Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from the slaughtering of Michigan State
By Nick Popio
![Oct 21, 2023; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh raises his hands in triumph at the end of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports Oct 21, 2023; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh raises his hands in triumph at the end of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/0176ad97b87fee982220de7d99f398a55af723604a5f106009e29a7f3e207fde.jpg)
Michigan football charged into enemy territory and went unfazed by the hostile environment by eradicating the Spartans 49-0.
J.J. McCarthy and the offense made a loud statement on the first drive that they were not going to screw around with their little brother Saturday night. They went 84 yards in 12 plays to give Blake Corum his 13th touchdown of the season. The same result capped the second drive with Roman Wilson getting his ninth of the year.
The third series wrapped up with Colston Loveland’s first score of the night. McCarthy got the snap inadvertently because Michigan State jumped offsides and the connection was pinpoint accurate. He threw a frozen rope to his tight end for their second hookup under the lights before the break and could have had one more if not for a false start penalty on Donovan Edwards.
Mikey Sainristil picked off an errant pass by Katin, don’t call him Kaitlin Houser, on Sparty’s opening drive of the second stanza. He may have stepped out of bounds, but the refs didn’t have enough evidence to overturn the call. McCarthy threw his third touchdown to a tight end on the evening, by finding A.J. Barner over the middle on his final play in the win.
Michigan football called off the dogs in the fourth quarter and didn’t score until eight seconds left on the clock. They also did preserve their first shutout of the season and the first since 2000 against Sparty.
It got a little dicey late with a lot of flags, but none were more blatant than Spencer Brown’s. He will be suspended and it might possibly be for the remainder of the season.
Here are the three takeaways.