Roundup: National media weighs in on Michigan football dominance over Penn State
Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh said that you could call the Wolverines’ 41-17 win over Penn State a statement game. It turns out, national writers are looking at it exactly that way.
The maize and blue have flown under the radar through much of 2022, thanks in large part to Michigan’s breezy nonconference schedule and uninspiring play (according to the eyeball test if you’re looking strictly at dominant pass games) in conference. While Michigan used a bit of trickeration at times last year, this year’s team has the base tenets of what we saw in 2021 — a power run game, and it’s one that ran for 418 yards against what was the No. 5 rushing defense in the country coming in.
Naturally, writers are wondering if, indeed, the Wolverines are good enough to topple Ohio State again this year? Here is what the national media is saying about Michigan football after the 41-17 drubbing in Ann Arbor.
ESPN
David M. Hale, who usually avoids talking about Michigan football, wrote a sizable chunk about the Wolverines. While the below is just a snippet, Hale concludes that it’s too early to truly know if the maize and blue are College Football Playoff contenders, but Saturday went a long way to showing that Michigan is for real.
In the Big Ten, Ohio State is a unicorn. It’s a hard-living, fast-driving, take-no-prisoners action flick. The Buckeyes are strobe lights and glow sticks. The rest of the league is a Tupperware party.
Except maybe Michigan.
The Wolverines thumped No. 10 Penn State 41-17 on Saturday, and that makes it hard to lump them into the rest of the Big Ten pack. They’re something different — even if we’re still not quite sure exactly how different. That Michigan was the better team Saturday is unquestionable. That Penn State managed 17 points was a near miracle. The Nittany Lions held the ball for just 18:04, and roughly 17:50 of that time was spent in third-and-long.
Instead, it was the Michigan ground game that offered true fireworks. Donovan Edwards ran for 173. Blake Corum ran for 166. Both had runs of 60-plus yards. It has been a winning formula for the Wolverines to run their monster backs into a brick wall again and again and know that, ultimately, the wall will give up.
And yet, cast against Ohio State’s seemingly unstoppable offense and suddenly rejuvenated D, it’s fair to ask if Michigan’s formula is ultimately good enough to win at the highest level.
Associated Press
Ralph D. Russo also had a lengthy write up on Michigan football being a contender for the CFP, noting that this team looks awfully similar to the one that toppled Ohio State a year ago.
Earlier in the day, Michigan officially put No. 2 Ohio State on notice.
Michigan beat the Buckeyes last year to end its long drought on the way to a Big Ten title and the Wolverines’ first playoff berth.
The Wolverines have been living in the top-five for weeks this season, but with some skepticism after starting against the weakest nonconference schedule in the country and no ranked Big Ten teams.
Against No. 10 Penn State, Michigan looked like a real threat to beat the Buckeyes again.
Only a couple of long plays by the Nittany Lions and some stalled red zone trips in the first half kept the game respectable. Running back don’t win the Heisman Trophy anymore, but Blake Corum is Michigan’s man in that conversation.
Sporting News
Friend of the site Bill Bender wrote a whole article about the maize and blue, which means, again, we’re only including a snippet. But Bender notes that, again, Ohio State has been put on notice.
The buildup to the top-10 matchup between No. 5 Michigan and No. 10 Penn State turned back the clock to the 1990s matchups between the Wolverines and Nittany Lions.
It’s fitting the Wolverines won that with a formula that still works in modern times at Michigan Stadium.
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Will McCarthy be the first Wolverines quarterback since Drew Henson in 2000 to win at Ohio Stadium? With that running game, this gives McCarthy the best chance to be that quarterback. The last two Michigan quarterbacks who tried at The Shoe – Wilton Speight and Shea Patterson – were not as talented as McCarthy.
Will new Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense have an answer for that Wolverines running attack? We cannot wait to find out the answer to that one because that will determine who goes to Indianapolis.
USA TODAY Sports
Over at the mothership, Paul Myerberg raved about the Wolverines, putting Michigan atop his winners of the week, along with Tennessee.
The No. 4 Wolverines had outmuscled a run of overmatched opponents to start the year, including some of the nation’s worst teams in non-conference play. That raised the question: Just how good is Michigan, really? The answer should be clear after a 41-17 win against No. 10 Penn State. Defensively, the Wolverines held PSU to a season-low 268 yards, with 62 yards coming on one play, and just one offensive touchdown. While quarterback J.J. McCarthy tossed his first interception, Michigan ran for 418 yards and four scores on 7.6 yards per carry in the Nittany Lions’ worst showing against the run in nearly a decade. The win helps answer the question: Michigan is really good.
The Athletic
If, like me, you’d been waiting seven weeks to see what No. 4 Michigan looks like against a quality opponent, then Saturday’s 41-17 annihilation of No. 10 Penn Statewas three hours of wow! The Wolverines ran for 418 yards against a Nittany Lions defense that allowed 399 in its first five games. Fox’s Joel Klatt suggested early in the game that this year’s Michigan offensive line may be even better than last year’s Joe Moore Award winners, and he may be right. Right guard Zak Zinter in particular overpowered his man to help huge holes on Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum’s back-to-back 60-plus yard third-quarter touchdowns.
If you like watching bloodbaths, 7-0 Michigan’s next three opponents are Michigan State (3-4), Rutgers (3-3) and Nebraska (3-4).
CBS Sports
SEC fan Barrett Sallee finally gave Michigan football an A+ in his weekly report card.
The Michigan defense was flat out filthy against a 10th-ranked Penn State team that had a lot on the line. The Wolverines only gave up 268 yards in the 41-17 win, and held the Nittany Lions passers to a 41% completion percentage. Total domination.
247Sports
Penn State had an identity coming into this week.It stopped the run. Nobody the Nittany Lions had faced all season had totaled more than 119 yards rushing against them. They ranked 13th nationally, allowing just 2.95 yards per carry. Well, Michigan saw that identity and shoved it into the ground. During their 41-17 win, the No. 5 Wolverines ran for 418 yards and 4 touchdowns. That’s the most rushing yards the Nittany Lions have allowed this century.
Donovan Edwards had a 67-yard run. Blake Corum had a 61-yard run. Michigan did whatever it wanted thanks to a bullying o-line and playmakers in the backfield. It’s a dominant effort that once again shows that the Wolverines have the offensive physicality and line to thrive on the national stage. (We should also note that Michigan’s QB and receivers are better in 2022, as well).
Michigan will have an idle week next Saturday. Then, it gets Michigan State, Rutgers, Nebraska and Illinois. The Wolverines, barring a disaster, should walk into The Game at 11-0.
