James Franklin: Michigan 'outplayed us on both fronts'
Michigan humiliated Penn State in Ann Arbor, 41-17, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score. The Wolverines rushed for 418 yards and dominated the lines of scrimmage in pulling away in the second half.
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The Nittany Lions were fortunate to be in the game at the break, having used two plays to stay close. They even had the lead early in the second half before Michigan bludgeoned them to pull away.
PSU head coach James Franklin gave U-M credit, but he also lamented his team’s play.
“They’re a good football team. Give them credit,” Franklin said. “But we didn’t play well. We didn’t play well.
“Offensively, obviously we weren’t able to run the ball or convert on short yardage situations and stay on the field. But defensively, we weren’t able to get off the field. [There were] 15-play drives, 12-play drives, 16-play drives; they controlled the line of scrimmage and they controlled the game.”
PSU’s running backs managed only 41 yards rushing. Offensively, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw for 145 yards because the running game was working so well.
Franklin appeared embarrassed when asked how U-M ran for 418 yards on his top 5 rushing defense nationally.
“I know you guys hate this answer, but I’ve got to watch the tape,” Franklin continued. “But, obviously, there were way too many times the guy was just running through holes into the second level.
“Yeah … obviously not happy with that number at all. Not one bit … and like I said, we we did not do well on either front. That’s tight ends, that’s O-line, that’s the D-line, and that’s linebackers. They outplayed us on both fronts. There’s no doubt about that. When I say that, that’s coaching, that’s playing, that’s all of it.”
But he credited the Wolverines for their part in the drubbing. It was clear from the get-go Michigan was the better team. PSU was lucky to be in the game in the third quarter, but it seemed clear it wouldn’t last.
Franklin got so desperate that he went for a fourth-and-6 midway through the fourth quarter near midfield with his team down only 7. He defended that decision, noting they needed to keep up the way the game was going.
“They’re a good football team, let me start by saying that,” he said. “Let me give them credit. They are a good football team.
“But we didn’t play well. So yeah, I’m surprised that we didn’t play well. Again, when you’re not able to control the line of scrimmage the way you need to control the line of scrimmage, you’re going to have a hard time in games. They were able to stick with the game plan, stick with what they do.
“We knew early-down success for their offense was critical. We knew starting the game, you look at all the analytics, that was going to be very, very important. For the most part, we were able to battle our way. Maybe not conventionally, but we were able to battle our way to keep it close in the first half.”
But then Michigan’s strength kicked in.
“Yeah, it’s all of it. We’ve got to develop,” Franklin said. “We’ve got to recruit. We’ve got to get bigger. We’re undersized in some spots.”
Michigan took advantage, and as a result improved to 7-0 with a bye week — and then Michigan State — on tap.
