The Michigan Wolverines played a sluggish first half against the Indiana Hoosiers, and nothing encapsulated that better than the final play.
With 15 seconds left, the clock running off a bizarre run play, and no timeouts from the Indiana three-yard line, the Wolverines tried to pass the ball once more in an effort to score a go-ahead touchdown. Quarterback Shea Patterson threw it short of the end zone, and it was caught for a one-yard gain, but receiver Sean McKeon failed to reach the end zone or get out of bounds, leaving Michigan to scramble for a spike in the hopes of kicking a go-ahead field goal.
The problem? The referee didn’t quite spot the ball quickly enough, and time ran out on Michigan without getting the kick up. The Hoosiers went into the half with a 17-15 lead, and Twitter was not impressed.
Apparently Jim Harbaugh went to the Les Miles School of Clock Management.
Well, at least prior to today's game vs. Indiana.
— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) November 17, 2018
Horrendous clock management by Jim Harbaugh before halftime. Why wouldn’t they throw the ball inside the 10.
— George Wrighster III (@georgewrighster) November 17, 2018
That was some Marv Lewis-level clock management there from Harbaugh.
— Dave Biddle (@davebiddle) November 17, 2018
Michigan bungled the hell out of that one. Goodness.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) November 17, 2018
That’s horrible Michigan. You can’t run the ball there. That’s bad.
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) November 17, 2018
Michigan’s immensely successful season makes it easy to forget that there was a time people were wondering how long Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor would last. For just a brief moment, his game management made some of those bad feelings come back again.
