Tag: Michigan Football

Ohio State beats Rutgers to go to 10-0, now the season really begins

Ohio State put it on Rutgers, and has been fantastic to date. But now, the season really begins with Penn State and Michigan on tap.

Ohio State may not have looked as good as it has in previous weeks against Rutgers, but it was still a convincing win nonetheless. The Buckeyes raced out to a quick lead, put in some backups and won going away 56-21.

To date, the Buckeyes closest game — if you can believe it — was against FAU in week one. They only managed to win that one by 24 points. Since then, it’s been beat down after beat down. Along the way, Ohio State eviscerated one of the best defenses in the country when it whitewashed Wisconsin 38-7. It scored over 70 points twice, held its opponents to ten points or below ten times, and scored at least 34 points in every game.

Heck, there’s even be three guys in the Heisman conversation. Quarterback Justin Fields, running back J.K. Dobbins, and defensive end Chase Young have all had magical years so far.

Simply put — the Buckeyes have been on cruise control and haven’t been tested to date.

But now it’s about to get into the meat of the schedule. What’s happened to date has little bearing on what needs to occur over the next two weeks when OSU welcomes a top ten Penn State squad, then hits the road for the annual grudge match between Michigan — er … TTUN.

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Has Ohio State been dominant, fantastic, marvelous and all the above so far in 2019? Yes, it sure has. In fact some of the things we’ve seen this year may not happen for a long, long time. We may not even know how truly historic this season is until it’s over and we look back on it.

But … in order for it to be that type of year, the Buckeyes have to finish the deal. Lose against Penn State and the Nittany Lions likely go to Indianapolis. Lose to Michigan and, — well … let’s just not go there.

In some ways, what’s happened up until now seems like a precursor in a blockbuster movie right before the climax begins.

So, strap it up men. The focus and execution has been outstanding to date. But remember, there’s a countdown clock in the Woody that has the real finish line. It’s time to show Penn State THEY AREN’T, and Michigan that it still can’t hold a candle to THE Ohio State University.

Practice is going to be fun this week. It’s time to finish this thing.

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Michigan ‘out-toughed us’ and other notable quotes from MSU players

Interesting things were said by the four Michigan State players who met with the media on what Michigan did to win the game.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan really eviscerated in-state rival Michigan State for the first time since 2006, with an impressive 44-10 win over the Spartans at The Big House.

While the Wolverines were naturally enthusiastic about the win, those who suited up in green and white were obviously dejected about their lopsided loss.

Some credited Michigan and the job they did, others placed blame on themselves.

Here’s what the four players that MSU allowed to meet with the media had to say about the game.

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LB Antjuan Simmons

The former Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer product started at the MIKE linebacker spot, and managed 7 tackles, a sack and 2 tackles for loss in the game. MSU stuffed the run game quite well, as the Wolverines managed just 2.4 sack-adjusted yards-per-carry. But, Michigan annihilated MSU through the pass game, with quarterback Shea Patterson having his best game in a maize and blue uniform, going 24-for-33 for 384 yards and four touchdowns.

What did Simmons see on his side of the field in his view of the Michigan offense?

“They were just doing a lot of things out on the perimeter, out in space,” Simmons said. “I mean, they were just throwing the ball all over the place. They only had 60-70 rushing yards, so yeah.”

NEXT: MSU QB Brian Lewerke notes that Michigan did something it hasn’t done since Week Two.
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Ronnie Bell’s 2019 season showing he’s the true number one WR

Michigan football wide receiver Ronnie Bell had a career game against MSU today, showing he’s the top threat in the passing game.

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Ann Arbor, MI — Last year, freshman wide receiver Ronnie Bell wasn’t a part of the plans for Michigan as they planned to have wide receiver Tarik Black back from his season-ending injury from last season. That plan was derailed as he would have a similar injury happen to him before the season started, and he would miss the first half of the 2018 season.

With that said, Bell moved up in the depth chart, but he didn’t see much action until late against Nebraska when he caught a 56-yard touchdown pass. He would get involved with the offense minorly, only getting eight catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

Headed into 2019 the storyline at wide receiver was the same as it was headed into the 2018 season. The talk was mostly about Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Tarik Black and how those three could thrive under new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ offense in his speed in space attack.

