MICHIGAN VS. EVERYBODY: PENN STATE

“WE ARE THE STORM”

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Preceding a pivotal Saturday for Michigan Football, Friday started innocuously enough. It was pajama day at school, meaning the kids acted crazy, but that was pretty standard. I wore basketball shorts over long johns, slippers, and my 20-year-old yellow Michigan hoodie. The latter I wore in eager anticipation of Saturday’s game at Penn State, the biggest game of the season to date.

Then Friday turned eventful, and not in a good way. “Eventful” was not the adjective you wanted to describe the 24 hours leading up to the biggest game of the season, let alone one on the road. On or about 3:30 in the afternoon on Friday, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Pettiti spinelessly suspended Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh for his role in the sign-stealing investigation, caving in to pressure from rival programs and using the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy to do so. We knew a suspension was likely coming, so it wasn’t earth-shattering news, but the timing of Pettiti’s suspension made it feel more vindictive than just. Michigan’s football team was literally in the air – on a plane en route to Pennsylvania – when Pettiti made his announcement. ESPN heard the news before Michigan did, which confirmed Pettiti’s cowardice regarding the matter. The collective anger of the Michigan fan base at this ill-timed executive decision signified the commencement of a legal battle, spurring the mGoLaw crowd into overdrive. Ross, the BOX House lawyer, predicted that a local judge would grant Harbaugh a temporary restraining order, thereby allowing him to remain on the sidelines while due process took its course. Michigan swiftly filed for the temporary restraining order late Friday afternoon, and the hope was that a judge would grant it before kickoff in Happy Valley. 

Saturday morning, I woke early and refused to watch ESPN College Gameday, which starts an hour earlier than FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff, as ESPN as a network appeared committed to keeping the sign-stealing scandal front and center, a daily news story, as it had for almost three weeks theretofore. Moreover, many of ESPN’s commentators, including one Rece Davis, demonstrated blatant bias against Jim Harbaugh and his squad, damning him before even a single piece of evidence emerged to verify the accusations. As far as I could ascertain, scandals drove clicks, and that gave ESPN a financial incentive to hype the scandal as much as possible. They had followed the exact same script during the Deflategate scandal involving Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, beating the story to death as that saga excruciatingly dragged on through an entire offseason. These kinds of tangential scandals are tiresome, opportunities for media blowhards to toot their own horns and virtue signal from a moral high ground. 

So instead of finding College Game Day, I walked to the grocery store around 7:00 a.m. to pick up sparkling water, K-Cups, Bolthouse Farms smoothies, and kleenex. It was a cold 30 degrees outside, and the streets were eerily empty, noiseless as the city still slept. I felt a little strange – high off of anticipation but simultaneously nervous for the game and Harbaugh’s status for it. 

Returning to my apartment, I put away the groceries and flipped the channel to FOX in time for the start of Big Noon Kickoff. The crew of Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, Urban Meyer, and Mark Ingram II broadcasted live from Happy Valley. Former crew member Charles Woodson returned to the set for the pregame show to serve as Michigan’s voice at the table. Woodson was absolutely fired up for the game. “Michigan versus everybody,” he said, repeating a slogan Michigan appeared to have adopted in the wake of the sign-stealing story, “Michigan versus everybody.” Also adopting that mentality was Blake Corum, who wore a “Michigan vs. Everybody” knit hat during the pregame warmups. 

Shortly before kickoff, word came down that the Washtenaw County Judge who was set to rule on Michigan’s request for a temporary injunction had forestalled any decision. This surprised and deflated me and most of the guys in the BOX House group chat, for we all expected that the temporary injunction would be granted immediately. Instead, the judge set a hearing date for the following Friday. The decision worried me considerably, as it seemed the first clue that something was amiss about the day, perhaps even doomed. Sherrone Moore, who notched his first win as acting coach earlier in the season against Bowling Green, once again stepped in for the suspended Harbaugh. This game was a lot bigger than that one, though. 

