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It wasn’t a resounding victory, but it was one that Michigan football could feel good about in the end.
Yes, Penn State is now 6-4, but two of its losses are likely directly due to quarterback Sean Clifford’s injury against Iowa, while the other one was against Ohio State. The Wolverines got all they could handle in State College, and in the end, they emerged with a 21-17 victory after Penn State had taken a late lead.
There’s a lot you might not know about the game just by having watched it either in person or on television. That’s where the Michigan football staff comes in, as they posted things you might not have known about the game on MGoBlue.com.
Here are those factoids you might not have known otherwise.
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Notes/tidbits
- In the 25th all-time meeting between the two programs, U-M improved to 15-10.
- U-M picked up a road victory against a ranked opponent for the third time in conference play under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
- Quarterback Cade McNamara had multiple passing touchdowns for the third straight week, finishing with two passing scores.
- McNamara connected with wide receiver Roman Wilson for a 21-yard score in the second quarter; it was Wilson’s first touchdown of the year. That touchdown gave McNamara passing scores to six different Wolverines.
- Wilson added another touchdown in the third quarter, a one-yard score.
- Running back Hassan Haskins recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game in the last five weeks, finishing with 31 carries for 156 yards. Haskins went over 150 all-purpose yards for the second straight game, adding 45 receiving yards on five catches.
- U-M’s 15-play, 90-yard drive (7:30) in the second quarter was the team’s second touchdown drive this season of 15 plays or more (17 plays against Rutgers).
- The U-M defense registered 12 tackles-for-loss (seven sacks), the team’s first game with double-digit TFLs since reaching that mark in consecutive weeks in October during the 2019 season (13 against Iowa, 12 at Illinois).
- Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker David Ojabo continue to jockey for the Big Ten lead in sacks. Ojabo entered with a one-sack lead on Hutchinson (8.0 to Hutchinson’s 7.0). Ojabo (2.0 today) and Hutchinson (3.0 today) are now tied with 10 sacks each.
- Hutchinson’s 3.0 sacks marked a new career high in sacks and tackles-for-loss; his third-career game with at least 2.5 TFLs and second this season (Washington).
- Ojabo now has at least a share of a sack in five straight games.
- Three defenders forced fumbles in the first half: Hutchinson, Ojabo and Vincent Gray. Ojabo (5) has set a new single-season program record in that category and is still adding to it.
- U-M had 3.0 sacks in the first quarter at Penn State, the first quarter in which the team has recorded three-plus sacks since doing so in consecutive fourth quarters against Iowa and Illinois (2019). It’s the first time U-M reached 3.0 sacks in the first quarter since the 2016 matchup with Penn State, when Matt Godin, Chase Winovich and Chris Wormley each had a first-quarter sack on PSU quarterback Trace McSorley.
- Linebacker Junior Colson set a new career high in solo tackles (five), and recorded the first tackle-for-loss and shared sack of his career as part of a 12-tackle performance.
- Punter Brad Robbins set a season long with his 65-yard punt in the first half. Robbins’ previous season best was a 59-yarder. He also had a 60-yard punt today.
- Freshman defensive back Rod Moore made his first career start in the secondary. Moore is the 10th defensive player to earn his first career start this season.
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