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Quote:
Originally Posted by daddyphatsacs
Once someone figures out that Michigan's MO are hand the ball off to Hart, and throw bombs to Edwa........I mean Manningham, they'll beat Michigan.
That Michigan squad isn't as good as some are saying, I bet that they lose next week in Happy Valley.
If Michigan loses in Happy Valley it will be very instructive to look over the box score.
While I understand (and broadly agree with) the assertion that Michigan's offense is less complex than some of their scorelines indicate, I cannot get past the other side of the box score. How teams are doing against them, specifically on the ground.
Yesterday MSU managed only 73 net yards rushing, and this is a team that while forced to pass by the deficit still rushed the ball 26 times, a team that was held under its prior rushing average 218 ypg to the tune of -145 yards. Coming into the their game hosting Michigan Penn State has rushed for an average of just over 191 ypg. Will they be able to maintain that production against Michigan, or will they end up following the trend, with a greatly diminished rushing total?
Also will Penn State be able to exploit Michigan's one glaring weakness on Defense - Pass Defense?
MICHIGAN 31 MICHIGAN STATE 13
Simple plan up front
Dominance at the line of scrimmage lifts Wolverines
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Mike Householder
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michigan?s Chad Henne attempted only 17 passes, but three of them resulted in touchdowns.
A third consecutive loss will keep the pressure on embattled Michigan State coach John L. Smith.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. ? Michigan beat rival Michigan State the way it likes to beat everybody ? by dominating the line of scrimmage.
The Michigan rush defense, which entered the game tops in the nation, allowed only 60 yards yesterday and the Wolverines managed 211 on the ground in a 31-13 victory.
Big Ten rushing leader Mike Hart ran for 122 yards on 22 carries as the sixth-ranked Wolverines (6-0, 3-0) kept their national championship aspirations flourishing and retained the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Michigan is 6-0 for the first time since 1997.
"We do have confidence that we can run the football," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "We feel like we can run it even when they have a lot of guys stacked up (near the line of scrimmage)."
Hart sat out the fourth quarter after rolling an ankle. Michigan?s training staff had taped it up and Hart said he could have returned if he wanted to, "but there was no point" considering the score.
Michigan ran the ball 42 times and attempted only 17 passes, but Chad Henne threw for touchdowns on three of them. Two of those went to Mario Manningham, who has eight touchdown catches in the past four games.
"He has tremendous speed, and when he cuts he creates separation from that cornerback or safety that?s on him," Henne said. "He?s a great player, and he did well today."
Michigan State (3-3, 0-2) dropped its third straight and did little to take the heat off embattled coach John L. Smith, who was criticized by Spartans fans and the media after home losses to Notre Dame and Illinois the previous two weeks.
"That?s an awfully good football team, and we would have had to play a lot better than we did to win the game," Smith said.
Michigan State played without leading rusher Javon Ringer, who sat out with a knee injury.
The Spartans now have to deal with No. 1 Ohio State next Saturday in Spartan Stadium.
"Our kids hung in there," Smith said. "They?re banged up, they?re bruised, they?re hurting. But we have to get ready for next week."
Michigan had not allowed a rushing touchdown all season ? a total of 344 offensive plays ? until 260-pound Jehuu Caulcrick barreled into the end zone from the 1-yard line near the end of the third quarter.
That score made it 24-7, but Michigan answered three minutes later on freshman Brandon Minor?s first touchdown, a 40-yard run.
The Wolverines led 24-0 after their first possession of the second half on a 27-yard TD pass from Henne to Manningham. Michigan State cornerback Demond Williams tipped the pass into the end zone, where it dropped into Manningham?s arms.
Henne also directed scoring drives on three of the first four first-half possessions, including TD tosses of 41 yards to Manningham in the second quarter and 13 yards to Adrian Arrington in the first.
Garrett Rivas? 24-yard field goal gave Michigan a 17-0 halftime advantage.
"I think getting off to a fast start was the key. We knew they were going to stick around and play their hardest," said Henne, who finished 11 of 17 for 140 yards and no interceptions. "They have speed on defense and they definitely played well on defense, so we had to take advantage of field position when we had the ball."
Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton again was unable to lead the Spartans to a win against their rival, something he said during the week that he badly wanted to do.
"You can?t do anything about it now. We?ve got six games left in our season, and how we respond is the big thing," said Stanton, who was 20 of 35 for 252 yards and two interceptions.
Stanton, who scored on a 2-yard draw that made it 31-13 with seven minutes remaining in the game, played the game with bruised ribs but said they were not an issue.
Few current Spartans players or coaches were associated with the program the last time they beat Michigan, a 26-24 win in East Lansing in 2001. Michigan State hasn?t won in Ann Arbor since 1990. Michigan heads to Penn State for a game Saturday night.
