4B — September 26, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
That’s why next week should be
so fun. Colorado might have come
out and punched Michigan in the
mouth last week, but the Badgers
are built to do it for longer than
a quarter. The Wolverines might
have to open that playbook a little
wider, deploy Peppers with more
offensive regularity or use what
seems like it could be a stellar goal-
line defense, if it was ever needed.
Saturday, Penn State coach
James Franklin elected to kick on
4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
His team was down 28-0.
After the game, Franklin told
reporters he just wanted to get
points out of that possession, and
that’s a statement in itself. But next
week, finally, Michigan will have a
chance to make a louder one.
Bultman can be reached at
bultmanm@umich.edu and on
Twitter @m_bultman. Please @ him.
BULTMAN
From Page 1B
The good, the bad and the ugly: Michigan 49, Penn State 10
Another
week,
another
blowout.
The
Michigan
football
team dominated every facet
of its fourth game of the
season Saturday, outgaining
Penn State by more than 300
total
yards
and
emerging
as
39-point
victors.
While
the
Wolverines
weren’t
quite
perfect,
the
Nittany
Lions never threatened, and
Michigan was once again able
to put in its backups.
Here’s the good, bad and ugly
from Saturday’s game:
The good
Michigan
owned
the
run game. The Wolverines
rushed for 326 yards and held
Penn State to just 70. Even
with the Nittany Lions’ star
running back Saquon Barkley
finding moments of success,
Michigan controlled the line
of scrimmage and bottled up
Barkley.
While
there
were
still
a couple of big plays, the
Wolverines were notably better
at limiting them. Penn State’s
longest play of the game went
for 33 yards, but outside of that
rush, Barkley averaged fewer
than two yards per carry.
On the opposite side of the
ball, Michigan’s offensive line
got great push. The Wolverines
gained 6.1 yards per play, and
in the run game, that number
was even higher at 6.7. Pro
Football Focus College rated
fifth-year senior right tackle
Erik Magnuson as Michigan’s
top
offensive
player,
and
sophomore left tackle Grant
Newsome was second. That’s a
great sign for the Wolverines in
conference play.
In the secondary, senior
cornerback
Jourdan
Lewis
made his return, and while he
wasn’t totally thrilled with his
performance, he did have a pass
breakup and a tackle for loss.
The bad
James
Franklin.
In
the
second
meeting
between
Franklin and Michigan coach
Jim
Harbaugh,
the
latter
completely
outsmarted
the
former.
In the most notable instance,
Franklin sent out the field goal
team on 4th-and-goal from the
2-yard line, then called timeout
to think it over, then sent out
the field goal unit again. Oh,
and his team was down 28-0 in
the second half.
Harbaugh,
meanwhile,
was aggressive as always. His
team was ready from the start,
and while the play calling
was
mostly
simple,
there
were a couple of fun wrinkles
sprinkled in. Using Jabrill
Peppers as an offensive decoy
on one play, De’Veon Smith
was able to find space for a
39-yard gain.
With a weapon like Barkley
on his team, it’s hard to believe
Penn State had so little success
in the run game, or even by
using his presence as a threat.
The ugly
There’s only really one ugly
thing that can come out of a
game like Saturday’s.
Fifth-year senior cornerback
Jeremy Clark, who had been
seeing
increased
playing
time
in
Lewis’
absence
and performing among the
conference’s
best,
left
the
game on a cart. After the game,
Harbaugh feared the injury
was to Clark’s anterior cruciate
ligament. “We think it’s a
season-ender,” he worried.
If Clark is indeed out for the
year, it will be a bitter end for
a player who converted from
safety and worked his way into
significant playing time for the
Wolverines.
Clark is on a team that is
contending for a Big Ten title,
and maybe the College Football
Playoff, and now it seems he
may not get to be on the field
for any of that.
Ugly is one way to put it.
Heartbreaking might be more
fitting.
MAX BULTMAN
Managing Sports Editor