Michigan 49, Penn State 10

It was nice to see Jourdan Lewis back in action (image via MLive)

I’m still not sold on Wilton Speight. His numbers weren’t bad (21/34, 189 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT), but he’s the epitome of a game manager right now. He’s 4-0 as a starter and doesn’t turn the ball over much, while his offense is scoring 50 points a game. He missed a lot of open throws, though. He airmailed a few passes and threw a couple others into the ground. Even a wide open deep throw to Jehu Chesson turned into a duck that Chesson had to slow down and fall to the ground just to reel in, and a wide open flat route by Khalid Hill required a shoe-top grab by Hill. I’m reminded of Denard Robinson in 2010 when he put up decent passing numbers (62.5% completions, 18 TDs, 11 INTs) but a lot of his throws prevented receivers from running after the catch. Some of these issues plagued Jake Rudock early in the 2015 season, so there’s a precedent for improvement. I think Michigan is somewhat lucky that Penn State’s offense and linebackers weren’t better, because if this game came down to being put on Speight’s shoulders, I don’t know if he could win it with his arm. He and the wide receivers just don’t seem to have great timing right now.

Hit the jump for more.

Running game grade: INC. Michigan put up some excellent numbers in the running game, rushing a total of 49 times for 326 yards (6.7 yards/carry) and 6 touchdowns. If you take out the kneel-downs to run out the clock, it’s an even more impressive 46 attempts for 330 yards (7.2 yards/carry). Penn State, however, was fighting with, well, five hands tied behind its back. The Nittany Lions were playing without their starting three linebackers, the backup MIKE was booted from the game early, and the third-string MIKE got injured. Let’s put that in Michigan terms for some perspective. Imagine this lineup:

• SAM: Jabrill Peppers Noah Furbush
• MIKE: Ben Gedeon Michael Wroblewski Elysee Mbem-Bosse Devin Gil
• WILL: Mike McCray II Devin Bush, Jr.

Even disregarding how badly the loss of Peppers would hurt the special teams and offense, that’s a highly questionable second level. We don’t have any feel whatsoever for the guys behind Gedeon, because Don Brown won’t play them on defense. I’m not sure that Devin Gil would be the fourth guy in, but it doesn’t really matter – that guy’s not going to be very good. I do think Michigan would be in better shape than PSU because the Wolverines have more talent on the defensive line and in the secondary, but that would still be rough.

Speaking of PSU’s depleted linebacker corps . . . that targeting call against linebacker Brandon Smith was horsecrap, but it was both the right and the wrong call. It was right because Smith made forcible contact to the head and neck area of a defenseless receiver. By definition, it was targeting. But the call feels wrong because it wasn’t purposeful, and Smith was diving for the ball when his shoulder pad hit Grant Perry in the head. This game can’t have it both ways, though. With all the controversy surrounding concussions and head trauma, you either go all in with both feet or you risk not fixing anything. There’s no room in the rules for intent. “I didn’t mean to interfere with the pass receiver” or “I didn’t mean to grab that guy’s jersey” are not viable excuses to avoid flags, and “I didn’t mean to hit him in the head” shouldn’t be, either. If you want to clean up the game, you have to take make a zero-tolerance policy, and maybe defenders just have to go for the tackle rather than diving for the ball in that situation. It’s frustrating because it’s not the same game we all grew up loving, but it’s necessary. I think the only acceptable reason for picking up a targeting flag or rescinding an ejection is if the offending player is blocked into the receiver.

Redshirt blowtorch continued: Freshman linebacker Elysee Mbem-Bosse played on special teams (EDIT: and Nate Johnson did indeed play against UCF), so here are the remaining freshmen who have yet to play:

• DE Ron Johnson
• K Quinn Nordin
• QB Brandon Peters
• OG Stephen Spanellis
• RB Kareem Walker

That means 21 of the remaining 26 signees from the 2016 class have burned their redshirts.

Goodbye, Jeremy Clark. Clark, who was out there on the kickoff return team late in the game, went down with a non-contact knee injury. Jim Harbaugh said what we were all thinking after the game when he suspected it was a torn ACL. Clark is probably done for the year, and that’s probably the last time we’ll see him in a Michigan uniform. He started the first few games of the season before going to the bench upon the return of Jourdan Lewis, but he still played a lot in nickel packages. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Michigan locked up PSU’s passing game after struggling against Colorado, since the Wolverines had seniors at every single defensive backfield position in the nickel package and didn’t have to count on safeties in coverage so much. Clark had 10 tackles and 3 pass breakups this season, and for his career, he had notched 49 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 7 pass breakups. Not bad for a lowly recruit without a position from nowhere, Kentucky.

Jabrill Peppers quietly had a very good day. I feel like the announcers didn’t talk about him a great deal, at least not compared to the fawning praise he received during last week’s broadcast. Peppers ended the day with 11 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 1 forced fumble, along with 2 punt returns for 54 yards. One of those punt returns went for 53 yards and was a shoestring tackle away from getting to the endzone. EDIT: I was using the official site’s box score, so they must have made a typo. It now says Peppers had 5 tackles, 0 TFLs, and 0 FFs, which seems more in line with what I remember. That’s why he quietly had a good day – because he quietly had a quiet day.

Running back depth chart. The coaching staff is doing a good job of keeping the running backs fresh, and there are enough reps going around that they’re all getting experience. I think that’s important. As much as people say running back is an easy position to learn, there’s something to be said for seeing plays develop, following your blockers, learning the speed of the college game, etc. The pecking order isn’t clear after #1 De’Veon Smith, but sophomore Karan Higdon seems to have made a move. Smith had 12 carries for 107 yards (8.9 yards/carry) and 1 TD, while Higdon had 9 carries for 81 yards (9 yards/carry) and 2 TDs. Ty Isaac ran 11 times for 74 yards (6.7 yards/carry) and 1 TD, and Chris Evans rushed 8 times for 56 yards (7 yards/carry) and 1 TD. When your top four backs get 12, 11, 9, and 8 carries, that’s some pretty good parity. It’s also an indication that if Jim Harbaugh thinks you can play, then you’re going to get opportunities, regardless of your age. That might be a bit of a message to running back recruits.

That was an enjoyable victory. A former rival high school player plays for Penn State, so I got a little extra enjoyment out of Michigan beating the Nittany Lions. But it was fun for other reasons, too. Michigan destroyed PSU’s offensive line, made plays in the running game, and generally dominated the game. Saquon Barkley has enough talent to make things happen all by himself, and it was kind of fun to watch someone with his talent play the game of football. I can appreciate good football players, even when they’re the enemy. I’m just glad it wasn’t a nail-biter, so I didn’t have to worry about one of his big plays deciding the game.

Michigan is the winningest team in college football history. Before the game, Michigan needed a win and a Notre Dame loss to surpass the Fighting Irish for the crown as the winningest team. I didn’t think Notre Dame would lose to Duke, so I didn’t think it would happen. But lo and behold, the Irish are now 1-3 after losing to the Blue Devils and Michigan has recaptured the title.

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