The addition of freshman wide receivers Giles Jackson, Cornelius Johnson, and Mike Sainristil also overshadowed Bell. He was lost in the mix to begin the season, but he certainly wasn’t forgotten about.

While he was quiet in the season opener, Bell had a solid game against Army, getting seven catches for 81 yards. It was after that game you started to see some kind of connection with quarterback Shea Patterson and Bell.

“Over the past few weeks, think we developed a certain kind of chemistry,” Patterson said. “I just think we play well together.” Patterson then credited Peoples-Jones, Bell, and all the other receivers for creating plays when he gets pushed out of the pocket and says it’s like backyard football at that point.

The connection between the two was huge today against MSU, as Bell finished with a career-best nine catches for 150 yards. Despite him putting up big numbers this week, he once again couldn’t find the endzone, something he hasn’t done this year despite being the top receiver on the team.

“That’s weird,” Patterson said. “I think he had 150 (yards) today. Just as far as his production and playmaking abilities, I think that makes up for not having a touchdown, but yea I didn’t even know that.”

While Patterson thought it was weird that Bell hasn’t seen the end zone yet, Bell knows he will get in there sooner or later.

“Yea, I don’t know if there hasn’t been a time yet where I came back to the sideline, like 20 seconds to go let me know like I still ain’t got in there,” Bell laughed. “It hurts every time, but it’s alright I’m a get in there.”

Bell is proving to not only the coaches but to the fans, especially the ones that turned their back on him after the drop against Penn State. He is more than just a depth wide receiver, he can be a top threat in this offense.

So far this season, Bell is the leading receiver with 36 catches for 610 yards. Collins is tied for second in catches with Peoples-Jones, but Collins has 25 for 484 yards and four touchdowns. Peoples-Jones has his 25 catches for 259 yards and four touchdowns. Black has 21 catches for 284 yards and a touchdown.

The way Bell has been able to get involved with this offense and rebound after that huge drop is something special. The same people who were booing Bell and sending horrible things his way, probably were quiet today and maybe even cheering for him.

Bell is having a career-best year so far, and it could certainly open the door in his final two years at Michigan. So while Peoples-Jones, Collins, and Black get all the attention, Bell is quietly having himself a season he will never forget. Another year under this offense will be huge for Bell and if he can continue the trend from this season, he could be the top threat once again in 2020.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

Dantonio explains what went wrong for MSU, says he’ll ‘weather the storm’

What the Spartans head coach had to say about the Wolverines and his own team after the 44-10 beatdown in Ann Arbor.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Before the 2019 season started, the early line for the Michigan – Michigan State rivalry saw the Wolverines as double-digit point favorites, which was questioned by many, given that the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy tends to be a close affair. But MSU didn’t uphold its end of the bargain this year, as the reshuffling of the offensive staff didn’t yield many positive results as the season progressed.

The Spartans haven’t won a game since the month of September, yet here we are in mid-November. Once MSU got into the meat of the schedule, every game has looked similar: they’ve looked decent to start before the other team pulls away.

It was no different in Ann Arbor, but this one probably hurts MSU the most, given that the Wolverines are the Spartans’ chief rival. Now Michigan has won two-straight over their in-state enemy, and head coach Jim Harbaugh now has a 3-2 record over Michigan State and coach Mark Dantonio.

After the game, Dantonio praised Michigan and the effort the Wolverines put in while noting how effective the maize and blue were at stymying what MSU wanted to do.

“(We) hung in there initially,” Dantonio said. “I think the third quarter hurt us with the first interception and then at the beginning of the fourth quarter, I guess the blocked punt – the exchange there, the third and fourth quarter, the blocked punt sort of turned it. We had an obviously a very ugly fourth quarter. Too many problems, too many situations.

“Credit Michigan. They played extremely well on defense and offense. I talked about them having shock – we had to play with that same kind of shock and explosiveness. They got after the quarterback, pressured the quarterback. We were unable to run the ball effectively enough – at all. I thought we hung in there a little bit there as it was going forward.”