For good reason, most considered Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley one of the most difficult road environments to play in. With a capacity of 106,572, it was the second largest stadium in the nation behind only Michigan Stadium. Famous for its white-outs, the student section had a reputation for being boisterous; I had witnessed it in person on a road trip with Andy in 2008. That alone tempered my expectations going into the game. Vegas listed Michigan as 4.5 point favorites, but, factoring in the last-minute suspension of Jim Harbaugh and the distraction the scandal had posed to players all week, I looked at the contest as more or less a tossup. One thing we had going in our favor was the noon eastern kickoff time, which usually translated to a less-inebriated and consequently less-boisterous crowd. 

My skepticism, moreover, swelled during the opening quarter, which, when it was over, probably qualified as Michigan’s worst quarter of the season, with the exception of perhaps one of those quarters in the Bowling Green game. Both of Michigan’s first quarter drives failed, the second one ending when the Nittany Lions sacked McCarthy for a big third-down stop. Penn State subsequently drove the ball down the field, setting up a 1st and goal from the Michigan 3-yard line, but Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions squandered the opportunity. Or perhaps offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich squandered it. Penn State ran the ball on 1st and goal but gained only a yard. Then, rather inexplicably, Yurcich called two straight pass plays, relying on the unproven Allar to finish the drive. Both resulted in incompletions, setting up 4th and goal from the 2. Faced with a decision, the notoriously conservative James Franklin opted to take the points, sending out his field goal team. Alex Felkins nailed the 20-yard chip shot, giving Penn State a 3-0 lead, but it was hard not to consider the goal line stand a victory for Michigan. 

Attacking on the ground and through the air, Michigan’s offense got the ball rolling on its third drive, which took the Wolverines into the second quarter. McCarthy converted two third and longs – his third down proficiency put him on another level, among the elite – the first via a quarterback scramble for 13 yards, the second on a 19-yard completion to Semaj Morgan. The latter resulted in a first and goal for the Wolverines. Corum territory. Following Zak Zinter, who pulled left from his position at right guard, Corum smashed it in for his seventeenth rushing touchdown of the season. “This guy just has a nose for the endzone,” Joel Klatt astutely observed. “Blake mf Corum,” I texted the BOX group chat after pumping my fist. James Turner’s extra point made it 7-3. 

The boa constrictor tightened: Michigan’s defense forced a three-and-out immediately after the Corum score, stuffing Allar on 3rd and 2. JJ and the offense started their next drive at the 22 yard line following a 50 yard punt from Riley Thompson. On 1st and 10, McCarthy found the reliable Cornelius Johnson for 11 yards. On the next play Corum ran for 2 yards; Penn State’s rush defense, ranked #1 in the nation going into the contest, had largely contained him theretofore. On the next play, however, Michigan gave him the ball again, and this time he bounced it outside to the left, busting loose down the sideline for 44 yards before being brought down at the Penn State 21 yard line. “Blake the great!” Gus Johnson exclaimed, “big, explosive play.” On the next play, Penn State stuffed Donovan Edwards for a loss of 1, then Colston Loveland caught a pass for no gain, forcing a 3rd and 11.

In a surprise call, for a 3rd and long situation, Michigan again handed the ball to Donovan Edwards, who, after running for 991 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2022, struggled to start the 2023 season. A five star recruit from West Bloomfield who won the 2020 Michigan Mr. Football award, his monster, 216-yard, 2-touchdown performance at Ohio State in 2022 set up massive expectations for his junior season; Edwards himself contributed to the hype, predicting he’d be as great as Walter Payton and Barry Sanders in a moment of hubris. So when he had yet to score through 6 games in 2023, many media outlets – and many of the grumpy Michigan fans – pondered what was wrong with Edwards. His early season struggles made it all the more surprising that Michigan gave him the ball on 3rd and 11. As Jim Harbaugh once said, though, “this guy just comes alive in big games.” The coaching staff’s faith in Edwards paid off. He took the ball up the middle, saw an opening, and cut back to the right, dashing 22 yards to the endzone for his biggest touchdown of the season, one that put Michigan ahead 14-3 with six minutes left in the half. Big Game Don had arrived.

