Michigan Football: The good, bad, and ugly from win over Penn State

The bad: J.J. McCarthy’s interception and near INT

Michigan football trailed in this game for the first time all season thanks to what could have been a costly mistake by J.J. McCarthy. 

The first bad decision by McCarthy was when he tried to throw the ball as he was getting taken to the ground by a Penn State defender. Thankfully, the ball sailed right over another Penn State defender and into the waiting arms of Blake Corum, but it was a huge, unnecessary risk.

The play that the actual interception took place on looked disjointed from the start. McCarthy probably should have thrown the ball in the dirt or just out of bounds. Instead, he tried to fire the ball through traffic and it hit off a Penn State defender, popped into the air, and went the other direction for six.

I was worried at that moment because, in a close game between two good teams, a fluky play like that can make all the difference in the world. Yet, the Wolverines made me look foolish.

That’s because they are elite and they reclaimed the lead before the half and dominated the second, outscoring Penn State 25-3. McCarthy again showed the ability to bounce back.

He ran for a key first down early in the third and had a few first-down runs in the second half, as well as a pretty back-shoulder throw to Donovan Edwards for 21 yards.

It wasn’t a flawless performance by the former five-star by any means but seeing as the Wolverines still beat the No. 10 team by 24 points, that’s not bad at all.