Michigan Football: Week 12

What a great game. Beating Michigan State is always a good feeling but blowing them out like this just feels right. Too many times we have allowed them to hang around only for something fluky to happen that leads to them winning or keeping it close, as opposed to just burying them like we can. In that respect, this was one of the most enjoyable games I have ever watched. Our guys came out with a ton of intensity (Cam McGrone looked like he wanted to take on the Spartans all by himself), which is important when trying to avoid an upset, and it really showed as throughout the game they dominated Michigan State’s players and did not let up until the game was over. Michigan State did get the first score of the game, with a pass to fullback Max Rosenthal out in the flat, but their defense that was much heralded early on in the season proceeded to give up 24 unanswered points before getting what would be their final score of the game, a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter, followed by them allowing us to score 20 more points.

Opponent: Michigan State Spartans

Going into this game, I knew we had to stop the run and force Brian Lewerke to try to beat us with his arm. We did exactly that, stuffing Elijah Collins time after time, he finished with 12 carries for a mere 27 yards, with his longest run at four yards. We stopped Lewerke from doing too much damage as well, with him running 13 times for 12 yards. They had a few other carries divided amongst a couple other players, but none of them got anything going either. As for Lewerke’s passing? He finished with 166 yards of dinks and dunks, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He was sporadic at best, consistently missing throws throughout the game, although part of that can certainly be credited to our defense giving pressure and covering their receivers well.

As for their defense, it was extremely underwhelming. I was expecting them to cause a ton of problems for us. While they did stop the run, they had no answer for our passing attack. Their two supposed studs on defense, Kenny Willekes and Raequan Williams, both had very quiet games. The only play I remember either of them making was when Willekes destroyed Shea Patterson on a play where he basically ran clean at him, knocking the ball loose. Fortunately, we were able to fall on it. The third guy on their defense that everyone loved coming into the year, Joe Bachie, is suspended for using PED’s, so that tells you everything you need to know about him.

Offense

For the first time that I can remember, Jim Harbaugh accepted that the run game was not working and instead opted to throw the ball all over the field. I am still in shock that Shea Patterson actually threw the ball 33 times and we only ran the ball 34 times as a team. It really shows a development in mentality, that instead of trying to force a run game that was not working, we decided to just throw the ball, because that is what was working. Patterson had by far his best game of the season, completing 24 of his 33 passes for a whopping 384 yards and four touchdowns with…wait for it…zero turnovers. Yes, I already mentioned that he fumbled on the Willekes hit, but we recovered it and I cannot sit here and blame him for losing the ball in that instance. There was a missed block on the play and he just did not see it coming. I could not be happier with how Patterson played and if he can pull a performance like this out in our final two games, we actually might have a chance to win out. One other thing to note is we tried a trick play where Dylan McCaffrey lined up in the shotgun and Patterson split out wide. McCaffrey got the snap and through it backwards to Patterson, who then looked for a guy deep that ended up being covered, so he had to throw it away. I appreciate the creativity but I hope we do not see that one again, barring some improvements to how it is run.

Would you like to take a guess at who our leading rusher was? Zach Charbonnet? No, he was #2. Hassan Haskins? Nope. Tru Wilson? He got the most carries, but was third in yardage. Our leading rusher was none other than Giles Jackson, who had two carries for 32 yards. This implies two things. First, Michigan State is very good at stopping the run. Second, Giles Jackson is ridiculously fast and can be effective against any defense. Speed is something that cannot be taught, and Jackson just has it. He also really showed his athleticism with a nice hurdle over a defender. I hope that as he continues to develop, we use him in a Rondale Moore-type role where we just get him the ball in space any way we can and let him do his thing. We ran the wildcat formation a few times down on the goal line with Haskins taking the snap and Ben Mason standing next to him. Haskins was stuffed, then converted, then got stuffed again on the next drive before Patterson subbed back in. Similar to the other play with McCaffrey and Patterson, I appreciate the offense showing some creativity, but unlike the other play, I see why it may be worth running. My one issue with it is that the defense knows it is a run, and I never like the defense to ever know for sure what we are going to do on a given play. Now, the reason why I think it is worth running is that it ultimately comes down to the trenches to decide who scores on that play. Our offensive line is solid at opening holes in the run game when they are selling out for it to be a run, as opposed to a run-pass option, so I trust that they can win that battle. It is, of course, a lot harder against a defensive line as strong as Michigan State’s, so it is important to not be too dependent on it. I am always a supporter of a play action pass on the goal line, personally.

