Purdue, which turned it over four times, pulled within 14-10 late in the second quarter on Blough’s 48-yard touchdown pass to Bilal Marshall. Michigan WR Amara Darboh has scored in three straight games and has a 23-game streak with a reception. And with the No. 4 Wolverines’ start-to-finish pummeling of Penn State, he’s only bolstered the argument, as MI appears to possess all the makings of a legitimate national title contender.
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The most interesting story from yesterday wasn’t even the claim by quarterback Wilton Speight that the MI offense ran the same running play eight or nine times in a row during the third quarter against a demoralized Penn State defense, though this one might deserve an honorable mention.
Still, there were some positive performances by the Nittany Lions. He gained 59 yards on 15 carries, then caught five passes for 77 yards to lead Penn State in each category.
Saturday’s game was not a good one for the Penn State offense. The good news is that Penn State is much better at home, but faces a Gophers team that can run the ball downhill just as MI did. Smith is the classic bruiser, Evans and Higdon add some speed around the corners, Isaac is a workhorse, and Hill and Johnson are great short-yardage/goal-line backs.
Both sides were battling to find the net but it was the Nittany Lions who would earn the golden opportunity when Wisconsin fouled the Blue and White inside the box.
Penn State opened on offense, but was flagged on back-to-back penalties out of the gate. But when they did, it was due to Barkley.
After a slow start last week against Colorado, Michigan was looking to bounce back in a big way as Big Ten season kicked off on Saturday.
Jabrill Peppers is one of the best players in college football. This was on display on Saturday. But freshman Cam Brown did well to get 10 tackles. In no world should he now be playing meaningful reps in college football, but due to a variety of issues, that’s the position he finds himself in.
Nebraska players Michael Rose-Ivey, Daishon Neal and Mohamed Barry also kneeled before the No. 20 Cornhuskers’ game at Northwestern. Personally, I am excited to see what he can do.
They had gotten off to a slower start this year, but MI flexed the muscle once again and reminded everyone just how good they are on that side of the ball. The timetable for injured starters Jason Cabinda and Brandon Bell remains unclear. Facing a fourth-and-seven from Penn State’s 24-yard line – and well within field goal range – Harbaugh chose to go for it again, and it paid off thanks to a nine-yard scramble from Speight on a broken play.
But redshirt freshman Deondre Francois and the defense continue to be a work in progress for the Seminoles, leaving Fisher upset with his team’s effort in the second half during which it gave up three USF touchdowns. Gillikin finished the game with six punts and 270 yards for an average of 45 yards per punt. As a result of the Nittany Lions having a severe problem moving the football, Gillikin was called upon early and often.
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That will, mercifully, do it for this game. The Nittany Lions managed just 16 total yards in the first quarter as MI raced out to a 14-0 lead. McSorley was sacked twice and pushed back to the one-yard line as the Nittany Lions went three-and-out.