Though many have seen this as a referendum game for Dantonio, in the sense that — while no one expected MSU to win coming in, it could either push the Spartans to get better or it could spell the end for the legendary head coach who really made an enemy of the Wolverines.

Well, even with a lopsided 44-10 loss, it doesn’t sound like Dantonio has any machinations on calling it career in East Lansing after this one, noting that he has to ‘even it out’ to make things right for the green and white.

“From a leadership stand(point), you must stand vigilant – that’s what leaders must do,” Dantonio said. “You must stand vigilant, you must take responsibility, but you must stay the course, too. And you must be strong. And I keep asking ourselves, just like I ask our football team – and I didn’t ask them this game – how strong are you? How strong are you? Can you weather storms? If you can’t weather storms, this might not be the situation you want to put yourself in.

“We weather the storm, that’s whether you’re a leader on this football team internally as a team member, collectively as the coaching staff or as the head football coach.

“I’ll weather the storm.”

Still, while there were no barbs or insults hurled towards Michigan — something of a rarity in this rivalry since Dantonio took over in 2007 — the disgust from the loss, especially to his chief rival, remains apparent.

“I don’t like losing to these guys,” Dantonio said. “I don’t think you’ve gotta reinvigorate me. I don’t like losing period.”

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Notes/tidbits from Michigan’s 44-10 win over MSU

Things you might not have known about the Wolverines 44-10 victory over Sparty.

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Michigan absolutely eviscerated in-state rival MSU on Saturday, 44-10, in a game that started close, but the Wolverines finished with an incredible statement against the hapless Spartans.

With quarterback Shea Patterson having his best day in a Michigan uniform, and Ronnie Bell doing the same, it was an impressive performance by the offense, matched only by a suffocating effort by the defense.

Courtesy of MGoBlue.com, here’s some facts/tidbits you might not have known about Michigan’s valiant win over Michigan State.

• Today’s announced attendance of 111,496 marks the 292nd consecutive game at Michigan Stadium with a crowd in excess of 100,000.

• Michigan improved to 71-36-5 in the all-time series against Michigan State, dating back to 1898. The Wolverines are 3-2 against MSU under head coach Jim Harbaugh and have won each of the last two meetings. Michigan is 35-20-3 against the Spartans at Michigan Stadium.

• Michigan accumulated more than 400 yards total offense for the fourth time in five games, totaling 467 yards of offense. U-M had 384 passing yards, the program’s most since recording 387 against Maryland on Nov. 5, 2016.

• Senior quarterback Shea Patterson completed 24-of-33 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns. It was Patterson’s first 300-yard passing game as a Wolverine and the first time in two seasons at Michigan — and the fourth time overall in his career — he threw for four or more touchdowns. His 24 completions also tied his career best; he previously completed 24-of-41 passes at Penn State (Oct. 19).

• Patterson moved to 10th among Michigan’s all-time leaders in passing yards with 4,757. He passed Brian Griese (4,383, 1994-97) and needs just 103 yards to reach the ninth spot, currently held by Steve Smith (4,860, 1980-83).

• Sophomore wide receiver Ronnie Bell recorded career bests with nine catches and 150 receiving yards. He is first Wolverine with a 100-yard receiving game this season, and it is the most receiving yards for a Michigan player since Amara Darboh earned 165 at Michigan State in 2016. It is also the most receptions for a Wolverine since Jehu Chesson had 10 at Indiana in 2015. It is the fifth game this season that Bell led Michigan in receiving. His previous bests were seven catches against Army (Sept. 7) and 98 yards at Illinois (Oct. 12).

• Junior wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones posted his fourth receiving touchdown of the season — 12th of his career — with an 18-yard grab in the third quarter. It was his second touchdown against Michigan State in as many seasons.

• Freshman wide receiver Cornelius Johnson scored his first career touchdown with a 39-yard catch in the fourth quarter. The 39 yards are also a career high in receiving yards for Johnson.

