Michigan still critical of refs after MSU game, still sticking with 2 QB system
After an exceptionally short-winded news conference in East Lansing, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh answered questions with a bit more detail Monday during his weekly media session.
Harbaugh said he was “determined to attack with the resolve that it’s a new season,” and referred to these final four games as a fresh start for a team looking to rebound from a crushing loss to rival Michigan State.
Harbaugh’s mentality was shared by the three players who followed their coach in speaking to reporters back in Ann Arbor. The group fielded a barrage of inquiries that simultaneously examined their performance at Spartan Stadium over the weekend while looking ahead to future opponents, beginning with Indiana on Saturday.
Frustrations with referees
Harbaugh declined to comment on the officiating in East Lansing during his postgame news conference, telling reporters he had made his feelings clear throughout the game.
That stance shifted ever so slightly Monday when he slipped in a brief comment about a call that wasn’t made in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 37-33 with only a few minutes remaining, U-M needed 3 yards to convert a pivotal fourth down. The Wolverines aligned three receivers to the left of the formation, and quarterback Cade McNamara looked in that direction. He targeted wide receiver Cornelius Johnson on a slant over the middle during which two Spartans defenders — safety Angelo Grose and cornerback Ronald Williams — crashed into each other.
The miscommunication and collision from MSU’s defenders appeared to impede Johnson as he attempted to break free and make a play on the ball. Players and coaches alike appealed for pass interference the moment McNamara’s pass fell incomplete.
“Clear pass interference,” Harbaugh said Monday while answering a question about his team’s struggle to produce points in and around the red zone.
Harbaugh expanded on his issues with the officiating during the "Inside Michigan Football" radio show Monday night. Outside linebacker David Ojabo swiped the ball free from MSU quarterback Payton Thorne, and Aidan Hutchinson recovered in the end zone in the first half, but the call was overturned on replay.
"That should have never happened," Harbaugh said. "That was not conclusive evidence. They said that his shin was down. I said, ‘Half a shin? Was the ball moving?’ Because it sure looked like there was no conclusive evidence.
"I think everybody, anybody who has a rational view of it, a non-partial view, would say that’s the way the rule is written. It has to be irrefutable evidence, video evidence. So you feel for the players that really deserved better, especially when other reviews were left to stand or were overturned based on what was called on the field."
Outside linebacker Mike Morris took things a step further when he spoke to reporters shortly thereafter.
“I felt like going into that game we knew the refs weren’t going to have our backs,” Morris said.
He was quickly asked to elaborate.
“I just feel like it’s Michigan-Michigan State (so) it’s gonna be left up to us,” Morris said. “It’s not gonna be left up to (the referees). They’re not gonna call all the little tick-tack stuff . ... It’s like when you’re an away team playing at home. It’s going to favor to the home team more times than not.”
Substitution problems on defense
For the first time this season, Michigan endured significant problems while trying to substitute defensive personnel. Mike Macdonald’s unit was flagged twice for illegal substitutions when the Wolverines had too many players on the field and once for offside as a late-arriving defensive tackle was hustling through the neutral zone as Michigan State snapped the ball.
“It’s something we’ve got to work on, we’ve got to fix,” Harbaugh said. “Especially when they’re not substituting and going fast. That’s not the time for us to be substituting.”
Morris said the issues arose when Michigan attempted to match personnel based on the number of running backs and tight ends the Spartans were using on offense. The use of a faster tempo did not catch U-M by surprise — players said they had seen it on film — but their confusion regarding when to substitute and when to stick with the players on the field reflects disorganization from the coaches.
“This week it didn’t work out so well,” Morris said of Macdonald’s affection for matching personnel groupings. “Usually we’re on and off the field very fast and very frequently and we do it at a timely pace. This week it just didn’t happen. The pace was too fast. We were looking for the call, we didn’t get the call. And it was just happening way too fast and it just didn’t match up.
“They were close to their sideline and had people running on, running off. We were trying to figure out what was happening in the box and people just couldn’t make it happen.”
Quarterback rotation will continue
Fans who hoped a pair of fumbles by J.J. McCarthy would end Michigan’s rotation at quarterback will be disappointed with Harbaugh’s comments Monday.
He told reporters the desire to find playing time for McCarthy hasn’t changed because the coaches see his inclusion as something that enhances the offense.
“I think I do repeat this about every week: We want to play J.J.,” Harbaugh said. “Really believe that he adds to our chances of winning. He’s ready, he competes, he plays extremely well. The two fumbles, one he’s got to put the ball away running to his left there, secure it. The next one, he was doing everything he was supposed to do.”
Harbaugh’s last comment was perhaps the most interesting. In contrast to what Fox analyst Joel Klatt said during the television broadcast, Harbaugh absolved McCarthy of blame on the second fumble during a running back exchange and said Blake Corum was the player at fault.
“That’s something Blake should have securely taken the ball, knowing the ball was coming to him,” Harbaugh said.