Best and worst from Michigan's win over Michigan State
Michigan Wolverines football smacked in-state opponent Michigan State, 24-17, Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Here are the best and worst from the game.
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Worst scene
After Michigan’s kneel down to run the clock out, a skirmish broke out between the Wolverines and Spartans. It appeared to start with junior tight end Colston Loveland and MSU defensive lineman Anthony Jones doing some jawing and shoving.
The fracas escalated from there.
Remember, it was just two seasons ago that unprovoked MSU players assaulted Michigan Wolverines in the Lloyd Carr Tunnel following an embarrassing 29-7 loss.
Best quote
Loveland had a huge night and dropped the best postgame quote, saying that “Lil bro stay doing lil bro things. MSU the little bro. They can do whatever they want. We knew it was going to get chippy, but everything within the confines of the game, we do right — and after, they wanna get busy, we’ll get busy.”
Biggest bounce-back
Michigan senior quarterback Davis Warren made his fourth start of the season and his career, but he hadn’t taken a single snap in a game since Sept. 14 against Arkansas State, 42 days earlier.
He was benched after throwing 6 interceptions in three games, but the revolving door at quarterback meant he had a chance again — and he made the most of it.
Warren maintained a positive attitude despite being benched. He didn’t get as many practice reps as the second- or third-string quarterback over the last several weeks, so he found time to go to Oosterbaan Fieldhouse by himself — headphones in — to walk through plays he didn’t get to rep.
A leukemia survivor, Warren has overcome quite a bit in his life, to say the least, so this was just another challenge he had to deal with. He was ready when his name was called again, completing 13 of 19 passes for 123 yards and a score in the victory.
Biggest momentum shift
MSU ran 22 plays to Michigan’s 4 in the first quarter but only led 7-0. That gave the Wolverines a chance to get right back in it, and that’s exactly what they did late in the second quarter.
Having to play up tempo at the end of the first half helped kick the Michigan offense into gear. The Wolverines crafted a beautiful two-minute drill capped off by a 10-yard touchdown from Warren to Loveland, who was surprised how wide open he was in the end zone.
Senior EDGE Josaiah Stewart was the tone-setter on defense, with a strip sack on MSU quarterback Aidan Chiles, recovered by junior defensive tackle Kenneth Grant. The Wolverines had only 14 seconds but got a 37-yard field goal to take a 9-7 edge.
Best-called drive
Michigan had the momentum going into halftime, and unlike some other games this season, including last week at Illinois, the Wolverines didn’t squander it.
Michigan offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell called perhaps his best series of the season, throwing everything at the Spartan defense.
Michigan ran a flea flicker, a run from sophomore wideout Semaj Morgan out of the wildcat and junior quarterback Alex Orji as a runner out of the backfield on the 11-play, 75-yard drive. Orji capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown run on third down.
Pushing the right buttons
While Campbell has taken a lot of heat for the Wolverines’ offensive struggles, he pushed a lot of the right buttons against the Spartans. The usage of Orji was particularly effective, with the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder rushing 6 times for 64 yards and the score.
Michigan had an extremely tough time running the ball, averaging only 3.8 yards per rush (31 attempts for 119 yards). The team’s two featured running backs — senior Donovan Edwards (24) and graduate Kalel Mullings (18) combined for 42 rushing yards, but Orji was cooking with 10.7 yards per attempt, including picking up the first down to seal the victory.
Best Michigan player
Loveland takes the cake here, finishing with 6 catches for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns.
He’s such a headache for opponents to deal with, especially when there are other aspects of the Michigan offense working. The Wolverines were able to make some completions to wide receivers (6 of them!!!), which freed up Loveland.
In Michigan’s last two games against MSU, both victories, Loveland has 24 points from 4 touchdown receptions. As a team, the Spartans have only 17 points and 2 touchdowns in those games.
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QB Donovan Edwards
When it comes to passing, Edwards is better than good — he’s perfect. He’s 4-of-4 for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns in his career.
Michigan called his number on a halfback pass — making him the fourth U-M player to attempt a throw this season — and he delivered with a strike to Loveland for a 23-yard touchdown.
That was another example of Campbell being in his bag.
Best vibes
Michigan badly needed a win after dropping two straight games, to Washington and Illinois. On one hand, the MSU game coming after those clunkers was a blessing, since the Spartans got the attention of U-M players who aren’t fond of the in-state foe. On the other, a loss would’ve just made things worse for Sherrone Moore entering his first November as head coach.
Moore said there were times over the last few weeks that Michigan wasn’t having “fun,” because losing isn’t acceptable. Being back in the win column is sure fun, though. Winning a trophy game is something the Wolverine players will never forget.
Most frustrating stat
MSU came in with a great plan that allowed for third-down success. The Spartans combatted Michigan’s exotic looks with numerous players walked up to the line of scrimmage by running right at them, including at some Wolverines who were dropping back into coverage.
MSU rushed 8 times on third down, picking up 5 first downs and 75 yards. The Spartans went 8-of-15 on third down, with 3 conversions through the air.
Michigan’s third-down woes have been one of the most disappointing aspects of the season. The Wolverines came into the game allowing opponents to convert on 38.5 percent of their tries, good for 83rd in the nation.
Cleanest game
Michigan didn’t commit a penalty or a turnover.
In other words, the Wolverines didn’t beat themselves … and that was a refreshing development. The Wolverines had no business losing to Washington or Illinois … and the same would’ve been said about falling to the Spartans if the outcome was different Saturday night.
But it wasn’t. Michigan is now 41-1 when not turning the ball over since 2015. The Wolverines hadn’t put together a penalty-free game since a 51-7 win over Colorado State Sept. 3, 2022.
Three-peat
Michigan has beaten MSU in three-straight meetings for the first time since winning six in a row from 2002-07.
Moore became the first U-M head coach to win his first game against the Spartans since Bennie Oosterbaan in 1948. Since then, seven Michigan head men lost their first clash against MSU — Bump Elliott (1959), Bo Schembechler (1969), Gary Moeller (1990), Lloyd Carr (1995), Rich Rodriguez (2008), Brady Hoke (2011) and Jim Harbaugh (2015).
Paul Bunyan is staying home in Ann Arbor.
