Out-energized, outplayed, outcoached.
Add it up, and it amounts to one of the worst losses in recent Michigan football history, a 27-24 setback to an undermanned Michigan State team.
U-M’s group of highly recruited four-stars came out like they expected their rivals to roll over after week one games in which Michigan won big (against what we now know was a bad Minnesota team) and MSU turned it over seven times in a loss to Rutgers.
But the Spartans weren’t going to cough it up that many times Saturday, one of the reasons some thought this game could be closer than expected. They still had Mark Dantonio’s DNA, and frankly, a lot of his game plan on both sides of the ball.
On offense, they chucked it deep and hoped for the best against U-M’s suspect secondary. They could have done nothing else all game and might have won given Michigan’s ineptitude in the backfield, stubbornness and unwillingness to adjust. Instead they gained confidence and found some seams in the defense, turning the page and riding a freshman wide receiver (Ricky White, 196 yards) to a win.
Defensively, they clogged the middle with some A gap blitzes, but more than anything they were more physical at the point of attack and simply won the battles up front. U-M’s pass rush was non-existent, the blitzes didn’t get home and the corners couldn’t cover anyone.
