web1_123623170-f8be03f493e340e2868ec9e7d1d16374.jpg

Jones sparkles in his start, Giants rally past Bucs 32-31

web1_123622790-e6a3532e888a4419844221b9707fd2ca.jpg

Drops, fumbles, sloppy play doom Eagles in loss

<p>MADISON, Wis. &#8212; Just a few weeks ago, the possibilities seemed endless for Michigan.</p><p>The Wolverines came into their fifth season under Jim Harbaugh looking like a good bet to win the Big Ten. A spot in the College Football Playoff seemed like a real possibility, and the program&#8217;s first national championship since 1997 even appeared within reach.</p><p>And now?</p><p>The odds are looking about as long as one of Jonathan Taylor&#8217;s dashes for Wisconsin after the Badgers ran over the Wolverines 35-14 on Saturday.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody&#8217;s got to keep their head up,&#8221; defensive back Josh Metellus said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a long season. We&#8217;ve got nothing to get down about. We played a good team. They played one of their best games in the last couple of years. We&#8217;ve got a lot to look forward to. We&#8217;ve still got a great team. We&#8217;ve still got each other&#8217;s back when somebody falls. We&#8217;ve got to keep pushing.&#8221;</p><p>Michigan, which dropped nine spots to No. 20 following the loss, will try to regroup when it hosts Rutgers next week. Then comes what figures to be a tough matchup against No. 14 Iowa at the Big House on Oct. 5.</p><p>As for the Wisconsin game? Well, it stung.</p><p>Taylor ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns, Jack Coan added a career-high two rushing TDs and the Wolverines got serenaded with &#8220;Over-rated! Over-rated!&#8221; chants.</p><p>Michigan was outgained 487 yards to 299 and got dominated on the ground 359-40. The Wolverines lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions and a made a quarterback change, with Shea Patterson getting benched late in the first half in favor of Dylan McCaffrey. Patterson returned near the end of the third quarter after McCaffrey suffered a concussion on a shoulder-to-helmet hit by Wisconsin safety Reggie Pearson.</p><p>That was just another rough turn in a game that got away early.</p><p>Taylor had 143 yards and two scores, including a 72-yarder, in the first quarter. Coan dived in from the 1 midway through the second and scrambled 25 yards for another touchdown with about a minute left in the half to make it 28-0. The lead got to 35-0 in the third before Michigan scored the first two touchdowns against Wisconsin this season.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a gut check, for sure,&#8221; Harbaugh said.</p><p>Coming off its third 10-win season in four years under Harbaugh, Michigan appeared to be set for success this season. The Wolverines had Patterson and seven other starters returning on offense as well as a bunch on defense, not to mention a favorable schedule. Rivalry games against Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State all will be in the Big House.</p><p>But so far, the Wolverines haven&#8217;t lived up to their billing. They opened with a lackluster 40-21 win over Middle Tennessee and needed double overtime to beat Army two weeks ago.</p><p>The loss to Wisconsin, which jumped five spots to No. 8, will only fuel critics who believe Harbaugh can&#8217;t win the big one. Michigan is 1-6 on the road against Top 25 teams under him and has lost bowl games the past three years after winning the Citrus Bowl in his first season.</p><p>&#8220;As a group, we don&#8217;t have an identity yet,&#8221; tight end Nick Eubanks said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got a game coming up next week. We&#8217;ve got to find it quick. It&#8217;s a long season. It&#8217;s a gut check. We need to find a rhythm on offense. It&#8217;s not as consistent as we hoped it would be. Through the next few weeks, the next few practices, we will find our rhythm.&#8221;</p><p>There&#8217;s plenty to fix on both sides.</p><p>It&#8217;s fair to say that rushing just 19 times, going 0 for 10 on third downs and getting dominated in time of possession (41:07-18:53) against Wisconsin wasn&#8217;t the plan for Michigan. The offense continued to struggle under new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.</p><p>The Wolverines lost two fumbles against Middle Tennessee, leading to a pair of touchdowns. Michigan would have lost to Army a week later had Black Knights kicker Cole Talley made a 50-yard field that was just short and to the right at the end of regulation. Jake Moody hit a 43-yarder in the second overtime, and the Wolverines forced and recovered a fumble to win that game.</p><p>Against Wisconsin, things quickly got out of hand. But Metellus wasn&#8217;t ready to give up on the season.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s early,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s Week 3, the third game of the season. We&#8217;ve got a lot of football left. As we all know, one game doesn&#8217;t define a season. The only place we can go is up from here. We&#8217;ve got a lot of things to look forward to.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_123623096-3336b99c66564938b8729a21887cc10b.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh talks with wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones during the first half of an NCAA football game against Wisconsin on Saturday in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won 34-14. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_123623096-3336b99c66564938b8729a21887cc10b.jpg</photo0><caption0>Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh talks with wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones during the first half of an NCAA football game against Wisconsin on Saturday in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won 34-14. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_123623096-edb684011d9e439dac96d4dd6cdad684.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Michigan defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson walks off the field with his teammates after losing 35-14 to Wisconsin on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_123623096-edb684011d9e439dac96d4dd6cdad684.jpg</photo1><caption1>Michigan defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson walks off the field with his teammates after losing 35-14 to Wisconsin on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1>AP photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_123623096-3214f22cb7b74526934f8cb92351b038.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">CORRECTS SCORE TO 35-14-Wisconsin linebacker Jack Sanborn (57) tackles Michigan quarterback Dylan McCaffrey during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won 35-14. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_123623096-3214f22cb7b74526934f8cb92351b038.jpg</photo2><caption2>CORRECTS SCORE TO 35-14-Wisconsin linebacker Jack Sanborn (57) tackles Michigan quarterback Dylan McCaffrey during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won 35-14. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)</caption2><photoCredit2>AP photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Andrew Seligman</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Michigan’s promising season takes hit