Michigan Football: Three Takeaways from Orange Bowl Loss to Florida State

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Michigan football lost a heartbreaker in the Orange Bowl to Florida State 33-32. Here are the three most important takeaways.

For much of the game, it looked like Michigan football would lose. They were down by two touchdowns at half. The team didn’t lead until just under two minutes, when Chris Evans got Michigan their first rushing score.

The crowd was delirious as Evans crossed the goal line, but it was destined to be Florida State’s night. Michigan’s ensuing kickoff was returned to their own 34, with the Seminoles threatening a score. With 36 seconds left, they did just that on a fade route to Nyqwan Murray. Jourdan Lewis, who had been targeted all game, couldn’t get his head around in time.

Michigan returned the point after for a safety, and once more there was a glimmer of hope for the Wolverines. Yet there was still only 36 seconds. The Florida defensive line, disruptive all game, never allowed Wilton Speight to attempt anything downfield.

It was a disappointing end to the season for Michigan. The team lost three of four after starting 9-0, and will likely finish outside of the top ten.

The Wolverines lose 18 senior starters, but have a 4th ranked recruiting class set to hit campus. The loss will linger until next year, but its obvious Jim Harbaugh has set this program up for success for the coming decade.

Here are three takeaways from the Wolverines narrow defeat.

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Kenny Allen shines in final Michigan game

Among the seniors Michigan will lose is punter and kicker Kenny Allen. The fifth year senior is a homegrown talent from Fenton, Michigan. Allen took over after Brendan Gibbons was kicked off the team, and has only improved since. This year, as a punter, he earned All Big Ten Second Team honors. As a kicker, he was an all Big Ten honorable mention.

This year, Allen was 19 for 23 on field goal attempts, and made all 53 extra point attempts. His punting was the best since Zoltan Mesko graced the big house. The redshirt senior averaged 43 yards a punt, including a long of 67 yards.

In the game against Florida State, Allen may have been Michigan’s most valuable player. He accounted for Michigan’s first 9 points after the offense faltered in the red zone. In addition the field goals, Allen was money on punts. After Nyqwan Murray fumbled away a deep kick on the one, it was recovered by Dymonte Thomas. Sadly, the offense couldn’t convert and brought on Allen for his second attempt on the night.

Allen repeatedly pinned FSU back despite the offense requiring him to punt eight times. He averaged 47 yards, above his season average. His production will be missed, but Michigan has an heir waiting in the wings. Quinn Nordin will benefit from the same special teams coaching that helped Allen to become an asset.

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Michigan offensive line struggles

The foundation of the Michigan football is its line play. Their offensive play-makers are the explosive receivers and grinding running backs. But none of that happens without a push up front. Throughout the season, the line have opened holes for DeVeon Smith and gave Wilton Speight time to find Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh deep.

On Friday night, that push was nowhere to be found. Michigan ran for 89 yards, but it took 46 attempts. Smith was kept bottled up, and only averaged 2.3 yards a carry. Florida State repeatedly got to the open spaces and stuffed runners. If not for Chris Evans knifing style, Michigan wouldn’t have had a ground game to speak of. Florida State’s 15 tackles for loss speak for itself.

The pass blocking wasn’t better. Wilton Speight was repeatedly hurried and rushed about half of his throws. He seemed to be constantly scrambling as pocket after pocket collapsed around him. He made a few good finds, but his stats were way down from his averages, ending 21/38 for 163 yards. That he only averaged 4.3 yards a throw shows how often he had to dump it to a safety valve.

The Seminoles sacked him 4.5 times, with DeMarcus Walker repeatedly caused disruption. Said senior Kyle Kalis: “Obviously that’s not how you want to go out. It’s not how you want to leave your legacy.”

The line will be one of the places where graduation will hurt most. The Wolverines will lose starters, including tackles Eric Magnusson and Ben Braden, and guard Kyle Kalis. Two backups, Patrick Kugler and David Dawson, have also played their final game for Michigan.

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How will Don Brown adjust in 2016

The obvious caveat to this takeaway is the fact Jabrill Peppers did not play. So much of what Don Brown does hinges on Peppers being a generational player. The New Jersey native is so versatile that he fits in many different schemes and coverages. The Wolverines played admirably in his absence, but it was obvious how much he was needed.

However, the biggest issue with Michigan’s defense cannot be solved by Peppers alone. This is not a critique of Doc Brown, who has been an upgrade over DJ Durkin. Brown’s defenses have been more aggressive and elevated the Wolverines into a national power because of their stinginess.

Yet the big plays remain. Brown’s defenses, while consistently stopping opponents, are often vulnerable to big plays. This was on display against FSU, and especially against running back Dalvin Cook. Cook was mostly contained and stopped at the line. But a great example came in the third quarter. Michigan had forced FSU into 3rd and 22, which Cook responded to with a 71 yard run.

Another time, Nyqwan Murray busted free for a 92 yard reception. Cook was also the recipient of long passes, and Seminole receivers averaged 22 yards a catch. Obviously, a healthy Peppers helps to mitigate some of these issues. But if he leaves for the NFL, Brown will be forced to adjust once more.

The good news is that Brown is playing with house money. He already had a Top-10 defense, now all he needs to do is improve on it. The Wolverines will open up the season next year on September 2nd against the Florida Gators.