No. 6 Michigan stares down rival
It doesn’t get any easier for Michigan, even though its blowout victory over Wisconsin last week seemed like a cakewalk. Rivalry games will do that.
Sitting at No. 6 in the latest Associated Press poll, its highest ranking since the end of the 2016 regular season, Michigan (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) now heads across the state to face No. 23 Michigan State. The Spartans (4-2, 2-1) are coming off a road upset of then-No. 8 Penn State.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged Monday in his weekly press conference there’s extra emotion surrounding Saturday’s noon ET kickoff in East Lansing, though he said that’s normally been the case when the Wolverines battle the Spartans.
“It always has, is and always will be,” Harbaugh said.
The Wolverines dominated a good Wisconsin team, 38-13, outgaining the Badgers 444-283. They’ve held four straight opponents below 300 yards and kept each foe this season well below their season average for total offense.
Michigan State isn’t particularly potent offensively, ranking 80th in FBS in total offense (394.5 yards per game) and tied for 95th in yards per play (5.33). The same can’t be said for the Spartan defense, which just held Penn State to 17 points — 32.6 below its average — and is tops in the nation against the run, allowing 62.3 yards per game and just 2.34 yards per carry.
“They’re very stout up front,” Harbaugh said of the Spartans. “They’ve got some real hard-playing guys. Linebackers that are some of the best in the league. Very sound system. They do a great job of adjusting. They have a lot of variation to their scheme.”
Michigan ran for a season-high 320 yards against Wisconsin, aided by 156 rushing yards from its three quarterbacks including an 81-yard scamper by Shea Patterson (as well as a seven-yard touchdown run) and a 44-yard score from Dylan McCaffrey. For the season the Wolverines are gaining 217 yards per game on the ground, which would be their highest average since 2011.
“I think each one of them, the starting offensive lineman, are playing their best football,” Harbaugh said.
