Tag: Penn State

Michigan vs. Penn State Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Ronnie Bell. Maybe this is an emotional reaction to the backlash Bell received for dropping the potential game-tying or game-winning pass on Saturday night, but I thought the kid played very well overall. He caught 5 passes for 82 yards, he blocks, and he earns yards after the catch. He’s Michigan’s version of Julian Edelman. And yes, that means he’s Michigan’s best receiver.

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Penn State 28, Michigan 21

This was Shea Patterson’s best game. Patterson has taken a lot of criticism this season, and some people were still clamoring for backup Dylan McCaffrey – or even Joe Milton – to start. I thought this was Patterson’s best game this season by far, and one of his top few performances as a Wolverine overall. His numbers weren’t great (24/41 for 276 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 12 carries, 34 yards, 1 TD), but part of that was due to drops and general refereeing inefficiency. Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped two passes and Ronnie Bell dropped one, and there were a couple pass interference calls that should have been called against Penn State but weren’t, resulting in incompletions. Patterson had one truly bad throw, and that was the interception.

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Preview: Michigan at Penn State

RUSH OFFENSE vs. PSU RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #79 with 156.2 yards per game on the ground, led by Zach Charbonnet’s 376 yards. Backup Hassan Haskins appears to be the hot hand right now after a 125-yard performance last week, but that was his first extended playing time. Michigan offensive guard Michael Onwenu was named to some mid-season All-American lineups, but overall, the offensive line has been a bit of a disappointment. Penn State is #3 in rush defense (53.3 yards allowed/game) and #1 in yards allowed per carry (1.59). The Nittany Lions have only allowed 1 rushing touchdown. Middle linebacker Micah Parsons (6’3″, 245 lbs.) leads the team with 31 tackles and is among the team leaders with 6 tackles for loss.
Advantage: Penn State

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Michigan vs. Penn State Awards

Shea Patterson (image via Bleacher Report)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Christian Turner. Why Christian Turner? Toward the end of last week’s blowout win against Penn State, Michigan was still running zone read options with quarterbacks Shea Patterson and Dylan McCaffrey. I was afraid it would get one of them injured, and it turns out McCaffrey broke his right collarbone and will be out for the year. If Michigan gets in another blowout situation – which is a strong possibility this week against Rutgers – then I would prefer to see the quarterbacks hand off to Turner (or other backup running backs).

Hit the jump for more thoughts on the game.

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Michigan 42, Penn State 7

Brandon Watson (image via Freep)

Holy blowout. I thought Michigan would win by about 10 points, and I think this outcome surprised just about everyone. Michigan’s domination of Penn State’s offense wasn’t too much of a surprise, but the Wolverines’ putting up 42 points was. I was thinking more along the lines of 24-14.

Hit the jump for the rest of the recap.

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