• Sophomore running back Hassan Haskins scored his third career touchdown on a one-yard rush early in the second quarter. Haskins has recorded a touchdown in three of the last five games.

• Freshman wide receiver Giles Jackson posted career highs with two carries and 32 rushing yards, including a career-long 21-yard run in the first quarter.

• Senior tight end Nick Eubanks used a five-yard reception in the second quarter to record his fourth career touchdown and third in four games.

• Junior wide receiver Nico Collins registered his fourth touchdown of the season — 10th of his career — on 22-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter.

• After allowing the Spartans just 54 rushing yards, Michigan’s defense has held its opponents to less than 65 rushing yards in five of the last seven games. No team has cracked 130 yards on the ground since Wisconsin, while no team has cracked 200 yards through the air since Iowa.

• The Wolverine defense held Michigan State to just 17 receptions, the Spartans’ second lowest reception total of the season.

• The Wolverines have allowed 11 touchdowns and forced 12 turnovers in the last seven games.

• Senior cornerback Lavert Hill earned a third-quarter pass breakup to increase his career total to 25 and claim a share of the ninth spot among U-M’s all-time leaders — with Markus Curry (2001-04). He needs one more to reach the eighth spot, currently held by Marion Body (26, 1979-82). Hill also earned his third interception of the season — sixth of his career — in the fourth quarter.

• Junior cornerback Ambry Thomas registered his third interception of the season — fourth of career — and returned it four yards in the third quarter. It was the fifth turnover he has had a hand in this season (three interceptions and two fumble recoveries).

• Senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp posted 1.5 sacks, including the first solo sack of his career for a loss of 11 yards late in the fourth quarter. He owns 2.0 sacks over the last two games and 2.5 in his career.

• Senior kicker Quinn Nordin was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals and added five PATs to contribute a season-high 14 points against the Spartans. His 49-yard field goal in the third quarter is the longest by a Wolverine this season and tied the third longest of his career.

• Senior linebacker Khaleke Hudson recorded his third career blocked punt early in the fourth quarter. It is the Wolverines’ second blocked punt this season; graduate student linebacker Jordan Glasgow previously earned one at Illinois.

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Michigan’s 44-10 win over MSU a glimpse into future of rivalry

Michigan football took down MSU 44-10 on Saturday. With how Michigan played and how MSU is right now, a trend could start in this series.

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Ann Arbor, MI —When Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach for the football program, he was brought in to help rebuild the Wolverines. One of the things that were expected out of him from fans was to start beating Michigan State and regain control of the rivalry.

The two previous Michigan football head coaches were 1-7 against MSU and suddenly it became a daunting task to try and upset the Spartans every season. It started out rough in 2015 as Michigan had the game won and all they had to do was punt the football away and possibly defend one more pass. We all know what happened then, a fumble that would be recovered by MSU and scored for a touchdown to win the game.

Harbaugh would get his first win against MSU in 2016 as Michigan won the game 32-23. 2017 a tsunami landed in Ann Arbor, as Michigan lost 14-10 in the rain-filled game that caused multiple turnovers for the team and Harbaugh was outcoached by MSU head coach Mark Dantonio. 2018 we saw a defensive battle where Michigan held MSU to just 94 yards of offense and won the game 21-7.

2019 was projected to be a Michigan win as the Spartans were on a downward trend, but the win was bigger than anyone expected, as Michigan won 44-10. The feeling after this game was different than the 2016 and 2018 victories.

The game wasn’t close like those two were, and MSU had a worse team in 2016 and a better team in 2018. MSU is having some issues on their side of the field, with multiple players transferring from the program, their winningest head coach in school history Dantonio being questioned as if he should be the head coach next year, and they have multiple seniors graduating.

MSU is going through its own rebuilding phase, and whether it is with Dantonio or not this team isn’t going to flip the script on this season and come out undefeated in 2020. If they are somehow able to, then kudos to Dantonio or whoever is the coach next season.

While MSU is in the mix of trying to rebuild its football program, Michigan is reloading at multiple positions despite seniors leaving after this year. Their head coach isn’t going anywhere, and players aren’t transferring out of Ann Arbor left and right.

