No. 4 Michigan dominates No. 10 Penn State with rushing attack in matchup of Big Ten unbeatens

The crowd roared as the 1997 national championship team lined up shoulder-to-shoulder from pylon to pylon along the north end zone.

They stood in ovation for Lloyd Carr − on the day the tunnel was named after the coach of the last national title team − as he took his cap off in return to acknowledge the fan base. And did the same for Charles Woodson, the Heisman trophy winner and heartbeat of the best Michigan team of the modern era, as he pounded his chest to salute the Wolverines faithful.

On the day the program honored the 25-year anniversary of its last national championship team, it felt, at least early on, like the Wolverines were making a statement that they are a contender for another this year.

Then, disaster struck.

A 60-yard rush by quarterback Sean Clifford on third-and-1 led to one quick Penn State score. Five plays into the Michigan's ensuing drive, J.J. McCarthy's pass was batted and bounded off a helmet before it was picked off for a Nittany Lions pick-6.

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The Wolverines suddenly trailed a game they had dominated for 25 minutes. But they didn't waiver.

Michigan imposed its will on the ground against the Nittany Lions' previously No. 5 ranked rushing defense, ripping off two scores of more than 60 yards in a 41-17 win as it cemented itself as a College Football Playoff contender for the second consecutive season.

The disparity in the first half in overall stats was striking. The Wolverines had more first downs, 18-1. They had more yards, 274-83. They had more snaps, 50-14 and had a massive edge in time of possession, nearly 24 minutes (23:56) to six minutes (6:04).

But for the most part, Michigan couldn't make the key play in the red zone.

On the Wolverines' first drive, they faced third-and-3 from the Penn State 11. Donovan Edwards motioned from the slot position toward the backfield, then as McCarthy called for the snap, ran a swing route back out to the left side but McCarthy sailed the pass over his head and Michigan settled for a 29-yard Jake Moody field goal.

On the next set of downs, the Wolverines went 77 yards on 13 plays, but the key play came on second-and-goal from the 2. Blake Corum took the handoff left, but Penn State's Ji'Ayir Brown pushed through left tackle Ryan Hayes to blow the play up in the back field for a loss of three.

Corum was then tackled on a shovel pass on third down, forcing Michigan to accept another short field goal by Moody, this one from 24 yards.

Finally, Michigan capitalized on a long drive. On their third possession, the Wolverines went 70 yards on 13 plays, Corum pounded in the touchdown from one-yard out to take a 13-0 lead.

The last time Michigan got the ball in the red zone in the first half, Corum was stuffed on a third-and-1 run up the middle − the final play of the 11-play, 60-yard drive − and Moody knocked in the 23-yard kick with two seconds to play in the half to take the 16-14 lead.

The big plays in the second half all went Michigan's way.

With 11:12 left in the third quarter, after Michigan forced Penn State to settle for a field goal on its first possession, the Wolverines got their first big play of the day.

The lead wouldn't last long. Edwards ran right behind a pulling Olusegun Oluwatimi and Zak Zinter got a block in the second level which allowed Edwards to go untouched and high-step into the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion on a screen pass from McCarthy to Ronnie Bell made it a 24-17 game.

Michigan's next offensive touch was also a 61-yard touchdown run, this time by Corum. Oluwatimi and Zinter were in the middle of it again. The center and right guard opened a mammoth sized hole up the middle, Colson Loveland pulled across the formation and sealed a would-be tackler from the weak side and Corum didn't get touched as he out-ran the defense to the end zone.

The two 60-yard touchdown scores were the highlight of the day − per the team it was the first time two Michigan ball carriers have scored from 60+ yards since Nov. 4, 2017 against Minnesota when it was Karan Higdon (77 yards) and Chris Evans (60 yards) − but it was much more than just the two big plays.

Edwards had five rushes that went for 10 yards or more. Corum had four. McCarthy had two. CJ Stokes had one.

Out of 54 total attempts just six rushes went for a gain of no yards or a loss (two of which came late in the fourth when Penn State knew Michigan was trying to run out the clock).

In total, the Wolverines ran 54 times for 412 yards − an average of 7.6 per attempt as Edwards led the way with 16 carries for 173 yards and two scores, Corum finished with 28 carries for 166 yards yards and two scores, and McCarthy chipped in seven rushes for 57 yards of his own.

It was the first time they ran for 400 yards or more against a Big Ten team since 2016 at Rutgers − a 78-0 victory.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan dominates Penn State with rushing attack in Big Ten showdown