To Penn State’s credit, they answered Michigan’s touchdown with a solid touchdown drive of their own to close the first half. Kaytron Allen, nicknamed “Fat Man,” provided a spark for the Nittany Lions on the first play of the drive, taking a handoff from Allar and breaking free for 34 yards. Penn State’s biggest play of the half, Allen’s run set up a first down at the Michigan 41. Lacking faith in Allar, perhaps, Penn State then gave Allen the ball three straight times, including on 3rd and 5, when Michigan’s defense stopped him for a loss of one. That presented a 4th and 6 that felt like a monumental play. James Franklin finally rolled the dice by going for it, a decision that paid off; showing his nerve, Allar completed a pass to Kaden Saunders for 13 yards, giving Penn State a fresh set of downs at the Michigan 24. Three minutes remained in the half. Again, they ran the ball three straight times, gaining nine yards cumulatively. Presented with another 4th down, Franklin called a brilliant trick play. Allar pitched the ball to Allen, who took a few steps before stopping to throw back to Allar for a 4 yard gain to the 11. The ensuing play saw Allar, Ohio’s 2021 Mr. Football, take a designed QB run to the endzone. Michigan stopped their attempt at a 2-point conversion, yet the touchdown felt like a monumental one in terms of momentum and Penn State’s confidence, especially considering the Lions got the ball to start the second half. Michigan led 14-9 going into the break, but the aforementioned set of circumstances caused my anxiety to spike considerably. 

Trench warfare and field position featured prominently in a second half that would’ve made Lloyd Carr proud. Penn State opened the half with the ball and a chance to take the lead with a touchdown drive, but it was Michigan’s defense that made a big play. On a 3rd and 2 near midfield, Allar attempted to run for the first down himself. When he got to the line of scrimmage, however, Rayshaun Benny, a junior defensive lineman from Detroit, ripped the ball loose. Allar fumbled it, and a fortuitous bounce saw the ball go right to senior defensive back Makari Paige, who fell on it for a huge fumble recovery. 

Paige’s fumble recovery, the first turnover of the game, gave Michigan the ball at midfield with a chance to make the Nittany Lions pay. It was here that Michigan’s bold second half strategy began to play out. Though the drive started in Penn State territory – at the 49 – it consumed more than 8 minutes of game clock, largely because Michigan ran the ball 12 straight plays. This old-school style strategy of running exclusively befuddled me in real time, and at times I grew frustrated by our unwillingness to let JJ throw, especially on 3rd and goal from the Penn State 10-yard line (Edwards took it 6 yards to the 4). James Turner nailed a 22-yard field goal to cap the drive, giving Michigan an important but not-so-comfortable 8 point advantage. 

Punters Riley Thompson and Tommy Doman sparred next, each punting three times over the next six possessions. Michigan’s defense played outstanding during this stretch, limiting Penn State to 23 yards total on their next four possessions, while Sherrone Moore’s handcuffing of McCarthy continued to frustrate. Yet the war of attrition worked, despite my frustration with the strategy. With Michigan ahead 17-9, the clock ticked and ticked; ultimately it forced Penn State into desperation mode. With less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Lions abandoned their run game and put their hopes in Allar’s arm. He threw three straight incompletions, none of which were really close; the last of these was a duck that landed nowhere near a receiver on 4th and 6 from their own 30, resulting in a turnover on downs. The decision to go for it on 4th down from their own 30 constituted a massive gamble – an unwise one, at that – for Franklin, who probably had his history of big game losses in mind when he made the call. The crowd moaned, mixed with some boos. “These fans are not happy with the offense,” Gus Johnson observed.

