Michigan Football vs. Penn State: 3 Important Takeaways for UM
Keeping a Lid on the Spread
2016 marks the third year of James Franklin’s tenure as head coach at Penn State. Offense has been a consistent issue during his time in Happy Valley.
With Christian Hackenberg off to the New York Jets, PSU has adopted an uptempo spread offense. The results had been impressive before today. Michigan, for at least one afternoon, vanquished the spread offense that has given it fits in the past.
Michigan opened B1G play with a 49-10 victory over Penn State! We had some incredible photos.
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) September 25, 2016
VISUAL RECAP » https://t.co/GOZaUMOCx9 pic.twitter.com/yRRaubJ1ar
Staining Michigan fans’ memories are bowl games like the 2005 Rose Bowl against Vince Young and the Longhorns. Michigan came into the “Game of the Century” undefeated against top-ranked Ohio State in 2008 giving up 13 points a game and ranked number two in the country. They left Columbus with their first loss, torched by the spread for 42.
Michigan has failed to tackle in space. Today’s matchup required just that against the talented Saquon Barkley, who had only 19 yards in the first half, unable to make plays behind a mediocre PSU offensive line.
The d-line looked elite today and the success on first and second down left Penn State vulnerable in obvious passing situations. Therefore Penn State’s QB Trace McSorley was sacked 6 times. Taking out one 30 yard pass to Barkley, McSorley managed 8 completions for 41 yards in the first half. Penn State was reduced to begging for YAC, a testament to the tackling ability in space of the Wolverines.