Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from steadfast win over Sparty

It wasn’t a sexy Michigan football win like Penn State was. Still, Jim Harbaugh’s guys ground out another victory over a rival who has given them too many unnecessary problems in the recent past.

Michigan State came out sizzling ready to make some noise in the Big house. Their first drive fizzled out though with back-breaking penalties. Michigan football got it on their initial possession and turned it over due to a Cornelius Johnson fumble. The maize and blue eventually got the ball back and Jake Moody connected on his first of five field goals on the night.

The Spartans responded abruptly to take their only lead on the scoreboard.  Payton Thorne threw up a 50/50 ball that his 6’4” receiver Keon Coleman came down with. Michigan football answered with an 80-yard drive to go on top for the remainder of the evening, however. J.J. McCarthy pitched it ahead to Blake Corum and he hit the hole to find paydirt.

Moody nailed three more field goals to open the second until Michigan State made a costly mistake on a bad snap on a fourth down punt attempt that reminded some of 2015. The Wolverines put things out of reach two plays later though as Corum once again found his way to the endzone. 29-7 was the end result as Michigan fans were left with wanting more of a blowout.

Michigan football now heads into the final month of the season perfect. The Wolverines got through the heart of their schedule, in October unscathed, before they finish up with a Brett Bielema-coached Illinois team that is on the uptick and another potential top-five meeting with everything on the line at Ohio State.

Here are the three takeaways.

1. Blake Corum had another virtuoso performance

The Heisman hopeful carried it 33 times for 177 yards and had both of Michigan’s scores. It’s his sixth consecutive outing with 120 yards or more and he also broke the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the year. His work ethic is being rewarded as he is the centerpiece of this potent rushing attack that hasn’t been stopped by anyone so far.

As a whole, they didn’t run wild as they did against Penn State, but it was effective enough to wear down a tired defense. J.J. McCarthy went for 50 on some timely runs that went for first downs and Donovan Edwards did his thing on the ground and caught a trio of passes from McCarthy, including a 28-yarder that set up one of Moody’s field goals.

Hendon Hooker of Tennessee appears to be the leader in the clubhouse, for Heisman, with C.J. Stroud not far behind. Hooker has to deal with Georgia’s defense next Saturday, while Alabama quarterback Bryce Young faces off with LSU in Baton Rouge next week.

So Corum has a chance to increase his odds of tightening things up in the race as the competition heats up heavily in November.

2. The defense smothered Michigan State’s offense

The Spartans’ offense went lifeless in the third quarter. They were completely controlled in the time of possession department and had no yardage to show for it. If it wasn’t for a long pass when the outcome had been decided in the fourth, then they would have had absolutely close to 0 total yards of offense in the entire second half of play.

Michigan State had the rock five times after the break and punted on all but one of them. They had trouble with the snap as many mocked them about it on social media, which turned into a Blake Corum touchdown run.

Then on their last series, they threw an interception that Rod Moore was waiting for as he was reading the eyes of Payton Thorne before he jumped in front of the route to steal it away.

Keon Coleman was the lone bright spot as the rest of the pass catchers and running backs were totally held in check. Most of Coleman’s damage came in the first 30 minutes as Michigan’s secondary made adjustments following halftime to keep him relatively quiet in the closing 30 minutes.

3. Jake Moody tacks on five more field goals to add to his folk hero status

Sometimes things don’t go exactly how you would like them to and you have to win with field goals. That’s basically what Michigan did on Saturday night. Jake Moody went 5-5 and hit on a new career high with a 54-yarder. He has been money all year and has only missed three attempts so far, one of which was blocked in the Indiana victory.

Moody’s good-for-three campaign made a total of $1,500 dollars in the win as he continues to use his NIL very wisely. It’s the most money he has made all year in donations, thanks to his award-winning leg and the most field goals he has put through the uprights in his illustrious Michigan football career since 2018.

Moody is beloved in Ann Arbor and for great reason. He’ll go down as one of Michigan’s most unsurpassed kickers in history. It’s going to be tough replacing him next season, but Michigan and his special teams coach, Jay Harbaugh will most certainly have a plan in place for that.