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Best and worst from Michigan's blowout win over MSU

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•10/22/23•

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J.J. McCarthy Paul Bunyan Trophy
(Photo by Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football embarrassed MSU on its home field Saturday night, winning 49-0. Here are the best and worst from the game.

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Facts of the night

Michigan’s 49-0 win is its largest in the in-state rivalry since 1983, when it won 42-0. It’s the Wolverines’ biggest win ever at Spartan Stadium.

The game was essentially over at halftime, when the Wolverines were up 28-0, their largest lead in the series through two quarters since 1947 (28-0 in a 55-0 victory).

This was Michigan’s first shutout win over MSU since 2000 (14-0). It was the first time MSU was shut out at home in the rivalry since a 31-0 win in 1985.

Sweet revenge

Michigan junior cornerback Ja’Den McBurrows was mugged by MSU players after the Wolverines’ 29-7 win over the Spartans in Ann Arbor last October. He didn’t appear in a game all season, after recovering from an ACL injury from the prior year and then being beaten up in The Big House tunnel.

McBurrows enacted some revenge Saturday, though, when he notched 3 tackles and had a fourth-quarter interception on MSU quarterback Sam Leavitt. The U-M sideline erupted, with teammates and coaches full of joy.

McBurrows’ pick was one of two for Michigan in the game, with graduate defensive back Mike Sainristil‘s interception returned for a touchdown on the first possession of the third quarter.

Toughest task

MSU had the nation’s No. 3-ranked third-down defense heading into the game, but that success didn’t hold up against the Wolverines. When Michigan’s starters were in the game, they picked up first downs on 7 of 8 third-down tries. Overall, U-M went 7-of-11 on third down. It was a tall task getting that Wolverines’ offense off the field. Conversely, MSU went 6-of-16 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down.

Heisman frontrunner

As of the conclusion of the game, Michigan junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy is the Heisman Trophy frontrunner, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

McCarthy put together another strong performance, with 21 completions on 27 pass attempts, 287 yards and a career-best 4 touchdown passes.

Top position group

The Michigan tight ends had more receiving yards (186) than MSU had total yards (182).

That pretty much speaks for itself.

Senior AJ Barner had his long-awaited breakout game, with game highs in catches (8) and receiving yards (99). He also scored his first career touchdown as a Wolverine in the third quarter. With 2 touchdowns, sophomore Colston Loveland has now scored 4 times in the last three outings.

Outscored

Michigan’s defense scored 7 points to MSU’s 0. It’s the second time this season that the Wolverines’ defense has put up more points than the opposition (14-10 against Minnesota). Versus Rutgers, the Michigan defense tied Rutgers’ 7 points.

Worst look

Michigan State, which fired its head coach this season after a sexual harassment allegation, put up a trivia question about Adolf Hitler on its video board during a game it lost by 49 points.

Things could not be going much worse in East Lansing.

Exclamation point

Instead of taking a knee up 42-0 with seconds left in the game, Michigan kept running its fourth-string quarterback, sophomore Alex Orji, who scored a six-yard touchdown with eight seconds to go. It was reminiscent of MSU running up the score with a late touchdown in a 35-11 win over U-M in 2014, except the Spartans actually left starters in during that instance.

The shallow end

MSU calls its student section ‘The Deep End.’ It was shallow in depth — like a kiddie pool — midway through the third quarter (when the below photo was taken) and almost completely empty by the end of the game. Michigan fans completely took over Spartan Stadium, making the victory that much sweeter.

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