Ronnie Bell went out and had a day, racking up 150 yards on nine catches. He is by far our most dependable receiver. Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins each had a very characteristic touchdown. Peoples-Jones made a nice move up the sideline before making an acrobatic dive to get the ball over the goal line, and Collins overpowered a defensive back to haul in his score. Peoples-Jones almost had another similar touchdown where he sprinted down the other sideline, but he just barely stepped out of bounds. Tarik Black had a 27-yard catch, but outside of that he did not do much. He has really become a minor piece of the offense in favor of guys like Bell. Mike Sainristil had two catches, including yet another diving catch to keep the drive moving, and fellow freshman Cornelius Johnson scored his first touchdown. That was an exciting moment, because with all the other freshmen getting touchdowns it was awesome to see Johnson get one. It came on a well-designed play where Patterson really sold the run, causing the defender to come up, leaving Johnson open. It is exciting to have so many talented receivers, especially with a lot of them being young and therefore having time to develop. I am very excited to continue to watch the development of this position group.

Defense

Over the course of the entire game, our defense did exactly what they needed to do. I mentioned this in my last post in my preview for this game. It was of utmost importance that we stop the run and force Brian Lewerke to try to beat us with his arm. We did that, and Lewerke crumbled as expected. He looked erratic and threw a pair of interceptions, one to Ambry Thomas and one to Lavert Hill. I give a ton of credit to our defensive line and linebackers for both stuffing the run and putting actual pressure on Lewerke and forcing him to make tough decisions. Jordan Glasgow had another strong game, leading our team in tackles with eight, followed by Josh Metellus, Ambry Thomas, and Michael Danna, who all had six. Danna had a great game, taking a lot of the production that Kwity Paye normally puts up (Paye only had two tackles on the game). It was encouraging to see this because Danna has been quieter than I was hoping he would be, although our starting defensive ends were already pretty much set with Paye and Aidan Hutchinson. One of the best highlights in this game came from Khaleke Hudson, who also had another memorable play I will mention later in this post. Michigan State receiver Tre Mosley was running a crossing route and the ball came his way. He dropped the pass, which was low and behind him, and turned his head just in time to see Hudson coming right at him. Hudson then delivered one of the biggest hits I have ever seen, and it was completely clean. Mosley landed flat on his back, and thankfully did get up from it. That hit really epitomizes this game, in my opinion.

Special Teams

Khaleke Hudson’s other big highlight came when he blocked a punt. I knew he would get one eventually because he was so close a few times before he finally did it. It felt good because historically State has been the team to get the big play on special teams. It further showed just how much we dominated this game in every aspect.

I was not thrilled that Quinn Nordin was kicking field goals ahead of Jake Moody, but he did not miss once, so I cannot really complain too much. All I can ask is that whoever kicks the field goals does not miss.

Next Week

This game against Indiana is the definition of a trap game. Coming off of two big wins against Notre Dame and Michigan State, we now have to go on the road against a team that is sitting at 7-3, with their three losses coming against Ohio State, Michigan State, and Penn State. The game against Penn State was just last week, and they really gave Penn State a run for their money. To put it simply, Indiana has some talent, and if we are not careful, they will be able to pull off the upset. I really hope that we just stomp them out so we can have as much momentum as possible for the Ohio State game, but I really do worry about there being a level of complacency going into this game coming off the high of the last two games. Let us not forget that Indiana took us to overtime just two years ago when we last played them on the road. They always play us tough, but if we come out strong again and are able to just put them away early, then that will really put us in position to win.