Michigan football got a new wound Saturday and picked at an old one.
The final play of the Wolverines' 51-45 loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff semifinal -- a botched snap from center Olu Oluwatimi to quarterback J.J. McCarthy -- came with a harsh reminder from ESPN commentator Sean McDonough of another game Michigan would rather forget: "Trouble with the snap!"
McDonough, wittingly or not, uttered the very same words on Saturday that he delivered seven years ago when Michigan lost to Michigan State on a last-second botched snap that ended with Jalen Watts-Jackson in the end zone at the Big House.
It's an unfortunate ending to a terrific season for Oluwatimi, the Rimmington Trophy winner as the top center in the country. Bad snap or not, Michigan was in serious trouble, deep in its own territory and out of timeouts with 25 seconds to play. The game was all but over.
It was officially over after Oluwatimi's snap caught McCarthy by surprise and Michigan, despite recovering the fumble, couldn't salvage the play.
But in the grand scheme of things, it was a couple mistakes by McCarthy --not one by Oluwatimi -- and countless mistakes by the defense that cost the Wolverines. McCarthy threw two pick sixes, one in each half, and Michigan's typically stout defense allowed 263 yards on the ground.
The Wolverines lost the battle they expected to win in the trenches, which is where the game came to a fitting end.
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