College Football

Without Jim Harbaugh, Michigan grinds out emotional win at Penn State, 24-15

Updated Nov. 11, 2023 3:53 p.m. ET

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Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Imagine the feeling for Michigan's players and coaches when they awoke in the team hotel on Saturday morning and had no idea who would lead them onto the field at Beaver Stadium in a few short hours. 

Would it be their head coach, Jim Harbaugh, who was slapped with his second three-game suspension of the season when the Big Ten doled out its punishment for violations of the league's sportsmanship policy the previous afternoon? Or would it be someone else — a coordinator or position coach — elevated to the role of interim head coach if the Wolverines' attempt to fight the Big Ten's decision in court proved unsuccessful or inconclusive ahead of a noon kickoff in Happy Valley?

The answer to that question hinged on the decision of a judge from Michigan, in Washtenaw County, whose responsibility was to read the documents filed by Harbaugh and the university's Board of Regents on Friday evening and determine whether a temporary restraining order was warranted. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. Kickoff approached without a peep from the state's 22nd Circuit Court.

Shortly before 10:30 a.m., word came down that no ruling would be made ahead of the Wolverines' high-profile contest with Penn State. Instead, an in-person hearing was scheduled for Nov. 17, the day before Michigan's next game against Maryland. Harbaugh would be forced to watch the Penn State game from the team hotel. 

What he saw was the kind of performance that likely pleased his throwback soul: a run-first, run-second and run-third approach from acting head coach Sherrone Moore that sucked the life from a crowd of 110,856 with modest gain after modest gain for death by way of paper cuts. Michigan ran the ball 46 times and only passed it eight times but still beat the Nittany Lions going away, holding them to six points in the second half. 

The Wolverines improved to 10-0 with another commanding 24-15 victory. 

[Why Michigan was prepared for this Big Ten decision, and what comes next]

Here are some quick takeaways from Beaver Stadium: 

Play of the game

Desperate to give his team a chance in the waning minutes, Penn State head coach James Franklin kept his offense on the field for fourth-and-6 from his own 30-yard line late in the fourth quarter. A slew of Michigan defenders converged on quarterback Drew Allar (10-for-22, 70 yards) to force a poorly timed, desperation throw that could have been flagged for intentional grounding. It bounced helplessly across the middle with nary a receiver in sight.

One play later, and nursing a 17-9 lead that felt like a chasm, Michigan handed the ball to tailback Blake Corum for the exclamation point that felt inevitable: a 30-yard touchdown run in which he burst through the left side of the line of scrimmage untouched. He split the gap between the left tackle and tight end AJ Barner to scamper toward the left pylon with a sea of deflated Nittany Lions in his wake. 

Corum's second touchdown of the game with 4:15 remaining gave the Wolverines an insurmountable 15-point lead and sent scores of fans toward the exits. 

Michigan's Blake Corum rushes for a 30-yard touchdown to increase Wolverines' lead over Penn State

Turning point

Perched high above the Beaver Stadium grass, nearly everyone in the press box saw what should have been a surefire touchdown for Penn State early in the third quarter. From his position in the slot, wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith found himself one-on-one with a Michigan safety in the deep middle of the field. He faked to his right, stuck his foot in the ground, and veered back to his left to leave a gulf between himself and the defender.

But the pass never came.

Though he appeared to have enough time in the pocket, Allar eschewed the long pass in favor of a check-down to the flat. A stadium's worth of groans swiftly followed. For a passing attack that struggled to create big plays all season, a miss of that import was difficult for the home fans to swallow. Allar fumbled two plays later to give the ball back to the Wolverines. 

What followed was one of Michigan's most important drives of the season, even if it finished shy of the end zone. Led by McCarthy, whose dual-threat ability frustrated the Nittany Lions all afternoon, the Wolverines chewed up more than eight minutes of clock with a 13-play, 45-yard march that never featured a pass. The ensuing 22-yard field goal from James Turner extended Michigan's lead to 17-9 with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter.

No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 10 Penn State highlights

Key stat

A distinct speed advantage for Penn State's edge rushers against Michigan's offensive tackles meant McCarthy faced near-constant pressure on his first two offensive possessions. With Chop Robinson bearing down on McCarthy from one side and Dani Dennis-Sutton harassing him from the other, the Wolverines managed just 11 yards on eight plays, punting twice.

The inability to execute a traditional drop-back passing game forced Michigan to lean more heavily on its rushing attack than it had in recent weeks, even with the Nittany Lions ranking second nationally against the run. Moore embraced a play-calling philosophy reminiscent of what the Wolverines ran a season ago, before McCarthy developed into the seasoned passer he is today, and two years ago when Cade McNamara oversaw a game-control offense.

Through the first three quarters against Penn State, Michigan ran the ball more than four times as often as McCarthy threw it. He completed a pass to tight end Colston Loveland for zero yards with 7:41 remaining and didn't attempt another until the 12:11 mark of the fourth quarter to draw a critical pass interference penalty — meaning even that one didn't count. He finished the game without attempting an official pass in the second half.

Instead, the Wolverines bludgeoned Penn State with 46 carries for 227 yards and three scores to average 4.9 yards per carry against a defense that surrendered just 2 yards per carry through its first nine games. 

What's next for Michigan?

The most pressing item on Michigan's agenda this week is the hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday to assess the validity of Harbaugh's request for a temporary restraining order. If things go the Wolverines' way in the courtroom, then Harbaugh can be back on the sideline next Saturday against Maryland. When the schedules were first released, a trip to Maryland one week before hosting Ohio State in the regular season finale felt like a potential trap game. But after the Terrapins began the season 5-0, head coach Mike Locksley's team entered the weekend on a four-game losing streak to Ohio State, Illinois, Northwestern and Penn State. Michigan is in a great position to extend its undefeated record. 

'We did this for you' – Michigan acting HC Sherrone Moore is emotional after huge win vs. Penn State

What's next for Penn State?

In a literal sense, what's next for Penn State is another home game against Rutgers next weekend and a neutral site date with Michigan State to end the regular season on Nov. 24. But the only thing fans in State College will want to talk about is what's next for the Nittany Lions philosophically after another missed opportunity against a top-five team, another missed opportunity to prove they belong with the big boys in the Big Ten East. For the second consecutive season — and for what feels like the umpteenth time in Franklin's tenure — Penn State is staring at another potential 10-2 record with the only losses coming to Michigan and Ohio State. The breakthrough still hasn't happened. 

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

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College Football

Michigan Wolverines

Penn State Nittany Lions

CFB - Michigan Wolverines vs. Penn State Nittany Lions - 11/11/2023

J.J. McCarthy

Drew Allar

Blake Corum

AJ Barner

KeAndre Lambert-Smith

James Turner

Michael Cohen