MI defense leads win over Penn State

Beaver Stadium always has security measures in place.

It proved to be a sign of things to come.

“At that point we had a hard time in the redzone and punching it in so we thought the field goal was the best decision”, Franklin said. While under the blinding white of the 107k strong Penn State crowd, the Nittany Lions stole a victory from the Wolverines in 2013.

There were other failures, certainly.

Harbaugh’s Wolverines beat Penn State 28-16 in Happy Valley, but there was controversy along the way in the form of a pass interference call against MI that Harbaugh was not a fan of. The running game is bad, gaining just 70 yards Saturday.

MI (9-2) played well enough, certainly.

Maintaining balance with receivers Amara Darboh and Chesson and tight end Jake Butt should be the name of the game.

And it didn’t matter, because the Lions couldn’t capitalize.

Each time, they were stopped. And gained exactly four yards. In fact, 150 yards of their total came on just five plays.

Other than that, nothing. Nine plays. Four yards.

So yes, as much as James Franklin won’t say this game is any different, it does have a little something extra to it with so many impressionable high schoolers in the stands.

Penn State, which opened the game 5-of-18, answered with a 5-0 run to tie it on a Taylor jumper. “Once we saw that he wasn’t going to be able to go and help us and help himself then we made the change and pulled him out”. “All three phases have to play well for us to win a game like that”. Now, both teams are looking to make their own statements this weekend as the 2015 college football season comes to its close.

Michigan, he said, didn’t do anything differently inside the 10.

Harbaugh has covered up that bad running game by using his fullbacks in creative ways, sometimes giving them the ball, sometimes passing to them in short yardage. Someone said, ‘Hey, are you going to Schembechler?’ It’s not just a hall. They got to the 9-yard line in the first quarter.

Where is the Run Game?

However, the Lions’ comeback attempt stopped here. L.G. Gill hit a 3-pointer 38 seconds in to give Duquesne a 40-26 lead.

Chesson’s fourth receiving touchdown Saturday with 2 seconds left in regulation matched a school record and helped MI get to the first of two overtimes in a 48-41 win over Indiana.

Wide receiver MacGarrett Kings fumbled a punt that Ohio State’s Terry McLaurin recovered at the MI State 6-yard line and quarterback J.T. Barrett immediately hit wide receiver Jalin Marshall across the middle for the score.

Midway through the third quarter, MI extended its lead to 21-10.

Second down: Linebacker Ben Gedeon invades the backfield and stops Barkley for a loss of three.

Golden filled in pretty nicely on the field, too, for Lucas, finishing with eight tackles. Bell’s 25-yard return was for naught and Penn State was forced to punt three plays later. Few remember Breaugh, but he was one of Harbaugh’s favorite players when he roamed the sidelines as a young boy and his father, Jack, coached the secondary for Schembechler.

Third down: Hackenberg overthrows DaeSean Hamilton.

Duquesne: The Dukes averaged 95.5 points in their two wins entering Friday. “We were getting knocked back into the backfield, and by the time the ball carrier got the ball, there was somebody in his face”.

The team’s best athlete, DB/kick returner/playmaker Jabrill Peppers, missed most of a year ago with an injury. “We got two more left”.

The bottom line has been the theme of the New MI all season under Jim Harbaugh and staff, and that’s stingy red zone defense.

Big plays were a difference Saturday.