Michigan 24, Michigan State 17

 

Colston Loveland (image via MLive)

All hail Davis Warren! I'm not going to pretend that Davis Warren is on track to be J.J. McCarthy, but Warren played his best game of the year in going 13/19 for 123 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. He did not take any sacks and scrambled once for 7 yards. I mentioned on Twitter (before I knew Jack Tuttle would miss the game) that if I were Michigan's coaching staff, I would start Warren and mix in Alex Orji on every third series. Warren got a bad rap early in the year when he made mistakes while other people (Donovan Edwards, Evan Link, Colston Loveland, etc.) were screwing up; Warren took the blame for the team being bad. Now that the offensive line has improved some and other players have adjusted, Warren looks okay. He's not a world-beater, but the kid can play a little bit. I'm happy for him that he got a little bit of redemption. Nobody will ever be able to take away the fact that he quarterbacked Michigan to a rivalry victory over Michigan State.

Hit the jump for more.

Colston Loveland is a gem. As blessed as Michigan has been over the years with good-to-great tight ends, Loveland is the best I've seen in a Michigan uniform - and that game came with Mackey Award-winner Jake Butt broadcasting the game for the Big Ten Network. Loveland's numbers weren't spectacular (6 catches, 67 yards, 2 TD), but he's the only viable pass receiving target on the roster. He did have one drop in the game, which came when he crossed paths with the umpire while the ball was in the air, but his route-running ability, athleticism, and hands make him a ton of fun to watch. Michigan can use him on any kind of route - screens, intermediate routes, and deep routes - and he can both win the route and create some extra yards afterward. I don't know if anyone will have a better run of college tight ends than Miami had (Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow II, Greg Olsen, Randy McMichael, Charles Clay, etc., not to mention basketball player-turned-tight end Jimmy Graham), but here at the end of the Jim Harbaugh, Loveland joining Butt, Erick All, Luke Schoonmaker, Sean McKeon, etc. is a nice capper.

You can take away Mark Dantonio and Mel Tucker, but MSU is still MSU. The chippiness in the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry didn't start with Mark Dantonio, but the run of dirty play in the rivalry did. There are endless clips of Michigan State players twisting ankles, twisting necks, blatantly hitting quarterbacks late, etc. Michigan isn't totally innocent, but MSU goes above and beyond to take the pettiness to unacceptable levels. A few years ago, it was Mark Dantonio and his cronies walking across the field during pre-game warmups and purposefully messing with Devin Bush, Jr. and others who were stretching. There was also the tunnel incident a couple years ago where several Michigan State players jumped Gemon Green and Ja'Den McBurrows. This particular game was competitive but primarily clean - even the targeting call against Michigan State's Jordan Hall wasn't a malicious play - until the final snap. On a kneeldown, Loveland executed a perfectly normal 50% effort block against Michigan State defensive end Anthony Jones. Jones proceeded to shove Loveland after the whistle, then throw a punch/slap that impacted Loveland's helmet. Loveland responded with a head butt, and then Jones tried to put Loveland in a headlock, resulting in the benches clearing, some shoving, and perhaps some punches, etc. It was a pretty embarrassing end, but mostly for Michigan State. If you're MSU at that point, just accept the loss and move on. Both sides knew exactly what was coming - a kneeldown with minimal effort from Michigan's blockers - and one knucklehead in a green uniform had to make it about himself.

"If they wanna get busy, we'll get busy" - Colston Loveland🔥#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/2ZEH7MSzem

— The Winged Helmet (@TWH_Chris) October 27, 2024

Michigan isn't healthy. There are bound to be some injuries throughout a football season, but there are some Michigan injuries that are frustrating/concerning at this point. All-American cornerback Will Johnson missed this game with an injury, and while I'm not questioning his toughness - I'm sure he wanted to play in this game, considering he's a Michigan legacy and he grew up in the state - I'm wondering if his injuries might start affecting his draft status. He was injured to start the 2023 season and has missed two games now in 2024. On top of that, right tackle Andrew Gentry went down with a non-contact injury. Defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny has missed a couple games. Jack Tuttle missed this game after missing the first five contests. Michigan was spoiled in 2023 when virtually every key player was healthy throughout - except Zak Zinter and Benny, who got hurt in the final regular season game and the Rose Bowl, respectively - but this has been a rougher year from a health standpoint.

