Michigan took down Purdue 49-14 to earn seventh place in the Big Ten conference. The dominant offensive performance brought the fall season to an end for the Wolverines.
The scoring started early for Michigan, as senior Braden Loughane put the first try in just 3 minutes into the contest. Loughane also had a drop goal. It was a very well-rounded performance for the Wolverines: five different players scored tries.
“It was nice to get a win under the belt,” Loughane said after the game. “Playing for seventh is never a position that we want to be in, but I’m proud of our guys for not getting discouraged.”
Excellence in both phases of the game kept the Wolverines comfortable from the start. Purdue didn’t score until the 29th minute, and struggled at times to move the ball against the stout Michigan line.
Despite their success throughout all 80 minutes of the match, the win was bittersweet for the Wolverines.
“We demonstrated what we can accomplish against Purdue,” senior captain George Janke said. “But we’ve got to be able to play better against other teams, too.”
All fall, Michigan struggled to perform to its program standards. There were many losses up and down the schedule that the team felt should’ve been victories. Hard work in the weightroom and on the practice field didn’t translate to the pitch. So in the final match of the season on Saturday, the impressive final line wasn’t satisfactory for the team that knows it can do more:
“We’d like to set our sights higher,” Janke said. “And we’re gunning to beat some other Big Ten teams this spring in sevens.”
