For as nasty as the Michigan-Michigan State football rivalry has been over the years, Saturday’s edition of the battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy was relatively tame.
This was not an accident. Head coach Sherrone Moore had stressed to his team about worrying about their own game rather than getting caught up in the raucous of an East Lansing environment and a Spartans squad in desperate need of a victory. Team in those situations can sometimes use outlandish methods to level the playing field, but
the Wolverines did not succumb to any distractions and played a mostly clean game, winning 31-20.
“I think the biggest thing that we said is play with emotion, not emotional. Don’t react and respond … so take a deep breath if something happens, and don’t just immediately react and try to defend yourself from doing things. We know you’re tough. We know the deal,” Moore said on the Inside Michigan Football radio show on Monday.
Moore also had to enter this contest confident in his dynamic running back duo of Justice Haynes, who returned from injury, and Jordan Marshall, who looks like one of the best RB2s in the nation. They combined for 262 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 41 carries.
Even with a banged up offensive line, Moore and his staff recognized that leaning on the rushing attack and making life easier for Bryce Underwood was a far more efficient game plan than playing into the emotional rivalry more than necessary.
There is certainly a line to straddle, and bringing a physical, tenacious brand is particularly crucial in those heated matchups. But, this is also not a flashy program, and committing to possession ball and trench dominance is the only real recipe for success.
Quick Hitters
- How does running backs coach Tony Alford balance his weapons?
- Haynes has clearly been the lead back this year, and Marshall is a more than serviceable backup option, but how does Alford determine their splits? “We don’t go into (formulating a game plan) based on who’s in the game. Now, there’s certain plays … like, we want Jordan in here on this particular play, we want Justice on this play. We can do that by the personnel decisions. Or I can just hear it and say, ‘Listen, I want him in on this particular play.’” While Marshall may be better-suited for short-yardage situations, it is encouraging Alford can mix and match and not miss a beat.
- Marshall ‘takes pride’ in pass protection
- Beyond Marshall’s downhill, angry running style, he said on the show how much he cares about protecting his quarterback in passing downs: “I just want to be able to protect Bryce when I’m back there in the backfield … I take pride in that, and that’s something that I always take pride in is protecting my quarterback.” He also credited fullback Max Bredeson for being “probably the most impactful player” on the team. No wonder he takes his blocking responsibilities so seriously.
- Mostly mum on Rod Moore
- The star safety did not suit up against Michigan State, and with Purdue on the horizon, it feels unwise to rush him back. But when will we see him again? “I think he’ll get back to a little bit more activity this weekend than he did last week. But I’m not in his body and I’m not going to force him to do anything, so we’re going to make sure that he feels right before he gets back,” Sherrone Moore said.
