Michigan football's run game, slow all season, faces huge test vs. Penn State
Michigan football players and coaches have had the same message about the team's run game since Week 1.
"It's close," running back Blake Corum repeated Tuesday night. "That's something we talked about a little bit. We're going to correct it, just going back to the film, finding the small things. Those small things lead to those big plays, as soon as we fix that, that's when we're going to pick it up."
It's a conversation those current in the program aren't used to having. U-M's offensive line was named the best in the country each of the last two seasons, in large part because of its dominance on the ground.
Last season, Corum was a unanimous All-American selection, leading the way in the rushing attack as he averaged more than 122 yards per game, while the Wolverines finished No. 7 nationally (238.1 yards per game) and fourth among Power Five teams.
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Even when Corum went down late in the season with a knee injury, Donovan Edwards took over the final three games and ran for 520 yards and three touchdowns.
This year has been a different tune. U-M ranks No. 50 in the nation, averaging 167.1 rushing yards per game, and 37th on a per-carry basis (4.56 yards per rush), a yard per attempt behind last season's pace.
While it hasn't caused as much as a hiccup thus far the No. 2 Wolverines (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten), as they head into their first top-10 matchup of the season against No. 9 Penn State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) in University Park on Saturday (12:10 p.m., Fox), its not an ideal trend.
“I think we're getting better every week,” said running backs coach Mike Hart. “You can keep saying every week that we're six inches away. We're 6 inches away. We're a guy here; we’re a guy there. At the end of the day, we’ve got to get it done.”
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To make matters even more difficult for Hart and company this week, they face a Nittany Lions defense orchestrated by defensive coordinator Manny Diaz that boasts the nation's No. 1 ranked run defense both on a per game (58.8 yards) and per carry (1.9 yards) basis.
In weeks past, teams may have had an opening or weakness the Wolverines could easily exploit. While U-M's staff will certainly do what it can to scheme up matchups to its advantage, Hart was plain: it's not the case this week.
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“They're one of the best defenses in the country,” he said. “Start up front: They’re one of the best D-lines in the country, from left defensive end to right defensive end. They’ve got the best linebackers that up to this point that we have faced. And their secondary is great.
"So, they're fast, they're athletic, they’re tough. It's gonna be a tough challenge."
The question for U-M is where the majority of the regression has happened — the running backs room or on the offensive line?
As is often the case, it's a bit of both.
Last season, Corum forced 73 missed tackles on 247 carries (29.6%) according to Pro Football Focus; this year that number is down to 14 forced missed tackles on 126 carries (11.1%). Still the lead back, Corum has run 126 times for 649 yards and though he leads the nation with 16 touchdowns, his per-carry average is down from 5.9 a season ago to 5.2 this year.
While his average numbers haven't taken a huge step back — his first down rate has gone from 38.9% to 35.7% while his carries that go for 10 yards or more has gone from 14.6% to 11.1% — the regression has been in the lack of home run plays.
He hasn't had a 20-yard carry in a month.
Edwards' numbers have dropped more precipitously. The junior has taken just four of 74 carries for more than 10 yards (5.4%), down from 13.6% a season ago, while just eight of his carries have gone for first downs (10.8%), that number is also less than half of his rate (25%) last season.
Edwards, who averaged 7.1 yards per carry last season, has run 74 times for 234 yards — just 3.1 yards per carry this season, U-M defines runs of 3 yards or less as "inefficient" — and two touchdowns.
"It's all of our job to get better,” Hart said. “If the play is blocked for 2 yards, the running back needs to get 4 or 5. If it's blocked for 10 yards, they better get 15 or 20. It's on all of us, and the backs need to be better."
But it's not as if the tailbacks have had the same holes to run through. Last season, Corum averaged 2.54 yards before he was first contacted, this year it's down to 2.24. Edwards' attempts, for whatever reason, have been even worse.
A season ago, he averaged 3.37 yards before contact. This year, it's just 1.04.
"I don't think Donovan's really even had a chance to make a guy, a safety, miss this year," Hart said. "Obviously, hopefully we get there. I mean we got three games left, that's the plan."
All season long, players and coaches have noted how opponents have loaded the box against Michigan to focus on their well-known rushing attack. Fortunately for U-M, that's opened things up even more for the now-prolific passing attack, led by quarterback J.J. McCarthy and his favorite target, Roman Wilson.
Hart reminded on Wednesday, since before the start of the season, U-M said it would win by whatever means necessary on offense, whether that means running or throwing. While Hart and Corum are more than happy to keep throwing to win, there may come a time they have to run to win, too.
And it might be this weekend.
"The defenses, like I’m saying, are stacking the box the whole game," Corum said. "When you have an extra man in the whole all game meeting you at the line of scrimmage, it gets kind of hard but there’s ways around it.
"I’m not going to talk too much about our schemes or anything like that, but I expect Saturday to be a good game."
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.
Next up: Nittany Lions
Matchup: No. 2 Michigan (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) at No. 9 Penn State (8-1, 5-1).
Kickoff: Noon Saturday; Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania.
TV/radio: Fox; WXYT-FM (97.1), WTKA-AM (1050).
Line: Wolverines by 4½.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's sluggish run game faces huge test vs. Penn State
