Defense / ST notes: Strip sack, game-sealing fourth-down pass breakup highlight Michigan win over MSU

Michigan Wolverines football has allowed five of eight opponents to drive down and attempt field goals on their first possession, including Saturday night. Michigan State moved the football early, going 68 yards in 14 plays on its first possession, before scoring a touchdown (9 plays, 62 yards) on its second.

Michigan’s defense picked it up after a slow start in the 24-17 win over the Spartans, allowing only 222 yards after the first two drives. The second quarter especially set the tone for the rest of the game, with the Spartans averaging only 2.3 yards per play during that stanza.

“There were a lot of punches being thrown both ways,” junior linebacker Ernest Hausmann, who finished with a game-high 11 tackles, said. “We knew after that long first series, we settled in as a defense, understood a job like that, obviously, you don’t want to be on the field that long on an opening drive like that.

“But obviously we were grateful to get that stop with the missed field goal. We were able to settle down, just making sure we play our style of defense moving forward.”

MSU kicker Jonathan Kim missed a 25-yard attempt, after coming into Saturday 15-of-16 on the season. That was the difference at halftime, with Michigan up 9-7 thanks in part to a huge defensive play. Senior EDGE Josaiah Stewart had a strip sack on MSU quarterback Aidan Chiles with 14 seconds to go in the second quarter, before junior kicker Dominic Zvada made his ninth field goal of the year, from 37 yards out, with two seconds to on the clock.

Michigan was down 7-0 most of the half but flipped the momentum at that juncture and never trailed the rest of the way.

MSU had some success, gaining 352 total yards (189 passing, 163 rushing) and converting on 8 of 15 third-down attempts. But Michigan’s defense held the Spartans to 2-of-4 in the red zone and only 17 points for the game.

Chiles’ lost fumble, which was recovered by junior defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, marked his 13th turnover on the season. He posted his fourth-lowest passing yard mark of the season (189), completing 17 of his 23 attempts with a 20-yard touchdown to wideout Nick Marsh.

Michigan defense gets the huge stop

Michigan held a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter, but the touchdown by Marsh made it a one-score game once again. The Spartans got the ball back at the 50-yard line with 4:34 to go, gained 35 yards but turned the ball over on downs. Chiles’ pass to the end zone on fourth down was broken up by graduate safety Quinten Johnson.

“We talk a lot about in the defense team meeting room, as a unit, that no matter where the ball is at, when we have that first down, we have to get a stop no matter what,” Hausmann explained. “We knew what that series came down to, and you live for moments like that.

“You need a stop, it comes down to fourth down and those are the moments you live for. I’m really proud of our guys. The coaching staff put us in great positions with the calls, and I thought we did a really good job executing and getting off the field.”

Between coming up big at the end and not making many mistakes throughout the game, Michigan’s defense did its job. The Wolverines didn’t commit a single penalty all night, which was key for the team’s success.

“That’s big,” Grant said. “Whenever you have no penalties or turnovers, the win percentages go up much higher. Whenever you have no turnovers, you have a great chance you’re going to win. We just had to take advantage of that.”

Miscellaneous Michigan

• MSU rushed for 163 yards — the third-most an opponent has registered against Michigan this season, behind Illinois (187) and Texas (143).

The Spartans were particularly effective rushing on third down, gaining 75 yards on 8 attempts. Five of those went for first downs.

• Michigan senior punter and holder Tommy Doman dropped the snap on the Wolverines’ first extra point attempt, leading to a failed desperation two-point conversion try.

• Doman shanked a 25-yard punt to set MSU up at the 50-yard line for their final drive of the game. He averaged 36.6 yards per punt with a 49-yard long and 3 pins inside the 20-yard line.

• Michigan totaled 22 punt return yards on punts, with junior Tyler Morris notching a 14-yard return and sophomore Semaj Morgan with an 8-yard return.

• Michigan has forced at least one turnover in six of eight games. The Wolverines have had 9 takeaways on the season.

• MSU running back Nate Carter rushed 19 times for 118 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. His 118 rushing yards are the most he’s had in a game since he put up 190 in a loss to Utah State Aug. 27, 2022, as a member of the UConn Huskies. Carter transferred to the Spartans before the 2023 campaign.

• Stewart leads Michigan with 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss on the season. He has at least a share of a sack in four consecutive games, totaling 4.5 in that span.

• Stewart’s forced fumble was the second of his career. His first came against USC Sept. 21, and it was also recovered by Grant.

• Sophomore EDGE Cameron Brandt had one of Michigan’s 3 sacks on the evening, and it was the first of his career. Stewart and junior EDGE Derrick Moore had the other two.

• Sophomore cornerback Jyaire Hill has at least one pass breakup in seven of eight contests this season.