No. 4 Michigan pulls away for 29-7 win against rival Michigan State
Michigan #Michigan
ANN ARBOR – The Paul Bunyan Trophy is staying in Ann Arbor.
No. 4 Michigan (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) pulled away in the second half for a 29-7 win against rival Michigan State (3-5, 1-4) on Saturday night.
Blake Corum had 33 rushes for 177 yards and a touchdown, along with a touchdown catch, to lead the Wolverines and snap a two-game skid against the Spartans. The Heisman Trophy candidate also topped 1,000 rushing yards for the season.
Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy was 15 for 25 passing for 167 yards and a touchdown and had seven rushes for 50 yards. Tight end Luke Schoonmaker led the Wolverines with five catches for 70 yards, while Jake Moody made all five of his field-goal attempts.
It was just the second night game in the 115-year history of the rivalry and Michigan State entered as a 22.5-point underdog. The Spartans stayed in the game early and had a 7-3 lead after the first quarter. They also forced the Wolverines to attempt five field goals but their offense dried up while Michigan kept grinding away on the ground with Corum.
Michigan finished with 443 yards of total offense to 252 for Michigan State. That was after the Spartans had 119 yards in the first quarter.
Mel Tucker became the first coach in program history to start 2-0 against Michigan but that streak was snapped. The Spartans have now dropped five of their last six games overall.
Michigan State’s Payton Thorne was 17 for 30 passing for 215 yards, one touchdown and an interception while Keon Coleman had five catches for 155 yards and a score. Elijah Collins lead the Spartans with 22 rushing yards on seven carries, as the running game struggled again in another loss.
Michigan State needed only three plays to move into Michigan territory on the opening possession of the game but a personal foul call on left tackle Jarrett Horst killed the momentum and led to a punt. The Wolverines converted a pair of third downs on their first drive but receiver Cornelius Johnson was stripped of the ball by Xavier Henderson and Dashaun Mallory recovered the fumble.
The Spartans’ offense remained on the field on fourth-and-1 from their own 46 and Collins picked up what officials determined was a first down after measuring it. However, the call was overturned by replay and resulted in a turnover on downs.
Michigan opened the scoring but only after a drive stalled in the red zone. Following first-and-goal from the 4, back-to-back negative plays ended up leading to a 22-yard field goal from Moody as the Wolverines took a 3-0 lead.
The Spartans needed only six plays to respond as Thorne trusted Coleman to win jump balls. The two connected for 29 yards on third-and-8 and then for a 26-yard touchdown as Michigan State took a 7-3 lead in the final 30 seconds of the opening quarter.
Michigan answered on its next possession by driving 80 yards in eight plays with McCarthy hitting tight end Luke Schoonmaker twice for 42 yards. McCarthy tossed the ball to Corum on a jet sweep for a 2-yard touchdown pass to finish off the drive three minutes into the second quarter.
Michigan State had a chance to go back in front as Thorne and Coleman moved the ball down the field quickly but the drive stalled in the red zone. On fourth-and-1 from the 5, Berger was stuffed for a loss as the Spartans committed their second turnover on downs of the game.
Michigan State’s defense followed with a stop of its own inside the 10-yard line but Michigan still got points out of the possession. Moody made a 25-yard field goal to give the Wolverines a 13-7 lead with 1:08 left in the second quarter and that stood up as the halftime score.
Michigan opened the second half the way it ended the first as Moody made a 39-yard field goal to increase the lead to nine points. The Wolverines’ red zone struggles continued as they had to settle for a 33-yard field goal on their next possession for a 19-7 lead with 3:58 left in the third quarter. After a second straight three-and-out for Michigan State to start the second half, Moody split the uprights from 54 yards out for a career long field goal to give the Wolverines a 15-point lead 15 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Michigan State’s third possession of the second half also ended without a first down and also included a special teams miscue. There was a second straight high snap from backup long snapper Michael Donovan and this one punter Bryce Baringer couldn’t corral to get a kick off as he was tackled for a turnover on downs. Two plays later, Corum scored on a 4-yard run for a 29-7 advantage with 12:47 to play.
Michigan punted for the first time in the game with less than six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The Spartans had a chance to score for the first time since the opening quarter but Thorne was intercepted by Rod Moore.
©2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
