Michigan Football: The good, bad and ugly against Michigan State
Looking back at Saturday’s 29-7 win for Michigan football over Michigan State, here is a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The situation in the tunnel after the Michigan football win over Michigan State has taken over the narrative and it’s hard to talk about the game without addressing it.
Jim Harbaugh addressed the issue on Monday. We also found out that Gemon Green will be pressing charges after getting hit with a helmet in numerous places.
At any rate, let’s look back at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Michigan football’s impressive 22-point win over Michigan State.
The good: Michigan’s running game
Michigan football has 78 plays from scrimmage and 52 of those were running plays. That turned into 276 yards and compared to Michigan State’s 37, that was what won the game.
Blake Corum was spectacular and so was the offensive line. The fact that we were worried about short-yardage runs seems silly now. It was going to be hard to replace Hassan Haskins, who was incredible in that role, but Corum is equally incredible.
In fact, those guys are some of the best short-yardage runners I’ve ever seen at Michigan. Meanwhile, the offensive line reminds me of the ones we used to see in the 90s.
I know it’s not always super flashy, but Jim Harbaugh and Michigan have found their identity and more importantly, it’s one that has been extremely effective (20-2 in last 22 games).
The bad: red-zone offense
You can’t kick five field goals and expect to beat Ohio State. Hell, if that happens against Illinois, Michigan could easily lose a game before the showdown in Columbus.
Michigan State wasn’t good enough to make the Wolverines pay. Penn State wasn’t either but someone will be and it’s something Michigan football has to fix.
The Wolverines need to get away from the QB runs near the goal line. Most of the time, it’s just not working. I wouldn’t mind seeing some bootlegs with a run-pass option but Michigan really needs to address this.
It single-handedly kept the Spartans in the game into the fourth quarter, whereas if Michigan found the end zone on even half of those field goal attempts, the outcome would have been much more lopsided.
The ugly: Michigan State’s assault
This was ugly. It was despicable and there is no place for it. There also isn’t any place for the victim blaming that is going on. The Spartans got embarrassed on the field, were mad about it, and attacked two Michigan players.
That’s the truth and that’s what the video shows. Numerous Spartans have been suspended and some need to be arrested.
Next. 5 things we learned in win over Michigan State. dark
As Harbaugh said, an apology isn’t enough, and blaming the tunnel or Harbaugh or any Michigan players for those terrible actions is also just plain sad.