U-M overwhelms PSU, tempers flare at halftime

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- No. 5 Michigan bullied No. 10 Penn State connected Saturday, from the enactment of scrimmage to the scoreboard to the recently named Lloyd Carr Tunnel astatine Michigan Stadium.

Tempers flared arsenic some teams entered the shared passageway with the Wolverines holding a 16-14 halftime lead. While video showed the teams exchanging verbal volleys, the concern ne'er became physical.

"How they were emotionally each game, I wouldn't beryllium amazed if [it was] them starting it," Wolverines backmost J.J. McCarthy said of the altercation. "We conscionable finished it."

Michigan antiaircraft lineman Mike Morris said the standoff stemmed from Penn State players talking trash connected societal media earlier the game.

"We each told each other, 'They privation to person those Twitter fingers, they privation to speech connected societal media,' and past they didn't speech connected the field," Morris said. "They wanted to speech astatine halftime due to the fact that they got lucky."

After dominating the stat expanse but not the scoreboard successful the archetypal half, the Wolverines finished Penn State with a resounding 3rd 4th en way to a 41-17 victory. Michigan took immoderate clip to propulsion distant but held monolithic advantages successful rushing yards (418-111), archetypal downs (28-10) and possession clip (41:56-18:04).

In a crippled successful which Penn State concisely had much touchdowns (2) than archetypal downs (1), Michigan looked each spot similar the defending Big Ten champion and a squad poised to propulsion Ohio State for the league crown and a apt College Football Playoff spot.

"Like Coach [Jim] Harbaugh said successful the locker room, 'It was a butt-kicking successful each which mode a butt could beryllium kicked,'" McCarthy said. "Just being capable to bash it successful the manner that we did was conscionable awesome to see. Obviously, the archetypal half, we privation it went a small antithetic mode scoreboard-wise, but they lone had 1 archetypal down and we had 18. We'll instrumentality that immoderate time of the week."

Harbaugh was much diplomatic but intelligibly pleased, acknowledging that Michigan's line-of-scrimmage dominance is his favourite mode to triumph games. Despite a 6-0 start, Michigan had not been afloat branded a CFP contender due to the fact that of its competition. Penn State besides came successful undefeated but was nary lucifer for the Wolverines.

"The squad made a existent affirmative connection today," Harbaugh said. "They telephone it a connection game? OK, it's a connection game."

Harbaugh's squad wasn't acrophobic astatine halftime, adjacent though it led by lone 2 points aft holding Penn State backmost Sean Clifford to 17 passing yards, the lowest for a Nittany Lions starter since astatine slightest 2004, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Penn State allowed much rushing yards to Michigan than it had successful its erstwhile 5 games (399), arsenic Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum combined for 339 yards and 4 touchdowns. Michigan's inability to person reddish portion opportunities into touchdowns plagued the discourtesy successful the archetypal half, but Edwards and Corum had touchdown runs of 67 and 61 yards, respectively, successful the 3rd 4th to interruption the crippled open.

"I consciousness similar [I've] been [ready] for a crippled similar this for a portion now," said Edwards, who missed 2 games with a limb wounded successful September. "I had to conscionable beryllium backmost and hold my crook and amusement the satellite what I'm susceptible of being capable to do."

Corum has 666 rushing yards successful his past 4 games, the astir by a Michigan subordinate since backmost Denard Robinson successful 2010 and the astir by a Wolverines moving backmost since Mike Hart successful 2004, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Hart, who had a aesculapian exigency connected the sideline past week astatine Indiana and had to beryllium hospitalized, returned to his duties arsenic moving crippled coordinator Saturday.

Corum and Edwards became the archetypal Michigan tandem to each eclipse 150 rushing yards and grounds aggregate rushing touchdowns since 2017.

"Blake's truly fast, Donovan's truly fast," Harbaugh said. "When they get successful the open, they're rolling."

McCarthy, who threw his archetypal interception of the play past week astatine Indiana, had a walk tipped, intercepted and returned for a touchdown successful the 2nd quarter. He had a season-low 145 passing yards arsenic a starter but added 57 rushing yards successful the win.

"I support saying week-to-week that I request to usage my legs more," McCarthy said. "When you spell backmost to the 2019 play and [former LSU quarterback] Joe Burrow and everything helium was capable to bash with that, and I'm faster than Joe Burrow, truthful I should beryllium capable to bash it."

Clifford near the crippled successful the 2nd fractional with an wounded and was replaced by heralded existent freshman Drew Allar, who completed 5 of 10 passes for 37 yards. Michigan had 2 sacks and 5 backmost hurries.

Other than Clifford's 62-yard tally to acceptable up a first-half touchdown, Penn State had 49 nett rushing yards connected 21 carries.

"People look astatine it arsenic we haven't played anybody, but successful reality, we have, and we showed up and showed out," said Morris, who had a tackle for loss, a walk breakup and a backmost hurry. "Now radical accidental we haven't played anybody, and present Penn State, again, we showed up and we showed up. That communicative tin support going, but we're successful the concern of proving radical wrong."