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Michigan football rejoices in the “wonderful feeling” of Michigan State’s win

Posted on by Kennedy
Michigan football rejoices in the “wonderful feeling” of Michigan State’s win

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No one is confusing this Michigan football team with last year's Wolverines.

A season ago, the Wolverines barely broke a sweat as they marched into East Lansing and outpaced their in-state rival, taking their foot off the gas throughout the second half and still putting up nearly 49 points to the Spartans in a shutout to boot.

No, Saturday night in Ann Arbor was nothing like that.

The Wolverines fell behind by an early touchdown and head coach Sherrone Moore had to challenge them (in words he couldn't repeat after the game) on the sideline after they were down 135-15 in the first quarter.

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But then, faced with the prospect of a winless October, things worked out for the Wolverines. There was Davis Warren, the former walk-on quarterback who won the job out of camp, then was benched in Week 3, only to come back and take it again after Jack Tuttle suffered an injury this week.

The senior put together the best game of all three of UM's signal callers this season. He completed 13 of 19 passes for 123 yards, a touchdown and, most importantly, no turnovers – UM's first flawless game of the year.

There was Alex Orji, who had the best game of his career, running six times for 64 yards (more than half of the Wolverines' total on the ground) and a touchdown. There was Donovan Edwards, who continued his perfect passing streak as he threw up a 23-yard touchdown pass and scored two points in the fourth quarter.

And there was tight end Colston Loveland on the receiving end of that throw, as well as Warren's first go-ahead late in the first half. All in all – along with MSU's 6-0 loss in penalties, missing a 25-yard chip shot field goal and fair catch of a ball at its own 5-yard line on a kickoff – Michigan kept it Paul Bunyan Trophy for the third straight season with a 24-17 win.

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“It’s a wonderful feeling,” Edwards said. “Especially an intrastate rivalry. It’s a great feeling to keep Paul at home.”

Although it wasn't a ranking win, it was much needed. One loss and the Wolverines faced the prospect of no more bowl games. While that's still technically a possibility, UM now needs just one win — with Northwestern still on the schedule — to return to the postseason.

It won't be a game they wanted to play in – the Cheez-It Bowl, the Pinstripe Bowl or perhaps the Duke's Mayo Bowl are possibilities – but it will probably be something. This happened because UM played its cleanest game of the season.

“When you lose in general, you don’t have fun,” Moore said after the game. “That was a big piece for me. I wanted the boys to enjoy the moment and embrace it because they deserve it.”

“For me the best thing is that they are having fun and smiling like that. That’s what ultimately drives me.”

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The “what if” game may not be one the Wolverines want to play.

What if Michigan never left Warren after he threw three interceptions against Arkansas State? After all, his other 11 passes were all completed that day. With Saturday as proof, it appears that turnovers can be trained from someone else's game, while learning effective throwing (as required by Orji) is not.

Instead, UM chose Orji and then Tuttle, which was doomed midway through the season. But after Saturday the offensive slowly got going again.

“Never look back and have any regrets,” Moore said. “I've come back to that decision now, I feel good about (Warren) … but I give him credit: he was replaced and he stayed there. The preparation was the same, he was always the same teammate, always the same person. “Only praise” for him, his value and how great a teammate he is.

Warren's game started slowly, with four completions in five attempts in the first 27 minutes. And then in the final two minutes of the half, he completed a crucial third-and-5 to Semaj Morgan for 6 yards, moving the chains.

His next throw was a 15-yarder from the right hash to the left boundary to Peyton O'Leary, followed by an out route to Loveland for 9. Later on the drive, in the final minute, MSU bit hard on a play-action and Warren found Loveland wide open in the back of the end zone.

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“Absolutely,” Loveland said when asked if he was surprised to be so open.

Although Warren only completed three passes in the second half, each one proved crucial.

The first was a 9-yard pass to Morgan on third-and-8. The next was a 23-yard fleaflicker to Tyler Morris to get into the red zone. Then finally a dart to Kendrick Bell, who scored 12 points on third-and-3, one play before Edwards capped the drive with a TD pass to Loveland.

“You better stop discounting him because he has shown time and time again that he can overcome adversity in his personal life and in the football world,” Edwards said of Warren. “He will always overcome adversity.”

I have to bring “the same juice”.

The Wolverines were smiling in the aftermath and ready to move forward.

UM welcomes No. 1 Oregon, undefeated this season, to Ann Arbor on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS). Oregon has scored at least 30 points in each of its last seven games, including a 32-31 home win over Ohio State and a 38-9 win over Illinois – which Michigan just topped by two touchdowns – on Saturday.

Although the calculation of transitive property evaluation may be concerning for the Wolverines, there is renewed energy in Ann Arbor.

“I mean, we just have to keep the juice that we had today,” said defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, who had three tackles (one for a loss) and a fumble recovery. “The juice on the sideline was good, the juice before the game was good, the juice after the game was good. I had to come in on Monday with the same juice, ready to prepare for Oregon.”

If UM is to have a chance in this game, it will need to avoid turnovers again. (It would also be wise not to impose penalties again.) There's more to a team than just recovering a mediocre passing attack.

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The defense did a good job of bending without breaking: It allowed just two points in MSU's four outings inside the red zone. And despite special teams having a bad punt and a botched extra point, Tommy Doman held MSU within its 20 points three times.

It wasn't perfect, but in a season where losses were piling up, there was one goal Saturday: Find a way, some way, to win.

Michigan did it and that's a start. November might not be as fun. But for now, the Wolverines deserve a night to smile about.

“It means a lot to the program to keep Paul here and keep him for another 365,” Moore said with a grin. “It’s great for our kids to get a win and get their confidence back.”

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