Handing out game balls for the Michigan vs. Michigan State game

Game Ball #1: Jimmy Rolder

After Cole Sullivan went down early on in this game due to an injury, Jimmy Rolder had to play more snaps than he's used to and he played very well. Rolder recovered the early Aidan Chiles fumble to give Michigan's offense great field position for their first drive, which would eventually turn into a field goal. He also fought through a block attempt to sack Aidan Chiles later on in the first quarter, and was all over the field the rest of the game. He led Michigan in tackles in this game, finishing with 10 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and two pass break ups. The two pass breakups were on big plays as well, on his first pass breakup he stopped a Michigan State two-point attempt, and the other was on a forth down which caused a turnover on downs in the 4th quarter. Then on a second 4th down attempt for Michigan State late in the 4th quarter, he shot the gap and hit Aidan Chiles before he could get going to force another turnover on downs. He really played incredible in this game and it was his best performance thus far in a Michigan uniform.

Game Ball #2: Justice Haynes

Despite a fairly quiet first half, Justice Haynes really got it going in the second half against the Spartans. He did nearly all the work on Michigan's opening possession of the second half before he punched it in from 5 yards out for the touchdown that would make it a 17-7 game early in the third quarter. He added another score from 14 yards out a couple drives later to make it a 24-7 game late in the third quarter. He did however have a key fumble in the 4th quarter that kept Michigan State in the game late. Haynes was overall great once again for Michigan, and he would go on to finish with 26 carries for 152 yards and the 2 touchdowns. He also caught 3 passes for 19 yards in this game. He's been Michigan's best offensive player so far this season and he showed it once again in this rivalry game against Michigan State.

Game ball #3: Derrick Moore

Derrick Moore had another great game in a Michigan uniform. He had a big sack on third down in the first half to force a punt and he added another sack in the final two minutes of the game. On the very next snap following his second sack, he had what would have been a third sack nullified by a penalty that was very far away from the play. Chiles never really looked comfortable in this game and Derrick Moore was a big reason why. He made easy work of Michigan State's offensive line, and while the box score won't tell the full story of how good he was, he ended up finishing with 6 tackles and 2 sacks. He's playing so well lately for the Wolverines against both the run and the pass, and he's been Michigan's best defensive player so far this year.

More From Michigan On SI: