave up 383 total yards, down from Michigan State’s 536 a week before.
But the same issues remain on that side of the ball, the same problems that have plagued the young defense all season. Poor tackling, missed assignments and allowing third-down conversions (Iowa was 7-of-13) are all still concerns.
“I’m sure after watching the film our defensive staff is going to be disappointed,” Rodriguez said.
Michigan will have a bye next weekend, and its next opponent is Penn State on Oct. 30. During the next two weeks, the Wolverines look to heal their bodies (Robinson has had a nagging shoulder injury, and center David Molk and nose tackle Mike Martin have been banged up) and fix the little mistakes they’ve been making.
Despite the loss and the comparisons to last season’s hot start and fizzling finish, the players remained optimistic after Saturday’s loss.
“You see my two offsides? That’s fixable. I can fix that,” said redshirt freshman offensive tackle Taylor Lewan, who accounted for three drive-killing penalties on Saturday. “The personal foul I got? That’s fixable. I can fix that. That could have been a turnaround in this game. There are little things I can change, little things everybody can change. If we can do that, we’re going to be a very special team.”