We all know the line. Everyone living in the midwest has heard it ad infinitum. The refrain comes from SEC country of all places, where the standard is to put at least one FCS opponent on the schedule and where the conference's two top teams this past generation have been on each other's schedule a whopping 3 times since 2007.
It's also being echoed in places like the atlantic coast, where FCS mainstay Clemson just moved through #10 N.C. State (their second ranked team in as many weeks) and faces another potential top-10 team next week in current #14 Syracuse. Sure Michigan and Ohio State appear explosive. The Wolverines have a strong offensive line and punishing rushing attack, while the Buckeyes sport a Heisman Trophy frontrunner at QB and NFL-caliber weapons at WR, and have been lighting up the scoreboard each week with the NCAA's highest scoring offense. But none of that matters. Why? Because "they ain't played nobody."
On Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan played somebody. The tenth-ranked Nittany Lions of Penn State to be exact. A team that has moved with nearly the same ease through a season which included a road trip to Auburn (and a 41-12 thrashing of the traditional powerhouse Tigers). The result? More of the same. A 41-17 Wolverine victory on a gorgeous blue skies and "Maize Out" conditions at the Big House.
For those who only look at scores (and the teams on a school's schedule), it would have appeared that Michigan had their hands full in the first half. The Wolverines needed a last-second field goal from Jake "Money" Moody to head into the tunnel with a 16-14 lead.
What the passive topline drive-by observers may not have picked up is that the first half was dominated by the maize and blue. Michigan controlled the ball for all but six minutes of the half, racking up 274 yards off offense to Penn State's 84, and 18 first down to the Nittany Lions' 1.
64 of those 84 yards came on a single play. A single, beautifully crafted play by coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, where senior QB Sean Clifford faked a handoff, tucked the ball and ran around left end untouched until running out of gas at the Michigan 4. Kaytron Allen finished the work with a one-yard dive to cut a 13-0 Wolverine lead to six.
After nearly a half of dominance by Michigan, a misdirection play and a helmet-deflected pick six later and they're trailing. The downside of a strong rushing offense that shortens the game is the big play or turnover, and Harbaugh just got both. A chip-shot field goal by Jake "Money" Moody ended up giving the maize and blue the slimest of halftime leads at 16-14.
Aided by a mammoth 48-yard Clifford-to-Harrison-Wallace pass play, Penn State drove deep into Michigan territory to start the second half. They settled for a 27-yard field goal to retake the lead, 17-16. From that point on, Michigan ran away with the game. Literally.
On the fourth play of the ensuing drive, Donovan Edwards exploded through a hole and didn't look back, sprinting to the end zone. On the first play of their very next possession, Blake Corum darted, juked and twisted through the defense for an equally amazing 61 yard run for six. Two running plays, 128 yards, two TDs. And one ballgame.
On a sunny afternoon where the stars were out and bright––from Michael Phelps taking part in the coin toss to Wynton Marsalis performing at halftime, from the 1997 Wolverines team who were honored on the golden anniversary of their national title to their coach, Lloyd Carr, whom the Big House honored in the naming of its tunnel––the Michigan rushing attack shone brightest. All told, the ground game piled up a whopping 418 yards on 55 attempts, over 300 more yards than their opponents, in a resounding 41-17 victory over a very good Nittany Lion team. For a team whose coach defines success by how well he runs the ball, victory just doesn't get more Harbaugh than that.
So congrats Michigan. You've now officially played somebody. More importantly, that somebody's officially played you.
