The Penn State-Michigan Report Card: Yikes
At halftime Saturday, Michigan held an 18-1 edge in first downs and a 168-66 advantage in rushing yards over Penn State. Sixty-two of those yards came on one Sean Clifford run.
That the Wolverines led 16-14 at the time seemed absurd and a wild outlier. They dictated just about every term Saturday and eventually would be rewarded for their patience and diligence.
Twenty-five second-half points later, Michigan had rolled over Penn State 41-17 in what coach Jim Harbaugh called a "statement victory." The statement? Right now, Michigan's program is stronger, more physical and better-coached than James Franklin's.
Franklin said he was "surprised" at Penn State's performance, which resulted in its worst loss since that 42-7 game at Michigan in 2018. Over the past two seasons, Penn State lost 11 games; six of those were by one possession. The Lions don't normally get rolled like that under Franklin.
That's a concern, especially for a 5-0 team following a bye week. The grades reflect as much.
OFFENSE: D-
Coordinator Mike Yurcich clanged one off the rim Saturday. His offense looked uncomfortable all day, and that's his fault. Penn State ran 18 first-down plays, gaining 38 yards. That stressed Clifford, which is not where you want the quarterback. He was game but overmatched, his receivers didn't help and his offensive line gave him nothing with which to work.
Penn State gained 41 percent of its yards on two plays: Clifford's deft play-fake run and his 48-yard completion to Harrison Wallace III. Otherwise, the Lions averaged 3.1 yards per play. They ran an incomprehensible 14 plays in the first half. They never had, or gave themselves, a chance.
DEFENSE: D-
Defensive tackle PJ Mustipher called the game "embarrassing." Difficult to disagree. Michigan rushed for 418 yards, the most against a Franklin-coached Penn State team, and did not punt. Repeat. The Wolverines did not punt.
Penn State certainly prepared for Michigan's run game. Two days before the game, defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said, "An A gap left open and can be a problem, doesn't matter whether you're playing Michigan, Central Michigan, Northern Michigan, or Lake Michigan." The Lions left open a stream of A gaps, threw shoulders instead of tackling and were blown off the ball alarmingly often.
True, this wasn't a good matchup for a team that lacks linebacker depth. But it also marked the first time Diaz did not have an answer for an opponent's strength. Great play by Curtis Jacobs for the pick-6, but it's just a moment in time at this point.
Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs intercepts a JJ McCarthy pass and returns it 47 yards for a touchdown against Michigan.
Kirthmon F. Dozier/USA Today Sports
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
The moment ultimately was inconsequential, but it still marked a details-matter example. After Jacobs' breathtaking interception return for a touchdown, Gabe Nwosu launched the ensuing kickoff well out of bounds, giving Michigan 10 free yards. The Wolverines turned that into a field goal. Again, details matter. Meanwhile, kicker Jake Pinegar hit a field goal, but Nicholas Singleton looked uncomfortable fielding kickoffs.
COACHING: F
Yurcich's response to Michigan's thick defensive front was a quarterback draw. Diaz seldom seemed to want to add numbers to the run defense. Yet for all their laboring, the Lions went to halftime down by two points and came out to take the lead! They were spinning some witchcraft, but the coaches could not harness it.
Afterward, Franklin said that his team needs to get bigger and stronger, a strange admission from a coach who has praised his strength staff for nine years. At that point, Franklin likely was grasping for ways to get out of the press conference and on the flight home. Still, it was true. And when Penn State doesn't have an offense stacked with playmakers who can change games, its roster deficits become more glaring.
OVERALL: D-
The most startling thing about this version of Penn State-Michigan game was how small it made the Lions look. They were a speed bump, a footnote, a whisper for the Wolverines. James Franklin's teams rarely have been outclassed in this way post-sanctions, yet Michigan has done it three times.
What does that mean? Who knows? Franklin's teams have lost to Ohio State by more than 13 points just once, in the sanctions-era 2015 season. They can rise to big games, even if they don't win them. But not this time. Michigan proved itself so much better Saturday.
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