Observations on the win over Penn State, 21-17
Michigan converted two red zones for 7 points; Penn State scored 14 points in 4 red zone trips. East team had one turnover, and the Nittany Lions scored 3 points of the Wolverine miscue.
Offense had a poor day, but when they had to score, they did; they had 3 good drives on the day that resulted in touchdowns out of their 12 possessions. Cade McNamara completed 19 of 29 for 217 yards and 3 TDs including a 47 yard TD with 3:29 left in the game; McNamara was sacked twice, and fumbled the ball in the red zone late in the 4th quarter. Hassan Haskins ran 31 times for 156 yards, and caught 5 passes for 45 yards; however, a tough Nittany Lion defense didn't allow a rushing TD. Blake Corum did not make the trip due to a high ankle sprain. Erick All caught 4 passes for 64 yards including the game winner. Roman Wilson caught 3 passes for 31 yards and 2 TDs. Cornelius Johnson had 3 catches for 51 yards. Michigan had 21 first downs, 361 yards in 70 plays, and was 7 of 17 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Ellis Brooks led Penn State with 15 tackles; Brandon Smith had 10 tackles, and Arnold Ebiketie had 7 tackles including 2 sacks plus a forced fumble.
Penn State had 20 first downs, 332 yards in 86 plays with 223 in the air; the Nittany Lions were 11 of 27 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Sean Clifford was 23 of 43 for 205 yards to 10 different receivers for a TD plus a 2 point conversion, but was sacked 7 times; he ran 16 times for 61 yards, but with sack yardage deducted left him with 16 yards. Keyvone Lee ran 20 times for 88 yards; the Wolverine defense had a difficult time stopping a weak Nittany Lion run game. Jahan Dotson had 9 catches for 61 yards, but no touchdowns. Penn State held a 16 offensive play advantage although Michigan had a 30 second time of possession advantage. True Freshman Junior Colson led the defense with 12 tackles including 0.5 sack; Senior Joss Ross contributed 11 tackles. Aiden Hutchinson had 7 tackles including 3 sacks, and David Ojabo had 4 tackles including two sacks plus a forced fumble. Vincent Gray forced the fumble on the fake field goal, and Daxton Hill returned it 9 yards. D.J. Turner did a great job in coverage with 2 pass break ups. It was interesting to see at the end of the game that we had True Freshman Rodney Moore playing at Safety; he contributed 6 tackles, and got his first start as a Wolverine against Penn State.
Special Teams were advantage Penn State. The Nittany Lions hit 3 of 4 field goals by Jordan Stout including a 52 yarder, and executed a fake punt, but the Wolverines blew up a fake field goal attempt in the red zone. Jake Moody had 4 touchbacks on kickoffs as did Stout with 5 kickoffs. Brad Robbins punted 5 times with as whopping 52.4 yard average with one downed inside the 20; Stout punted four times with a 51 yard average and 4 downed inside the 20. A.J. Henning was -3 on his only punt return; Jahan Dotson had a 9 yard return on his only return.
Bring on the Terrapins! We should be 10-1 when we host Ohio State for the divisional title, and a chance to go to the Big Ten Championship Game. Go Blue!