Michigan got a win in Happy Valley, but it’s hardly the focal point of Week 11.
Michigan played its fourth game of the season without head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh began serving his second suspension of the season after the Big Ten imposed a three-game ban for breaking sportsmanship rules against on-site scouting of opponents’ signs. And the Wolverines played, for the first time this season, against an opponent that actually seemed as if it might have a shot to win.
All of this constituted potentially seismic shifts in the Big Ten’s power structure, and yet, when the dust settled on Michigan’s 24-15 win, we were left with the same story we’ve seen all season.
Michigan won, and although the game was ostensibly close for much of the way, the Wolverines were never in real danger.
Penn State lost, and James Franklin is now 4-16 against Michigan and Ohio State in his career in Happy Valley.
Harbaugh’s future remains in doubt, but his impact was felt all the same, as Michigan’s players spent Friday on social media promising to send a message and spent Saturday on the field at Beaver Stadium emphatically punishing Penn State for perceived crimes against them levied by — well, as their beanies and T-shirts indicated, everybody.
Blake Corum and other Michigan players wearing «Michigan vs Everybody» beanies today. pic.twitter.com/SGFdyO6b7g
(If you’re keeping track, it’s Michigan vs. Everybody and Ohio State vs. the world. We’re not entirely sure either side wants to take on the SEC, though.)
The Wolverines were relentless on offense, running the ball again and again and again — at one point on 20 straight snaps — against an exhausted Penn State defense. They moved the ball a few yards at a time, methodically demoralizing the Nittany Lions, death by a thousand paper cuts, until Blake Corum sniffed the end zone and ended the misery.
Penn State was listless on offense, ignoring, once again, any thought of a downfield passing game and leaving Drew Allar to dance around the backfield, looking off one target after another before checking down for another lost cause. If Michigan overwhelmed Penn State 3 yards at a time, the Nittany Lions demoralized their own fans by moving the ball 3 inches at a time.
Even if Michigan had all of Penn State’s signs, a CliffsNotes version of the Lions’ playbook and James Franklin’s ATM pin code, none of it would’ve been necessary.
So after a season in which Michigan’s first nine games were little more than batting practice before Saturday’s showdown with Penn State, this should feel like something significant, an official announcement that, in spite of any schedule-based skepticism, Michigan is a championship contender.
But no. The story is about Harbaugh, a story written in court filings and message board furor and breaking news alerts.
It was a story told through Sherrone Moore, working as interim coach Saturday, sobbing (and dropping a few curse words) in his postgame interview.
