F
or all the talk of Michigan’s quest
to reclaim the Paul Bunyan trophy
and avenge last year’s defeat, the
Spartans entered the Big House undaunted.
Regardless of records or talent, the allure
of hoisting the trophy and holding in-state
bragging rights always brings out best efforts
from each team.
On Saturday night, the Wolverines (8-0
overall, 5-0 Big Ten) took some punches
from Michigan State (3-5, 1-4), but ultimately
came out ahead, ensuring the trophy would
reside in Ann Arbor for the next year with a
29-7 victory.
“Tremendous win,” Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh said. “Great to have Paul back. Our
players were locked in and focused the entire
game.”
Celebrations, though, were dampened
following the game when an ugly altercation
broke out in the tunnel, with Harbaugh
saying two of his players were “assaulted”
— and footage corroborated his statement.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel
addressed the situation post game and said
there would be a police investigation.
The fight, perhaps, was indicative of
frustrations boiling over
after a difficult night for the
Spartans. But in the early moments of the
game, they looked ready for a battle. After
forcing a fumble on the Wolverines’ opening
drive, Michigan State then claimed the
game’s first touchdown, connecting on a
deep ball to wide receiver Keon Coleman.
Michigan was knocked on its heels and
trailed 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
But it remained unfazed and conjured a
counterpunch, putting together an 80 yard
drive the following possession capped with
a two-yard touchdown reception from junior
running back Blake Corum.
The Wolverines found the red zone often
in the first half. But winding up in the end
zone proved much more elusive — as they
settled for short field goals on two other
possessions.
“We gotta score,” junior running back
Blake Corum said. “I wanted to blow them
out. And it should’ve been a blowout. But I’m
not gonna make any excuses, we got to get
better at the red zone. And we will.”
Michigan held a 13-7 lead into the locker
room, firmly controlling the pace of play but
leaving points on the board and the door
open for Michigan State to hang around.
The Wolverines found themselves just 30
minutes from reclaiming Paul Bunyan.
But when they returned
to the field and those minutes
began to tick down, Michigan’s red zone
inefficiencies made that achievement look a
little less attainable.
Despite methodically moving the ball
into the red zone on both third quarter
possessions, and only punting once in the
game, it settled for two more field goals
with graduate kicker Jake Moody suddenly
shouldering the offensive burden.
“We just got to finish,” sophomore
quarterback J.J. McCarthy said. “It’s back
to back weeks where we can’t put the ball
in the end zone so that’s gonna be a huge
improvement for us. That’s gonna be a huge
focus going forward, and we just got to get
it done.”
Fortunately for the offense, Moody was up
for the task, and his fifth field goal attempt
in the early fourth quarter — this time from
54-yards — soared through the uprights
once again to extend the lead to 22-7.
While Michigan wasn’t dominating,
it still managed to slowly suffocate the
Spartans. For every falter the offense had,
the defense only grew stronger, stymying
the Spartans over and over — and not even
surrendering a first down in the second half
until the fourth quarter.
“The key to the game was the way our
defense played, on third down especially,”
Harbaugh said. “The three and outs in the
second half. The third down stops. Just an
outstanding job by our defense.”
The Wolverines could nearly feel the
high of a rivalry victory, but the floodgates
weren’t truly open until, ironically, the game
recreated one of the rivalry’s most dramatic
moments. With 13:26 left, Michigan State’s
punter had some “trouble with the snap” and
Michigan pounced — tackling the punter
and gaining possession at the Spartans’
eight-yard line.
This time, the red zone offense prevailed
as Corum squeaked through the line for
his second score of the day. From there, the
rivalry morphed into a rout.
“We don’t talk, we just do,” Corum said.
“(Michigan State) was talking. But you
can only talk so much when you’re getting
punished. It got quiet real quick.”
For 364 days, Michigan heard the chatter
about what they failed to do in East Lansing,
forced to live with the image of Paul Bunyan
being hoisted by their rivals. But after sixty
minutes of smothering football, and a refusal
to wilt with the game seemingly in hand, the
Wolverines finally found a way to maintain
control.
And for the first time since 2019, Paul will
spend the night in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
JOSH TAUBMAN
Daily Sports Editor
michigandaily.com
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us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXXII, No. 98
©2022 The Michigan Daily
NEWS............................ 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S TAT E M E N T . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
MIC ............................10
O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1
S P O RT S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
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Spartans resort to violence in
tunnel following first rivalry
loss to Wolverines since 2019
DefeateD
without
Dignity
MICHIGAN 29
MICHIGAN STATE 7
an ugly
altercation broke
out in the tunnel,
with harbaugh
saying two of his
players were
“assaulteD” —
anD footage
corroborateD his
statement.
ANNA FUDER/Daily, KATE HUA/Daily | Design by Lys Goldman