No stop sign for Michigan
No. 3 Wolverines grind past No. 10 PSU via 32 straight runs
By Ralph D. Russo
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Before the game, Blake Corum warmed up wearing a ski hat that summed up Michigan’s attitude right now: “Michigan vs. Everybody.”
After the Wolverines, ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, were done pummeling No. 10 Penn State, Corum wore a bloodied bridge of his nose and the satisfaction of knowing that everybody is still winless against Michigan this season.
With Jim Harbaugh banned by the Big Ten Conference, Corum, J.J. McCarthy and the Wolverines played unfazed by a scandal that has hounded the program for weeks — and their toughest opponent yet — grinding past the Nittany Lions 24-15 on Saturday.
“We’re one. It made us stronger,” said Corum, who carried 26 times. “Obviously, we wanted Coach Harbaugh to be here, but we did it for him today. We’ve been going through a lot lately, but it’s only brought us closer together.”
Corum ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, McCarthy made a few key plays with his arm and legs and the Wolverines (10-0, 7-0) improved to 3-0 since it was revealed the program was under NCAA investigation for a sign-stealing scheme.
The timeline of the accusations cover the last three seasons of Michigan’s surge to the top of the Big Ten and two straight College Football Playoff appearances.
Coincidence? Plenty of fans think not. “People can say whatever they want,” fifth-year offensive lineman Trevor Keegan said. “We know what’s true. We know what’s in this locker room. We trust each other. We’re brothers, we’re in this thing together. That’s the way it’s going to be.”
The struggles in big games continued for coach James Franklin and Penn State (8-2, 5-3), which scored a combined 27 points in losses to Big Ten East rivals Ohio State and Michigan this season.
“We’ve lost to the No. 1 and the No. 3 team in the country, that’s not good enough,” Franklin said. “We have to find ways to win those games.”
In a game Harbaugh no doubt loved from afar, on what turned into a chilly and gray day in Happy Valley, the Wolverines ran the ball on 32 straight plays that counted, starting with the final two of the first half and ending with a couple of kneeldowns.
“As we got in the game, obviously the running game became a priority and I think our guys up front really asserted themselves to be dominant and those backs ran super hard,” said offensive coordinator and line coach Sherrone Moore, who took over as acting head coach with Harbaugh out.
McCarthy bounded off the field after doing a couple of postgame interviews, pumping his fists and flexing while being cheered by the Michigan fans in the stands.
He said the team FaceTimed with Harbaugh after the win.
“He was a jolly good fellow,” McCarthy said, referring to the jingle Harbaugh likes to have the team sing to celebrate the star of a game.
The 27th of the 32 straight runs was Corum’s 30-yard touchdown to seal it with 4:15 left.
McCarthy’s lone throw during the streak drew a Penn State pass interference flag. He finished 7 for 8 for 60 yards for the game — officially 0 for 0 in the second half.
It was a matter-of-fact victory for the best scoring defense in the country on a day that began anything but normal.
The Wolverines left their hotel just outside of State College without their head coach Saturday morning but did not know for sure he would not be with them until after they arrived at Beaver Stadium. About 90 minutes before kickoff, the school confirmed that a judge had not made a ruling on its request for a temporary restraining order against the Big Ten and Commissioner Tony Petitti.
Moore led the Wolverines onto the field to start the game and was in tears doing a postgame TV interview that turned out to be PG-13 as he dropped a few naughty words.
“Did this for you. For this university, the president, our AD. We got the best players, best university, best alumni in the country. Love you guys,” Moore said.