Wild Finish to Michigan vs. Michigan State Game

Probably don't want to run the ball on fourth down at mid field and leave the Spartans a play away from a potential game winning field goal. They aren't going to run out the clock. I'll say this for Harbaugh, the guy is known for elevating whatever program he goes to. Michigan has already benefited from his leadership and these aren't even his players yet.

 

You are right. I forgot that the Spartans were out of timeouts. I'd just have the QB rollout and tap dance until the pressure got too hot and then just heave it down the field. A running play is probably going to get stuffed pretty quickly in that situation.

As for Harbaugh, remember that he took the exact same team that went 3 and 13 the year before in San Francisco and took them to 13-3. To act like Harbaugh is some mouth breather isn't consistent with what he's accomplished at Stanford and San Francisco and now Michigan.

 

10 seconds is too long to run up the gut, which would likely take less than 5 seconds because the defense would be looking for it. And too long to take a chance on the QB running the time out because a desperate defense would really dig to get him, maybe within field goal range (though I understand MSU's kicker is not that good); regardless less field to score by any means. So I see 2 choices-- punt, or else drop back to pass, release the ball very high toward a sideline. Obviously the punter had done his thing many times in that game with no bobble like that, so there was probably no reason not to trust him to just handle the ball and kick it away. And since MSU put no one deep, a 'line drive' punt would have won the game for UM. So, the right decision was made. A "hail mary" pass works... 1 in 15-20 times, or something like that.So other rarer lone possibilities also work on rare occasions. And indeed, MSU not putting returner back meant all 11 were up front, and did that make the touchdown possible, when 1 less blocker might have foiled them? I give Dantonio the benefit of the doubt that he saw that as the only possibility, however weak, if UM lined up to punt and MSU went all-out pressure.