I was disappointed in Michigan's rush defense. Ultimately, Michigan held Michigan State to 3.9 yards per carry, which is an okay numbers, but running back Nate Carter had way too much success with 19 carries for 118 yards and 1 touchdown, He was particularly successful on a couple 3rd-and-long plays where he gashed Michigan's interior on some zone runs. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is going to have to figure out how to prevent teams from being successful in those situations; it was zone runs in this game on 3rd-and-long, and it was running back draw plays last week against Illinois. Carter is a decent back who showed some really nice balance, but Michigan needs to tackle better, especially since the season ends with Quinshon Judkins and Treveyon Henderson of Ohio State.

The pass defense was okay, though. I was worried that Michigan State receiver Nick Marsh would have himself a good day in the absence of Will Johnson, but Marsh had just 4 catches for 42 yards and 1 touchdown. Obviously, I would like for him not to have scored a touchdown - which came against Aamir Hall in man coverage - but it was far better than what Marsh did against Maryland, which got him close to 200 yards receiving. Cameron Brandt, Derrick Moore, and Josaiah Stewart all notched sacks, including a strip sack of Aidan Chiles (17/23, 189 yards, 1 TD) by Stewart. Chiles was able to complete some short passes and screens, but the lone downfield shot he hit was a seam route to Montorie Foster, Jr. that beat Zeke Berry. Overall, though, I thought the secondary covered pretty well, the pass rush was consistent, and the secondary's tackling was solid, other than on Marsh's touchdown. Cornerback Jyaire Hill stepped up with a solid game in coverage, notching a pass breakup and allowing just 2 catches for 10 yards. It wasn't a stellar day, but in the absence of an All-American cornerback, that should be good enough to win.

Kudos to Kirk Campbell. We've been all over Campbell this season for lots of reasons - poor personnel decisions, questionable play calling, not putting his players in a position to win, etc. This week he moved down from the booth to the sideline - a move Sherrone Moore also made early in his tenure as offensive coordinator - and whether that was the reason or not, the offense seemed to click a little better. I didn't love Campbell's play calling on the second-to-last offensive drive, but there were some masterful calls. Michigan broke out a flea flicker, popped a touchdown to Loveland, ran a toss pass with Donovan Edwards throwing to Loveland, etc., and generally showed some creativity with different formations. I really want to emphasize that I appreciated what he did with Alex Orji, which included creating more +1 run opportunities. This was something he was not doing with consistency early in the season. On top of that, it felt like Michigan leaned on Michigan State a little bit late in the game, using Orji as a battering ram against a tired defense. This is not to say that MSU was worn out by anything Michigan did, but you bring in some fresh legs on a 235 pound body late in a game, do some +1 runs, and good things happen. The Spartans didn't want to tackle Orji late in the game, and it showed. His final rush could have gone for a much bigger gain, but Orji slid to a stop inbounds to keep the clock running and ensure a victory. In some ways, this victory was reminiscent of the last few seasons, where Michigan just wore out defenses in the second half. Michigan doesn't have the talent to truly break teams like they have in the past, but if they can keep games close in the fourth quarter, I think they have the personnel and ability on offense to eke out some extra yardage.

Sad but true. Michigan's last four games are going to be a tough stretch, but with the improvement to 5-3, the Wolverines are now just one win away from bowl eligibility. Obviously, this squad isn't national championship-worthy, but a drop-off to a losing season would be a huge disappointment. I don't care much about bowl game records or anything like that, but bowl games do add 15 practices where players can be developed for the following year. I think it's very important for Michigan to get to 6+ wins this year for multiple reasons, including development, morale, recruiting perceptions, etc. Now Michigan has Oregon, Indiana, Northwestern, and Ohio State on the docket, and they'll likely be underdogs in three of those four games. I'm not ceding any of those games, but a home game against Northwestern on November 23 might loom very large.