Michigan Football

Tuesday Morning Brews: Takeaways From The Florida State Game

By Nick Bodanyi@NickBodanyi Jan 3, 2017, 6:00am CST

NCAA Football: Orange Bowl-Michigan vs Florida State

Takeaways From The Loss To FSU

Well, that was quite a finish.

"Coach Harbaugh kept saying it's going to happen, it's going to happen, just stay patient," said Wilton Speight about the game’s dramatic final minutes. "And I think before that drive that we scored, he basically just said now is the time. We were able to capitalize and almost pull it out."

Almost, but not quite. Michigan played in yet another classic game where it ended up on the wrong side of things. C’est la vie, mon amour.

There’s going to be an open quarterback battle in the off-season.

For the most part, I’ve enjoyed watching Wilton Speight this year, and I’m not ready to throw him out with the bath water. But some of his decision-making completely disappeared late in the year, and he needs to find consistency for this offense to have a chance with him at the helm.

An overhaul of the receiving corps will do Michigan’s QBs some good, but there will be a lot of turnover on the O-line. I’m hoping Speight can take the necessary steps to improve, because I think his leadership is a valuable part of this team. But if he doesn’t make enough plays, then there are plenty of other candidates to give snaps to.

Michigan’s defensive line is about to get some more speed - and that’s just fine.

The one bright spot for Michigan was their defensive line, which did their part to hold Dalvin Cook in check. But as we look ahead to 2017, the possibility of less size and more speed at that weakside defensive end spot is actually pretty tempting. Chase Winovich, come on down.

Harbaugh should have used Chris Evans a lot more.

This was frustrating. Evans ran for 6.1 yards a carry, while all the other playmakers had 2.1 combined. FSU’s defense was vulnerable to Evans’ speed; they should have used him a lot more, and a lot sooner than that 30-yard run in the fourth.

The momentum feels stalled right now.

I don’t think a lot of fans feel quite as optimistic as we did just a couple weeks ago. Hopefully there’s some good news on the horizon to change things around. Paging Chuck Filiaga? And Nico Collins? And the NFL Draft?

Now, the off-season attrition begins.

In fact, it’s already begun, with David Dawson and Shane Morris announcing their departures earlier this week. To everybody that ends up leaving, especially Jabrill if and when that happens, just know we’re proud of you guys for everything you’ve done for the Maize and Blue.