Michigan Football: Grading Wolverines win at Penn State
Handing out grades for Michigan football’s huge win against Penn State on Saturday.
For the first time in a long time, Michigan football came out on the right side of a close game against a good team and in one of the best clutch drives of the Jim Harbaugh era, Cade McNamara found Erick All for a 47-yard touchdown.
That was the go-ahead score but ever since McNamara fumbled right after Penn State tied the score after 14-14 — the lowest point of the game — Michigan made every play that mattered.
It was impressive. It was all grit.
This isn’t the most talented team in the country or even the Big Ten but it has found a winning formula and it has provided one of the most enjoyable Michigan seasons in a long time.
A win Saturday would clinch the fourth 10-win season under Harbaugh and only six of those have included double-digit games as U-M played six in 2020. So that would be 66 percent of his complete seasons ending in double-digit wins.
But before we look ahead to Maryland, in a game Michigan can’t take lightly, let’s hand out the report card for the 21-17 win at Penn State.
Offense: B+
The last drive definitely moved the grade up a little. The offense scored 21 points and had 361 yards against one of the better defenses in the Big Ten.
Hassan Haskins carried the ball 30 times, while Cade McNamara was just efficient enough and clutch enough at the end to deliver Michigan a win.
McNamara threw three touchdowns and had the one turnover. It was costly but he overcame it thanks to his teammates on the defense. Haskins also had what might have been his game as a Wolverine with 201 total yards.
All is having a breakout season and Roman Wilson, now that he’s fully back, showed he is still capable of making big plays.
Overall, it wasn’t a great effort. There were some rough possessions in the second half and some costly penalties. But when you drive the field to take the lead and then run out the clock, it’s hard to be harsh with the final grade.
It also shows how effective the offense has been that 21 points and 361 yards of total offense is the worst performance by the offense in four road games against Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Nebraska.