Michigan’s victory today could be a glimpse of what the future holds of this rivalry between the two Michigan schools. Harbaugh is now 3-2 against MSU and he doesn’t plan on that slowing down anytime soon. Michigan has improved since the beginning of the year, and if they can keep the success they have this year into next and so on and so forth, this could be another long winning streak for the Wolverines.

While Harbaugh has his coaching staff and players, Dantonio is losing his players to other schools, and his coaching staff could be shaken up after this season and that includes Dantonio. How MSU is right now is how Michigan was in 2008.

This win wasn’t just a close win against a rival, it was a beatdown. A message was sent in this game. Harbaugh didn’t just show MSU that they weren’t winning this game, he was showing them to get used to this feeling because it’s going to last a long time as long as he’s around Ann Arbor.

Michigan has regained control of the rivalry between the two schools, and they don’t plan on giving the reigns back to MSU anytime soon. This two-game winning streak could extend for a while as long as Harbaugh is the head coach at Michigan.

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Josh Metellus praises Michigan for being ‘classier’, insinuates dirty play by MSU

One Wolverine insinuated that MSU’s play was dirty on Saturday.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Things can get rather chippy in a rivalry game, and in the Michigan – MSU game in particular.

The battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy is often known for its toughness and physicality — and maybe even some cheap shots every now and again.

Well, that’s precisely how Michigan safety Josh Metellus saw the Wolverines’ dominant 44-10 victory over the Spartans — as a real physical matchup. But, in his mind, the green and white took things a little too far from time to time.

“Our side was real physical,” Metellus said. “I feel like this defense, especially, we made a statement today. We played real physical. They tried to – it was to the point where we were playing too physical and they tried to do stuff after the play, when we weren’t looking and stuff like that. It just showed today that we were the better prepared team, and we came out and wanted to execute more than they did.”

Each team had over 90 yards in penalties, and each had two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties assessed.

But, as Metellus sees it — and Jim Harbaugh noted that he felt his team kept its composure throughout the game — it was the MSU side that was engaging in extracurricular activities.

One such play was negated due to offsetting penalties, with Michigan State DE Jacub Panasiuk making a late hit on quarterback Shea Patterson. He ultimately was suspended from the game, as he reached the max of two.

Metellus is proud of how the Wolverines managed such situations, especially given what MSU tries to do throughout the game.

“I’m pretty pleased, because I feel like we’re way more classier than them,” Metellus said. “They try to take it to a level that isn’t playing football. We play football over here – I don’t know what they do over there, but we play football, and it showed today.”

Unlike in most games, where the players for both teams take a lot of time to pose for pictures and such, there was very little of that after this one.

You see it even with Michigan and Ohio State — arguably the biggest rivalry in all of sports. But there isn’t that type of sportsmanship between the Wolverines and Spartans.

Sure, a few posed afterwards, but both teams made a quick exit from the field after the game, and Metellus shared what he said to the MSU players who attempted to linger on the field.

“I was telling them to go home,” Metellus said. “It was time for them to leave. They didn’t deserve to be in our stadium. I was just trying to wave them goodbye because some of them wanted to stay on the field and it was our time to shine. We came out with the W so we was just telling them to go home.”

There’s certainly no love lost between these bitter rivals, but for the first time since the Lloyd Carr era, Michigan now has strung together consecutive victories over their in-state enemy.

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MSU Football crushed by Michigan 44-10: Twitter Reactions

MSU football was absolutely pummeled by the Michigan Wolverines, 44-10. Here are a handful of Twitter reactions to this game.

Well, here we are. The worst possible outcome of the MSU vs. Michigan game is now a reality. Michigan absolutely pummeled Michigan State, 44-10. The game was close for less than one quarter before the Spartans lost control. Shea Patterson and the Michigan offense carved up Michigan State’s defense.

Here are a handful of Twitter reactions to this game:

Michigan State faces Rutgers next Saturday on Nov. 23. The game starts at 12 P.M. and you can catch all of the action on FS1.

Stay locked on SpartansWire for more football coverage to come.

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