Game balls from Michigan Football’s win over Michigan State
Michigan football ended its two-year losing streak to Michigan State and here are our game balls from the Wolverines’ big win.
Every win by Michigan football over Michigan State is important but this one certainly had more importance attached to it.
Jim Harbaugh talked about beating Michigan State before the start of the season and it was going to be hard to call the 2022 season a success without a victory over the Spartans.
Michigan wasn’t perfect. The offense needs to do a much better job in the red zone, but the defense was lights out and so was the running game.
It was a dominant 22-point win and here are our game balls for Michigan football.
Offensive game balls: Blake Corum and Jake Moody
It’s hard to leave out the offensive line. Those guys were spectacular but Blake Corum was even better. He churned out 177 yards without ever getting more than 16 on a single run. He ran through a number of Michigan State tackles and converted some really key third downs with his effort.
Corum has gone for over 120 rushing yards in all five Big Ten games and he scored both of Michigan’s touchdowns against Sparty. So he definitely deserves a game ball.
However, Jake Moody was clutch too, especially hitting the 54-yarder which pushed the lead to 15 points. Michigan added another TD later but those points would have been key if the Spartans had been able to muster any second-half offense.
Defensive game balls: Mike Morris and Rod Moore
I’m going to give it to Mike Morris. He batted down a pass, got a sack, and was the most consistent in bringing pressure throughout the game.
Morris looks like a day-two NFL draft pick at worst. He’s not only an excellent edge rusher, he can pass rush from the interior and set the edge.
Yet, he didn’t do quite enough to get the game ball by himself. Rod Moore came up with essentially the game-clinching interception in the fourth quarter and had a key breakup earlier in the game.
The secondary didn’t have a good first half, but in the end, the Spartans threw one touchdown and one interception. Michigan State barely got over 250 yards total and the damage was minimal in the second half.
Coaching Game ball: Jesse Minter
Head coach Jim Harbaugh had his team locked in. The Wolverines made a couple of mental errors but didn’t have the post-snap issues or post-game issues Michigan State did.
The Wolverines were the better team. They have better players and were more well-coached. Jesse Minter was a big part of that. Coleman had 107 yards in the first half and caught one pass for 48 yards in the second to finish with 155. But that was when the game wasn’t really in doubt.
Michigan State was also a combined 3-of-15 on third and fourth down conversions. Coleman got loose too easily in the first half but that changed in the second and Michigan won the game in part because of the adjustments made by Minter.
Next. 5 things we learned in win over Michigan State. dark
Michigan football fans were worried when Mike Macdonald left for the Ravens but Minter was the perfect replacement and hopefully, he’ll stay in Ann Arbor for years to come.