Michigan Wolverines football freshman wide receiver Andrel Anthony had the first six catches of his career against Michigan State. (USA TODAY Sports Images)
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Most Valuable Player
Junior running back Kenneth Walker III made history by becoming the first opposing player to rush for five touchdowns against Michigan. He ran 23 times for 197 yards (8.6 yards per carry). Walker found pay dirt on two fourth-quarter daggers, from 58 and 23 yards out.
Two Key Stats That Told The Story
• Michigan allowed six plays of 20 yards or more, three of them resulting in Walker rushing touchdowns.
The Wolverines were too often out of position or not ready at the snap, substituting late, which caused some confusion. It's been an issue, on and off, all season long. It cost them in this one.
• Michigan settled for four field goals and scored two touchdowns on six red-zone opportunities.
Meat was left on the bone, an issue the team has faced so often has this season.
Best Homecoming
We parked at East Lansing High School Saturday morning, the alma mater of Michigan freshman wide receiver Andrel Anthony, in the same lot that we pulled into for his commitment ceremony last summer.
We thought, "Maybe he'll do something today." Boy, did he.
After playing a career-high 36 snaps against Northwestern last week, notching one rush for six yards, Anthony had a breakout performance for the ages — in his hometown, in front of family and friends.
On third-and-five three plays into Michigan's first offensive drive, Anthony had a 93-yard catch and run to the end zone, marking his first career reception and the second-longest touchdown in program history. He followed that up with several more big catches, totaling six grabs for a game-high 155 yards, including a 17-yard score late in the third quarter.
No, Michigan State redshirt sophomore quarterback Payton Thorne, who looked like the best signal-caller on paper heading into the game, was not the best at his position Saturday. He connected on 19 of 30 passes for 196 yards and two interceptions.
That title belonged to Michigan redshirt freshman Cade McNamara, who was under the microscope after struggling to complete downfield throws against Northwestern a week ago. In a bounce-back performance, McNamara completed 28 of 44 attempts for a career-high 383 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. He picked up seven of Michigan's eight third-down conversions with his arm.
That leads us to one of the most head-scratching aspects of the game ...
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Worst Case Of Overthinking
Michigan has insisted on giving freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy some meaningful snaps ever since the beginning of the month. He's been fine, largely being used in the read-option game, but hasn't added a ton to the offense (his 17-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Saturday was solid).
To say he hasn't been a difference-maker is putting it mildly, and that's fine for a true freshman who has shown flashes in garbage time. His future remains extremely bright, by all accounts.
But he wasn't ready for the moment in this one. Fumbling along the sideline and lucking out that the Spartans didn't scoop up the ball, instead accidentally pushing it out of bounds, was his first big mistake.
Michigan forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with great field position on its own 45-yard line, before McCarthy was put back on the field. He fumbled an attempted handoff, then MSU recovered and took the lead just plays later.
McCarthy is young. He's going to make mistakes, and we're sure he's kicking himself for the big one he made. But for the Michigan coaching staff to put him back in, in that situation, is mind boggling, especially with the way McNamara was playing.
Now, it must be said that McNamara went into the injury tent following the previous drive, and it's unclear whether or not he was available to return at that point. Harbaugh's response in the postgame press conference didn't add much clarity, and all he revealed is that McNamara indeed was banged up.
"He was working through something at that point," the seventh-year head man said.
Worst Calls
Points were left on the field for Michigan in the first half. The Wolverines likely should've had eight more points, but were on the receiving end of some bad calls.
First, Anthony was charged with a phantom holding call on the edge, after sophomore wideout Cornelius Johnson got down to the 5-yard line on an end-around but saw his gain get called back. Michigan settled for a field goal.
Secondly, redshirt freshman outside linebacker David Ojabo stripped Thorne just before halftime, with junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson recovering the fumble in the end zone. Except after review, the officials apparently found an angle — one they didn't provide to the general public? — that showed Thorne's 'shin' was down before the ball came out.
Nobody in the stadium, including the tens of thousands of MSU fans, saw anything close to that after numerous replays were shown on the video board.
After forcing a punt, the Wolverines settled for another field goal.
There were other missed calls, but these were the most notable.
Best Quote
Team captain and sixth-year senior center Andrew Vastardis harped on sticking together and staying the course during his postgame press conference. When asked what makes him confident his group will do that, he said they've done it in the past.
"We’ve gone through it already," he explained. "Last year was hell, and we’ve grown from that. It’s been a whole year together, growing, trusting each other and pushing each other. Adversity hit. It’s hit before. We’re just going to keep growing, keep fighting, keep clawing."
The Wolverines have come a long way in the last calendar year, after posting a 2-4 record in 2020, and still have their goals in front of them this year, though there's less of a margin for error.
