Report Card: Grading Michigan In A 28-21 Loss At Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, PA – Grading all aspects of Michigan’s 28-21 loss at Penn State:

It’s cliché, but the pass did seem to open up the run when U-M got the offense going in the third quarter. The Wolverines ran 12 times for 59 yards in that frame (4.9 yards per carry), while freshman Zach Charbonnet had 75 yards and two scores on 11 carries through three, averaging 6.8 per rush.

But Michigan managed only 17 yards on 10 carries in the fourth quarter … winning time. The team finished with 141 yards and three touchdowns on the ground but only 3.4 per rush and didn't have a carry go for more than 14 yards.

Charbonnet was the only Wolverine with a clip higher than 2.8 yards (5.4).

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Senior quarterback Shea Patterson had one of his best games in a Michigan uniform, completing 24 of 41 passes for 276 yards, but a horrible interception on a screen pass led to a Penn State touchdown. The team that wins the turnover battle usually wins the game … and it was 1-0 PSU.

Pass protection was as good at it’s been all year, Patterson getting sacked only once, and he did a better job staying in the pocket and surveying the field. The drops, of course, were critical, and some head-scratching pass interference penalties (and lack of some others) hindered the effort.

The Wolverines averaged 11.5 yards per completion.

Penn State managed 101 yards rushing, but 44 came on one play. Starting running back Noah Cain finished with only 19 yards, and 13 came on one carry. The Wolverines were stout against the run.

They also did a good job slowing quarterback Sean Clifford and preventing him from scrambling. They held him to only 17 yards (10 yards on one carry) and a score while he finished with 1.5 yards per carry.

It was all or nothing, as it often is for the Michigan defense against a good team. There were too many big plays in the passing game, including touchdowns of 17, 25 and 53 yards, the latter the difference in the game on a blown coverage. Clifford averaged 13 yards per completion and was solid despite being pressured often and sacked twice.

Big plays in the passing game are killers, and they were the difference in this game.

Sophomore kicker Jake Moody never should have been put in position to attempt a 58-yarder before the half. He was several yards short on his only attempt.

Redshirt junior punter Will Hart had an early opportunity to get momentum for the defense by pinning PSU deep, but he put the ball in the end zone. He still averaged 46 yards per punt, though, and the punt coverage was outstanding, allowing just seven yards on three runbacks.

U-M’s return teams did nothing (again) — they had a 14-yard punt return, but finished with a total of only 12 on five runbacks — and KJ Hamler’s 40-yard kick return would have been a touchdown if not for a penalty.

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