For Michigan football, frustration is warranted but panic is not

There’s a difference between frustration and panic.

Frustration is measured. Though uncomfortable, frustration happens when, despite best efforts and best-laid plans, a situation can't change in a timely manner.

Panic is something different. It appears when hope becomes absent. When plans give way to knee-jerk reactions that turn into quick sand.

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Michigan’s football program, three years into Jim Harbaugh’s tenure as head coach, should bring about frustration. And it has.

Don’t believe me?

“There's a phrase about 'it's a bitter pill to swallow,' and a lot of people overuse it these days,” defensive end Chase Winovich said Saturday after a 31-20 loss to Ohio State, Michigan's sixth straight against the Buckeyes. "But it's the most bitter pill I've ever had to swallow personally.

"Coming here for four years and not beating these guys once, it's tough."

But panic? Hysteria happens when you can no longer see land. When the boat’s sprung a leak and there’s no one left to paddle toward shore.

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Michigan’s not in that situation. No matter how angry you are, or how loud you yell, it’s just not true.

Not right now.

Harbaugh’s first three years have not gone according to the grand plans some concocted late 2014 when the coach that U-M's rudderless program had pined for opted to leave the NFL for his alma mater.

Criticism is fair and warranted.

A home loss to Michigan State in October shouldn’t have happened, even with a starting quarterback out with an injury. An offensive identity crisis over the first six weeks of the season shouldn’t have happened. In hindsight, Michigan waited too long to give its most talented quarterback — Brandon Peters — the keys to this offense.

But wholesale dismay is ridiculous.

U-M entered Saturday in a less-than-ideal situation. Down to its third-string quarterback, with freshmen and sophomores all over the place, the Wolverines lined up against a team firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation. And for 50 minutes, the game was basically even. Missed opportunity and an inability to gain those hidden inches ultimately told the story.

Harbaugh’s been criticized for his inability to find a quarterback. That’s partially flawed. He took over the program after 2014 with little in the bullpen. He honored the previous staff’s commitment to Alex Malzone and signed Zach Gentry, who ultimately moved to tight end, during a four-week blitz in early 2015. From there, he took transfers from Jake Rudock and John O’Korn. One worked out, one didn’t. Wilton Speight improved, until injuries arrived.

Peters — the first quarterback Harbaugh scouted completely — committed later that spring. He missed Saturday’s game with a concussion. Had he been available, things might have ended differently. They probably would have, in fact. Michigan schemed up open play after open play in the first half Saturday, but O’Korn — U-M's third-best quarterback — couldn’t get the job done. Peters might have fared better.

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But he didn’t play. The “what if” narrative is tired.

Peters didn’t play for the same reason Speight was unavailable: Michigan’s offensive line was unable to protect him earlier in the year, resulting in a costly injury a young team simply couldn’t afford.

U-M does have a long way to go. The Wolverines have to find answers in the front five, which once again failed to deliver the consistency this offensive scheme requires. Michigan’s disjointed game-planning and play-calling during the first half of the season is a head-scratcher at best and needs to be fixed as well. Receivers have to be more technically sound, get open and finish routes.

But hope is not absent.

If Michigan wants to run this pro-style offense, it has to be able to protect quarterbacks while punishing people on the ground. It’s a requirement, not a suggestion.

But hope is not absent. A slew of first-year starters will be back in 2018, including Rashan Gary, Devin Bush, Khaleke Hudson, Lavert Hill, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Karan Higdon, Chris Evans, Sean McKeon and Tarik Black — to name a few.

And, yes, Peters.

Pressure will mount in 2018 and the schedule won't be any easier. U-M has to play at Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State. Wisconsin and Penn State will come to Ann Arbor. That's a gauntlet.

That's life on the big stage.

Harbaugh's Michigan has found frustration. That's real.

But, right now, panic is a bridge too far.

Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner. Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Appleand Android devices!