While you were sleeping, Michigan scored another rushing touchdown. Yesterday wasn’t a bad dream. It is the reality of deja vu again.
Tyrone Wheatley turned 50 this year. The former Michigan All-American running back could have run for 150+ yards vs. Penn State's defense. Running back coach Mike Hart had a seizure last week and was rushed from the field on a cart. He would have averaged over five yards a carry too. And run-defense was the strength of this Penn State team coming in: ranking fifth in the nation (giving up under 80 yards per game). That ranking took a brutal beating. Like Penn State’ short-lived stay in the top ten.
The current two running backs the Wolverines have had a field day in the autumn maze of Ann Arbor. Heisman candidate Blake Corum put up 166 yards on 28 carries (six yard average). His running mate Donovan Edwards was even better. He put 173 yards on just sixteen carries (eleven-yard average). They each scored two touchdowns. Third-string mop-up running back CJ Stokes had 22 yards on four carries (5.5-yard average). Meanwhile, PSU's leading rusher Nick Singleton had 19 yards on six carries (three-yard average). Back-up Kaytron Allen mustered three yards less on the same number of carries. Keyvone Lee had a single carry (six yards).
The tone of the game was set on the very first offensive play from scrimmage. PSU cornerback Joey Porter Jr. made a solid tackle for loss, only to be whistled for a personal foul for throwing the Michigan receiver to the ground unnecessarily.
Michigan jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead that could have been much worse if PSU's defense hadn't buckled down inside the ten and forced two chipshot field goals. Penn State was doing nothing on offense. The Lions were outgained 196-9. It looked like the game would be over early. Then Sean Clifford (of all people) ran 62 yards on a RPO play. And when Allen scored on fourth-and-one, it was down to 13-7. Moments later, Curtis Jacobs picked off a pinball interception and rumbled 53 yards. By the time his somersault was over, somehow the Nittany Lions lead 14-13. Despite having a grand total of one first down. Michigan would drive the length of the field late. But once again PSU's defense forced a short field goal. Lion fans were doing handstands over being down just 16-14 at halftime.
Unfortunately, the second half occured. Michigan just kept running the ball down PSU's collective throats. Chewing up globs of time. Globs of yardage. And wearing down an already-beleaguered and exhausted Lion defense. Penn State tallied just one field goal the second half. Clifford was drilled to the turf in the third quarter. He came up holding his shoulder, headed to the blue medical tent and never returned. Finishing the day just 7-of-19 passing for 120 yards. Drew Allar didn't fare much better. But what did you expect? PSU was forced into a must-pass situation. Wolverine pass rushers pinned their ears back and pursued him rigorously. Allar was 5-of-10 for 37 yards. He hit Singleton in stride with a beautiful touch pass that the freshman running back dropped. Later in the drive, Parker Washington came up a yard short on a fourth-down conversion. It was a fitting end to another ugly second-half effort. Final score: Michigan 41 PSU 17
ODDS AND ENDS….
As soon as Penn State' s offense took the field and there was no Landon Tengwall, you knew the offensive line was in trouble. It is a middling group talentwise to start. It was in immediate trouble without him........James Franklin is now 0-9 vs. top five teams. 2-14 vs. top ten teams. 11-18 vs. top 25 teams. 3-7 coming off a bye week. 3-6 vs. Michigan. With an #2-ranked Ohio State looming at Beaver Stadium in two weeks. A team Franklin is 1-7 against. And that one win was a flukey blocked field goal in the magical 2016 campaign. No such magic expected this time around. Ohio State might be better than the Browns. The Stripe Out might change the color pattern to black and blue......Next week is the White Out vs. a reeling Minnesota squad that has dropped two straight. Getting drilled by upstart Illinois 26-14 today. But they do have a stud running back who is salivating about coming to Happy Valley...As we said in last week's article, we have seen this 5-0 act from Franklin before. Including last year's 6-6 freefall. And the infamous 2nd half Outback Bowl debacle (scoreless) which foreshadowed the offensive struggles of this year…..Many PSU fans got a tad too excited over edging a mediocre Purdue team during their Black Out and flattening the worst Auburn team in a quarter century during their Orange Out. Michigan' Maze Out was an entirely-different beast. The psyche of this Penn State team has to be fragile right now. They were exposed today. Badly. How will they bounce back in the next two home games?.......The good news for PSU sports fans: wrestling season starts on November 11th.
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