Previewing Michigan Football’s Rivalry Matchup vs Michigan State

Saturday, undefeated Michigan Football will be under the lights to take on their in-state rival, Michigan State. After the bye week, the Wolverines will need to be as prepared as ever if they want to take back the Paul Bunyan Trophy.

Michigan Football does have a fairly successful record after a bye week, but even more so when these games are at the Big House. The Wolverines have blown out their past three opponents in home games following bye weeks, including beating the Spartans 44-10 in 2019.

Although Michigan State has struggled tremendously so far this season, records never seem to matter in the matchups between these two teams. Michigan’s sole regular-season defeat last season was a heartbreaking 37-33 loss against the Spartans in East Lansing.

Despite being the backup, J.J. McCarthy completed 75 percent of his passes in this game, including a touchdown pass to Andrel Anthony. This season, McCarthy holds the highest completion percentage of any FBS quarterback at 77.1 percent. Although the passing game was not as effective as expected against Penn State, McCarthy still showed that he is capable of success in important matchups.

Blake Corum and the run game have continued to be the most important aspect of the Wolverines’ offense, even against one of the best rush defenses in the country in Penn State. Corum had 166 rush yards and two touchdowns against the Nittany Lions, and the run game was further aided by Donovan Edwards who had 173 yards and two touchdowns of his own.

When it comes to passing options for McCarthy, a number of receivers have continued to show up throughout Michigan’s matchups this season. Wide receiver Ronnie Bell has remained the prime option for McCarthy so far with 429 yards and 35 receptions. Other wide receivers that have impacted the game for the Wolverines include Cornelius Johnson who has 225 yards and three touchdowns and lightning-fast Roman Wilson with 253 yards and three touchdowns.

Luke Schoonmaker has been the central tight end for Michigan this season due to the injury of Erick All.  Schoonmaker did not have any receptions against Penn State, however, still has 229 receiving yards and two touchdowns on the season.

On defense, the Wolverines’ pass rush has been wildly impressive, having the most sacks out of any Big Ten team with 24. Of these sacks, linebacker Mike Morris has five, and linebackers Michael Barrett and Eyabi Okie each have 2.5. While linebacker Junior Colson only has one sack, he leads Michigan in total tackles with 49.

Defensive backs Rod Moore and DJ Turner have also been extremely effective pieces of the Wolverines’ defense. Moore has 26 tackles and two of Michigan’s four total interceptions, whereas Turner has an interception and a recovered fumble.

Jake Moody has scored the most points out of any kicker in the Big Ten this season with 72 points. While Moody has already come in clutch for the Wolverines this season with 13 field goals and 33 extra points, he also completed the first tackle of his Michigan career against Penn State.

The Wolverines’ game against the Nittany Lions was a great way to see how young players would perform under pressure. Now, in the first rivalry game of the season, Michigan will have to put its best foot forward if they want to beat the Spartans.

Getting to Know Michigan State

Michigan State’s offense has been significantly less productive so far than what was expected in the preseason. Quarterback Payton Thorne has already thrown seven interceptions this season despite only throwing 11 touchdown passes. He has also been sacked 12 times already, a number that is likely to go up even more after Saturday.

Jalen Berger has been the main running back for the Spartans,  however, he only has 367 rush yards on the season. While Berger has five of Michigan State’s 11 rushing touchdowns this season, running back Elijah Collins has four touchdowns of his own despite only having 146 rush yards.

Wide receiver Jayden Reed has been the Spartans’ offense saving grace, averaging 11.7 yards on 32 receptions. He also threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Keon Coleman in overtime against Wisconsin. Coleman has been an important factor in the offense himself, averaging 12.7 yards per reception and scoring five touchdowns for Michigan State this season.

While the Wolverines’ defense has been struggling with interceptions this season, the Spartans have the fewest number of interceptions in the Big Ten with two. Where Michigan State lacks in interceptions, they make up for in fumbles forced, leading the Big Ten with 11. Linebacker Jacoby Windmon takes credit for one of these interceptions, as well as six of the fumbles forced.

Former Michigan football linebacker Ben VanSumeren has been another important part of the Spartans’ defense this season with 45 tackles. VanSumeren is likely to want to make a big impact against his former team on Saturday.

Michigan State has not had many field goal attempts this season, but when they have attempted them, the kicks have been wildly unsuccessful. They have made one of their four total field goal attempts, giving them the worst field goal percentage in the country at 25 percent. On the other hand, the Spartans’ punting from Bryce Baringer has been extremely impressive, averaging 51.4 yards per punt and pinning the opposing team inside the 20-yard line 13 times.

From Charles Woodson’s legendary one-handed interception in 1997 to the heartbreaking Michigan State touchdown at the end of the 2015 game, each matchup between these two teams results in memorable plays for both sides. There are likely to be similar plays that come from Saturday, hopefully, plays that lead to a Michigan win.