STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Despite not having coach Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines, the Michigan Wolverines shrugged off the media circus surrounding the program and dominated the 9th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions 24-15 on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours before kickoff, Harbaugh was informed by the Big Ten Conference and commissioner Tony Petitti that he must serve a three-game suspension as punishment for Michigan for an in-person scouting and sign-stealing operation the Big Ten determined violated its sportsmanship policy. Harbaugh was not informed of the decision until after the teams' plane had landed.
After the game, running back Blake Corum — showing off a bloodied bridge nose — credited the Harbaugh's suspension as the inspiration behind Michigan's dominant performance.
“We’re one. It made us stronger,” said Corum. “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 had a banner day, carrying the ball 26 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns, to help lead a Michigan (10-0, 7-0, No. 3 CFP) rushing attack that ran the football on all 30 offensive plays of the second half. The lone pass attempt made by J.J. McCarthy in the second half drew passing interference call.
And while McCarthy was only 7 of 8 for 60 yards passing on the day, he still made a few key plays with his arm and legs.
On Penn State's second possession of the game, they would manage to drive down the field and become the first team all season to produce a first-and-goal situation against Michigan.
But the Wolverines' defense would keep the Nittany Lions out of the end zone and force a 21-yard field goal with 2:17 left in the first quarter.
Corum and Michigan would respond with a 75-yard drive, that ended with a 3-yard run from Corum less than four minutes into the second quarter to give Michigan a 7-3 lead.
After forcing another Nittany Lion punt, the Wolverines would go on the march again. Facing a third-and-long situation, Donovan Edwards would beat the Penn State blitz with a 22-yard touchdown run to extend Michigan's lead to 14-3 with 6:07 left before halftime.
The Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-3, No. 10 CFP) answered with a touchdown drive themselves, needing to convert two fourth down plays along the way. Then Drew Allar would weave his way 11 yards on a quarterback draw for the score. In an odd decision, Penn State chose to go for the 2-point conversion, but came up empty and it was 14-9 Michigan at the half.
It was the closest halftime margin the Wolverines had faced all season.
Michigan would force a turnover to begin the second half, stripping the ball from Allar at midfield.
The Wolverines would turn the takeaway into a 45-yard drive — all runs — that resulted in just a 22-yard field goal James Turner. But the damage had already been done, as the Michigan offense took 8:04 off the clock in the third quarter and put the Wolverines up eight.
Facing a fourth-and-six with less than five minutes remaining, Allar would find himself under pressure and make an errant that landed incomplete, turning the ball back over to the Wolverines.
Corum would score on the very next play with a 30-yard dash to seal it with 4:15 left.
Penn State would piece together a touchdown drive on their ensuing possession, as Allar would hit Theo Johnson for an 8-yard score with 1:59 remaining to make the score 24-15.
But instead of kicking the extra point to make it a one-possession game, Penn State elected to go for two again, but Allar's pass would sail out the back of the end zone to all but close the books on a Nittany Lions comeback.
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