Jim Harbaugh Learned Several Things From Botched-punt Loss

Michigan's coach acknowledged Monday he learned "several things," in the aftermath of last year's infamous loss to Michigan State in which a botched punt with 10 seconds left led to one of the most dramatic finishes in college football history. "Have the punter at the right depth," Harbaugh said when pressed on what he learned from the play. Harbaugh called a timeout and chose to punt on a fourth-and-2 from the Spartans 47, leading by two points, after De'Veon Smith ran the ball three straight times trying to pick up a first down and run time off the clock. Harbaugh had two gunners — players lining up as if they were wide receivers — in the formation as if it was just another punt. O'Neill bobbled a low snap and instead of falling on the ball as Harbaugh would say after the game he wished the punter had done — though O'Neill was never coached to do that — he whirled and tried to get the kick off only to be swarmed by Spartans. The football was jarred out of O'Neill's hands and directly into the arms of Jalen Watts-Jackson, who returned it for a 38-yard, game-winning, game-ending touchdown that left him with a broken hip after Wolverines tight end Jake Butt tackled him. The trio of blockers took steps toward the right to prepare for a rugby-style punt after the snap, leaving the left side of the line outnumbered by the Spartans' aggressive formation.

Topics:  michigan state   de'veon smith   jalen watts-jackson   jake butt   harbaugh   spartans   o'neill   learned   loss   punt   left   snap   punter   formation   ball   football   

 

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