With Jim Harbaugh banned by the Big Ten Conference, JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum and No 2 Michigan played unfazed by a scandal that has hounded the program for weeks – and their toughest opponent yet – grinding past No 9 Penn State 24-15 on Saturday.
Corum ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, McCarthy made few key plays with his arms and legs and the Wolverines (10-0, 7-0, No 3 CFP) improved to 3-0 since it was revealed the program was under NCAA investigation for a sign-stealing scheme.
The struggles in big games continued for coach James Franklin and Penn State (8-2, 5-3, No 10 CFP), who scored a combined 26 points in losses to Big Ten East rivals Ohio State and Michigan this season.
In a game Harbaugh no doubt loved from afar, on what turned into a chilly and gray day in Happy Valley, the Wolverines ran the ball on 32 straight plays that counted, starting with the final two of the first half and ending with a couple of kneeldowns.
The 27th run was Corum’s 30-yard touchdown to seal it with 4:15 left.
McCarthy’s lone throw during the streak drew a Penn State pass interference flag. He finished 7 for 8 for 60 yards for the game – officially 0 for 0 in the second half.
It was a matter-of-fact victory for the best scoring defense in the country on a day that began anything but normal.
It was unclear exactly when Michigan knew for certain Harbaugh would not be coaching, but about 90 minutes before kickoff, the school confirmed that a judge had not made a ruling on its request for a temporary restraining order against the Big Ten and commissioner Tony Petitti.
Petitti and the conference handed down what amounted to a three-game suspension of Harbaugh on Friday as punishment for Michigan for an in-person scouting and sign-stealing operation the Big Ten determined violated its sportsmanship policy.
Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore served as acting head coach and led the Wolverines onto the field to start the game.
On Friday, hours after the Big Ten banned Harbaugh from coaching the rest of the Wolverines’ final regular-season games as punishment for an in-person-scouting and sign-stealing operation, the coach and his alma mater filed a request for a temporary restraining order.
Their attorneys asked for a speedy decision from a judge in Washtenaw County, Michigan, that would allow Harbaugh to coach against the Nittany Lions in the top-10 matchup.
“The harm to the university’s student-athletes would be irreversible,” attorneys for Michigan and Harbaugh said in the filing.
But it was to no avail.
“All of the Head Coaches in the Big Ten (some who have been accused of actively participating in the trading of signals of opponents) and my Big Ten AD colleagues can rejoice today that someone was ‘held accountable,’ but they should be worried about the new standard of judgment (without complete investigation) that has been unleashed in this conference,” Manuel said.
Michigan had already played three games this season before Saturday without Harbaugh on the sideline. He served a school-imposed suspension for the team’s first three games as penalty for an unrelated NCAA recruiting violations case.
Michigan let a different assistant assume the role of head coach each week, with Moore getting one game, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter getting another and special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh and running backs coach Mike Hart splitting the third.
The Wolverines easily won all three against East Carolina, Bowling Green and UNLV.
Harbaugh returned in time for the conference schedule.
About two hours and 45 minutes before kickoff Saturday, four buses carrying Michigan players, coaches, Manuel and other staff were greeted by a few dozen Michigan fans lined up behind steel barriers.
Some cheered and yelled “Go Blue!” as the buses emptied.
One fan yelled out to Manuel: “Let’s join the SEC!”
Manuel raised a hand to acknowledge the fans but otherwise Michigan entered the stadium with little fanfare.
The Wolverines went through the normal warmup routine before the game, with some players coming out to the field for some light stretching in sweatsuits.
All-American running back Blake Corum wore a ski cap with the slogan “Michigan vs. Everybody” on it.
Fans who didn’t know Michigan was playing without its head coach probably would not have noticed a difference in the Wolverines.
Penn State, Michigan’s first ranked opponent this season, got on the board first and became the first team to produce a first-and-goal situation against Michigan. The Wolverines were ready for it, forcing the Nittany Lions to kick a 21-yard field goal with 2:17 left in the first quarter.
It was rare deficit for the Wolverines and it did not last long. Corum capped a 75-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run less than four minutes into the second quarter to make it 7-3 Michigan.
After Michigan forced another punt, with Penn State facing fourth-and-foot from its own 35, the Wolverines went on the march again. They beat the Penn State blitz on third-and-long with a run by Donovan Edwards that went for a 22-yard touchdown.
The Nittany Lions responded with their lone touchdown drive, converting twice on fourth down along the way before Allar went 11 yards on a draw for a TD. The two-point play failed and it was 14-9 Michigan at the half, the closest game at the break of the season for the Wolverines.
Michigan turned Allar’s lost fumble at midfield into a 45-yard drive – all runs – that only resulted in a field goal but took 8:04 off the clock in the third quarter and put the Wolverines up eight.
That was enough for a Michigan defense, which permitted a late touchdown for the first time this season, to allow more than one TD in a game.
