Michigan football: Sherrone Moore talks Penn State, J.J. McCarthy, explosive plays

No. 5 Michigan Wolverines football will face its toughest challenge yet, with No. 10 Penn State coming to town for a Saturday afternoon showdown at The Big House. The Nittany Lions tout a defense that ranks fifth nationally in rushing yards allowed (79.8 per game) and 12th in passing efficiency (5.8 yards given up per attempt).

Michigan’s identity is to run the ball with junior back Blake Corum, who’s racked up 735 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns this season, but it could be tough sledding Saturday.

“It all starts up front,” Michigan co-offensive coordinator and line coach Sherrone Moore said of the Nittany Lions’ elite defensive unit. “Really good guys up front. Obviously, starts with [defensive tackle] P.J. [Mustipher] who has played a lot of ball for them — coming back from injury, but he’s playing really well. The guys on the edges do a good job of building a wall. And then their linebackers run the ball, their DBs aren’t afraid to tackle. All in all, it’s a good defense.

“They do a good job of movement, a lot of blitzing, a lot of stunts to try to keep you off-balance. It’s going to be a big challenge, but we’re excited for it.”

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Penn State’s formula has been to shut down the run, daring opponents to pass on its stellar secondary. It’s worked to this point against lesser competition. PSU has faced more pass attempts than any team in the country (45.2), and as a result the Nittany Lions lead the nation with 51 pass breakups.

Cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who’s leading the country with 10 pass breakups and safety Ji’Ayir Brown are among the standouts on the back end of Penn State’s defense that Michigan has to be aware of.

Moore said the Wolverines have to put themselves in good positions, but also stick to what they do and not let PSU dictate the game.

“I think the biggest part is doing what we do best,” the Michigan coordinator explained. “They have really good players — we know that, but we also can’t play scared. We’ve got to do things that our guys are really good at and get them in positions to be successful. When we do that, we’ve got a chance to win.

“I think that’s the biggest thing for us. You have to be conscious of guys like that and know where they are. That’s part of game planning and putting people in position. I think that’s the biggest part for us, putting our guys in positions to be successful.”

Michigan head man Jim Harbaugh said this week that it’s important for the coaches to give the players an edge in a matchup between two teams that are both highly talented.

“You get into this battle rhythm of the season, always demanding, punishing, challenging yourself to put the players in the best position possible every single week,” Harbaugh said. “You get used to it and you look forward to it, that’s what drives you.”

Sherrone Moore wants more explosive plays

News flash: Michigan’s offensive coordinator wants the group to produce more big plays. Replace the school name, and that’s the case at any program across the country.

The Maize and Blue rank 42nd in the country with 32 scrimmage plays of 20-plus yards and 44th with 13 of at least 30 yards. Moore is hoping for more explosion.

“Not as much,” Moore said of if the offense has been as explosive as he’d like. “You really want to have an explosive play every play, but that’s not going to happen. We’ve been pretty balanced, and that’s been the thing. You go back and look at our self-scout, it’s super balanced with what we’re doing, run, pass and all the areas.

“Not as explosive as we want it to be. but we’ve controlled the clock, we’ve done the things to help ourselves get to this point of 6-0 and now the goal is to take the next step offensively to do what we need to do to win this game.”

A way in which Michigan can generate some bigger plays is through the deep passing game. Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy has hit on just 6 of his 18 pass attempts that traveled at least 20 yards in the air for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. He’s put the blame on himself, but Moore believes it’s the entire operation.

“It’s always everything,” Moore said. “Timing plus spacing equals completions — I learned that a long time ago. All that plays into a part. It’s everybody working as one. We threw deep balls yesterday, and he was really good. It’s all about spacing, it’s all about the timing — whether it’s the quarterback, whether it’s protection, whether it’s receivers. All of it plays a hand. It’s not just J.J., and it’s starting to grow, and you can see it mesh really well.”

The Michigan quarterback has been very good at just about everything else. He’s leading the nation with a 78.3 completion percentage and making good decisions, for the most part.

“Just continue to do the little things,” Moore said of what he wants to see from McCarthy. “Find the open guy, make the proper reads and do the things that he’s been doing. Obviously, he has all the talent in the world, so watching him progress has been really fun.”