Franklin’s recklessness felt like a gift as Michigan took possession at the Penn State 30; we needed only a field goal to go up two scores, perhaps ten yards to make it a chip shot. A touchdown sounded even better. On the very next play, Corum made Franklin and the Nittany Lions pay for the decision. Taking a handoff from JJ, Blake found a huge hole created by the O-line and dashed 30 yards to the endzone, breaking Penn State’s spirit. His eighteenth touchdown of the year put the Wolverines up 24-9 with only 4:15 remaining. In total, Blake the Great carried the ball 26 times for a season-high 145 yards. He appeared in post-game interviews with a nasty gash on the bridge of his nose, blood trickling down, making for one of the season’s iconic photographs that encapsulated the team’s spirit. 

Penn State answered with a touchdown on their next drive, an 8-play drive that ate up 2:16 of clock and culminated in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Allar to Theo Johnson. Then, in another controversial decision, Franklin went for two in an attempt to cut the score to 7, essentially putting the game on the line then and there. The two-point conversion failed. Citing analytics, Ross said it was the right call to go for 2, but I disagreed. The 9 point lead, as opposed to an 8 point lead, made it a two-score game. It also made me a hell of a lot more comfortable. 

Penn State’s ensuing onside kick failed. Leading 24-15, Michigan got the ball back at the PSU 43-yard line with 1:53 remaining. Sticking to the second half script, they gave the ball to Corum three times, the third resulting in the dagger first down. McCarthy then kneeled twice to close it out. Michigan finished the game with 32 straight rushing attempts, a stat that certainly made Harbaugh – watching from the hotel – proud, for it harkened back to Bo Schembechler and the glory days of smashmouth football. Harbaugh’s absence was also a testament to the team and staff, who persevered through a difficult week, using the suspension as a rallying cry (“Michigan vs. Everybody” was now the rally cry of the fanbase as well). They passed their first big test.

In a post-game interview with FOX’s Jenny Taft, Sherrone Moore endeared himself to Michigan fans by letting his emotions spill out, delivering one of the most memorable post-game interviews of my lifetime. “Coach Harbaugh, I fucking love you man,” Moore said with tears streaming down his cheeks, “I love the shit out of you man. I did this for you!” He embraced a bloodied Corum, ending the interview by insisting Taft talk to the players. In my apartment, I beamed with pride. Corum gave his interview with blood still trickling from the cut between his eyes, one that required stitches post-game. 

During and after this one – it truly felt like a special game – the BOX House group chat was electric. “Corum looks like a fucking warrior,” I wrote. “This team is full of fighters.” Later, someone mentioned the bad ass comment Trevor Keegan made during a post-game interview in regards to the team embracing the role of villain. “A storm is coming?” Keegan said, “Nah. We are the storm.”

During halftime shows the rest of the day, analysts gasped at the stat showing Michigan threw no official passes in the second half – truly an absurd stat. Some of the analysts, including Joel Klatt, who called the game for FOX, implied it was a “fuck you” strategy, a tactic to demonstrate superiority in the trenches and humiliate Penn State. Though a little far-fetched, that sounded awesome. The only negative takeaway from the rest of the day’s games was that Ohio State, Georgia, and Washington looked dominant as well. All in all, it was hard to think of a more emotionally-satisfying Michigan win – excluding perhaps the previous two victories over OSU – in my lifetime, at least not since 1997. 

Capping an awesome day, the team made an appearance at Yost Ice Arena Saturday night, arriving back in Ann Arbor just in time for the Michigan hockey game against Minnesota. Yost erupted upon their arrival, breaking out into chants of “Free Jim Harbaugh.” Harbaugh smiled and raised the hand of Sherrone Moore before he and the team led the arena in a spirited rendition of “The Victors.” Corum, now stitched up, sported a “Michigan vs. Everybody” sweatshirt along with the beanie he wore during pregame warmups in Happy Valley, prompting me to wonder where I could get my hands on either item.