Five Quick Hits: Michigan Destroys Michigan State, 44-10
Michigan pounded Michigan State for three quarters and ended up sending Sparty back to East Lansing with a big 34-point loss. Now, U-M is sitting at 8-2 heading into a road showdown with a scrappy Indiana team. Here's a look back at five quick hitters outlining the action against the Spartans.
Player Of The Game
It's Shea Patterson and it's not close. The senior had his best game in a Michigan uniform going 24-of-33 for 384 yards and four touchdowns. Patterson was dealing all day long and made several very nice throws allowing his receivers to make plays after the catch. It was Patterson's first time eclipsing the 300-yard mark in a winged helmet and gives him a lot of momentum for next week's game against the Hoosiers and, of course, the finale against Ohio State.
Play Of The Game
Senior linebacker Khaleke Hudson seems to have a knack for blocking punts and he did it again against the Spartans.
The game was already starting to get out of hand at 27-10 but Hudson's block gave U-M the ball deep in Spartan territory and really broke their back. The Wolverines scored a touchdown easily making the game truly out of reach at 34-10.
Best Freshman
He only had one catch but Cornelius Johnson's 39-yard touchdown grab was symbolic in several ways. It showed how lethal Michigan's RPO attack can be when executed correctly, it was the final blow in a blow out of a crumbling Michigan State program and finally, it also showed that Michigan's receiving corps is going to be solid next year even if the big trio of Tarik Black, Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones are all on their way out.
It's worth noting that it was just Johnson's fourth catch of the season and his first career touchdown.
Pleasant Surprise
The pleasant surprise was actually a massive one, which was Michigan coming out throwing the ball all over the yard. In year's past, and even throughout this season at times, Michigan seemed bound and determined to run the ball even if it wasn't working all that well. Today, U-M opened things up, put the ball out on the perimeter, down the field and into the hands of its superior athletes and Michigan State had no answers. It was a very pleasant surprise because it seemed like Michigan would try to run the ball down Michigan State's throat, which would've played into the strength of the Spartan defense while also letting the porous secondary off the hook. Kudos to the Michigan staff and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis for today's game plan.
The Bummer
The only bummer is that the running game never really got going. It obviously didn't need to because of how Patterson was throwing the ball, but you know those running backs wanted to eat against a Michigan State team that didn't want to be there after a while. A 44-10 win over a scrappy rival like Michigan State is beautiful for everyone on Michigan's roster, but players want to make plays and the running backs didn't really get to.
Who else stood out to you and for what reasons? Does someone different belong in one of these categories? Comment below!!!
