The No. 25 Michigan Wolverines managed another win over the Michigan State Spartans under head coach Sherrone Moore — this time in East Lansing. While the 31-20 final score isn’t the dominant performance anyone wanted to see, it’s a win in a rivalry game with a true freshman quarterback and a young offensive line. On defense, yeah, there were some breakdowns, but also several bright spots, including linebacker Jimmy Rolder’s performance and some nice coverage thanks to the defensive backs.
Here are
this week’s winners and losers from Michigan’s win on the road.
LB Jimmy Rolder — Winner
Linebacker Jimmy Rolder was the talk of the game. He came away with two huge fourth-down stops in the fourth quarter, and also recovered a fumble in the first quarter by somehow managing to keep his body inbounds right on the sideline. The linebacker unit continues to be one of the strengths this season, and Rolder proved it again this week. He ended the night with 10 tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry.
Second quarter — Loser
Look, the second quarter was when most of us started to question some things, right? Michigan gave up 89 total yards, with 71 of those on the ground in the quarter. Poor tackling reared its ugly head again, and it looked like this may just be close the entire game. The Spartans outscored the Wolverines, 7-0, and held Michigan to just 33 total yards in the second quarter. Definitely 15 minutes of football we’d all like to put behind us.
Edge rushers — Winner
Michigan’s edge rushers were impressive in this one as well. Derrick Moore ended the night with six tackles, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. TJ Guy also had his first sack of the season on Saturday night. They helped limit Michigan State’s offense greatly by putting constant pressure on quarterback Aidan Chiles and wreaking havoc on the MSU offensive line.
Final defensive stand — Loser
The fact Michigan State was able to score on its final possession of the game is a bit disheartening. A penalty from freshman cornerback Shamari Earls negated a sack on third down and kept Michigan State on the field, and a roughing the passer on Jaishawn Barham also did Michigan no favors. Michigan eventually gave up a touchdown, and while the end score doesn’t really matter, it would have been nice to see some more discipline at the end of the game.
Red zone offense — Winner
Michigan had to settle for a field goal on its first trip to the red zone, but the offense scored touchdowns on the other three possessions. It’s nice to see the Wolverines getting seven points in those situations because it’s certainly not always a guarantee. The play calling by offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey that led to Underwood’s touchdown run was great.
RB Justice Haynes’ fumble — Loser
Running back Justice Haynes had an overall excellent night — rushing for 152 yards and two touchdowns — and it looked like he hadn’t missed a beat despite an injury sidelining him for the last 1.5 games. That was until he lost a fumble late in the game. While the turnover didn’t end up costing Michigan the game, you want to see that focus until the final whistle, especially from one of your best players.
We know the team wins and loses together, but who would you say won the day, and who could use some improvement heading into next week? Let us know in the comments!
