Michigan
8-0 , 5-0
Michigan State
2-6 , 0-5
Wolverines Take Back Paul Bunyan Trophy
10/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
» Michigan, which led 27-10 at halftime, snapped a three-game losing streak to Michigan State, winning in East Lansing for the first time since 2007.
» Jabrill Peppers had seven tackles (one sack) and a fumble recovery to go along with five rushes for 24 yards and a touchdown on offense.
» Amara Darboh had a career day, hauling in eight receptions (one shy of his career best) for 165 yards, while De'Veon Smith had a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Spartan Stadium)
Score: #2 Michigan 32, Michigan State 23
Records: U-M (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten), MSU (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten)
Attendance: 75,802
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 5 -- vs. Maryland (Michigan Stadium), 3:30 p.m.
• Kornacki Postgame Feature: Paul is All That Matters
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Behind a career day from senior Amara Darboh and another impressive performance from do-it-all junior Jabrill Peppers, the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan football team beat in-state rival Michigan State, 32-23, on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 29) inside Spartan Stadium. The Wolverines snapped a three-game losing streak to the Spartans to win back the Paul Bunyan Trophy and remained in control of its own destiny in the Big Ten East.
Darboh was fantastic on Saturday, hauling in eight receptions (one shy of his career high) for 165 yards. Peppers once again filled up the stat sheet with seven tackles (one sack) and a fumble recovery on defense to go along with five rushes for 24 yards and a touchdown.
Junior Wilton Speight was effective in the pocket, going 16-for-25 for 244 yards, while senior De'Veon Smith added a pair of rushing touchdowns. Senior Delano Hill led the defense with 11 tackles.
Michigan State struck first in what ended up being its most effective drive of the day, going 75 yards in 12 plays, scoring on a five-yard touchdown run from LJ Scott. But Michigan responded just as fast, using an eight-play drive of its own to tie up the game at 7-7 after a three-yard keeper from Peppers, swinging momentum to the Maize and Blue.
The defense came up big on the next possession, stopping Michigan State on a fourth-and-one from the U-M 38-yard line to give the ball back to the offense. The second play after that, Peppers lined up at quarterback again and ran a reverse to freshman Eddie McDoom, who followed a couple blocks up the right sideline for 33 yards. One big play followed another, as Speight, out of the "train" formation, found senior Jake Butt for 26 yards down to the two-yard line. Smith finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown rush to make the score 14-7. Each team traded field goals -- a 52-yarder from MSU kicker Michael Geiger, a 23-yarder from senior Kenny Allen -- to bring the score to 17-10.
Michigan kept the pressure on, tacking on two more scores before the end of the first half. Facing a fourth-and-one from the Michigan State 13-yard line, U-M rolled the dice and it paid off, as senior Khalid Hill picked up the first down. Two plays later, Smith scored again, this time from five yards out.
With less than a minute to play until halftime and no timeouts in tow, Michigan State chose not to run out the clock, but the decision backfired, as quarterback Tyler O'Connor was intercepted by senior Jourdan Lewis just across midfield. With two timeouts of their own to work with, the U-M offense moved into enemy territory and capitalized on another 23-yard field goal from Allen, making the score 27-10 at halftime.
The Spartans briefly turned the tide in the third quarter after forcing Speight into an interception. They took the ball all the way down to the two-yard line and had a chance to cut into the lead, but the Michigan defense stood then up for four consecutive plays to once again force a turnover on downs. Despite being in the shadow of its own goal line, Speight moved the offense down the field in 14 plays -- aided by a defensive pass interference call on a fourth-and-three to keep the drive alive -- ending in a 45-yard field goal from Allen to make the score 30-10 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Michigan State cut the lead to 30-17 with 7:26 left to make it interesting, but the Michigan defense essentially put the game on ice on its next possession. Facing a fourth-and-five from the U-M 13-yard line, the Wolverines put the pressure on, and Peppers came through, sacking Brian Lewerke to effectively seal the game. The Spartans did score a touchdown with one second left and went for two, but Peppers picked up a fumble on a missed option pitch and ran it back for an additional two points, capping the scoring at 32-23.
The Wolverines return to Michigan Stadium next Saturday (Nov. 5), hosting Maryland. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Team Stats
MICH 0, MSU 7
MSU - Scott, LJ 5 yd run (Geiger, Michael kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 7:02
MICH 7, MSU 7
MICH - Peppers, J. 3 yd run (Allen, Kenny kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:23
MICH 14, MSU 7
MICH - Smith, De'Veon 1 yd run (Allen, Kenny kick), 5 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:50
MICH 14, MSU 10
MSU - Geiger, Michael 52 yd field goal 7 plays, 41 yards, TOP 2:49
MICH 17, MSU 10
MICH - Allen, Kenny 23 yd field goal 8 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:43
MICH 24, MSU 10
MICH - Smith, De'Veon 5 yd run (Allen, Kenny kick), 10 plays, 48 yards, TOP 4:41
MICH 27, MSU 10
MICH - Allen, Kenny 23 yd field goal 4 plays, 49 yards, TOP 0:27
MICH 30, MSU 10
MICH - Allen, Kenny 45 yd field goal 14 plays, 69 yards, TOP 7:05
MICH 30, MSU 17
MSU - Madaris, Monty 20 yd pass from Lewerke, Brian (Geiger, Michael kick) 5 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:30
MICH 30, MSU 23
MSU - Corley, Donnie 5 yd pass from O'Connor, Tyler (O'Connor, Tyler rushfumbled) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:36
MICH 32, MSU 23
MICH - Peppers, J. 98 yd PAT return
