Welcome Back, Paul: U-M Reclaims Bunyan Trophy Behind Corum, Moody, Suffocating D

Saturday, October 29

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

8-0 , 5-0

Michigan State

3-5 , 1-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Michigan St.

Michigan

Mike Morris, left, and Blake Corum carry the Paul Bunyan Trophy (Michigan Photography)

Welcome Back, Paul: U-M Reclaims Bunyan Trophy Behind Corum, Moody, Suffocating D

10/29/2022 11:48:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights vs. Michigan State Postgame Notes Player Participation In the Trenches Podcast: Michigan State Recap PDF Boxscore Photo Gallery

By: Dave Ablauf, Chad Shepard

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: #4 Michigan 29, Michigan State 7
Records: U-M (8-0, 5-0 B1G), MSU (3-5, 1-4 B1G)
Attendance: 111,083
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 5 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 7:30 p.m., TV: BTN

• Postgame Press Conferences: Coach Harbaugh | Players

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Graduate student kicker Jake Moody connected on five field goals, junior running back Blake Corum added a pair of touchdowns and the defense did not allow a point after the first quarter as the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan football team reclaimed the Paul Bunyan Trophy with a 29-7 win over rival Michigan State on Saturday (Oct. 29) at Michigan Stadium.

Moody converted 5-of-5 field goals, including a career-long 54-yarder in the fourth quarter. With 17 total points, he was just two shy of his career-best 19 and one field goal shy of his own program-record six.

Corum carried the ball 33 times for 177 rushing yards and a touchdown -- and added one receiving score. It was his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game as he eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season (1,078) for first time in career. He has scored at least one touchdown in every game this season.

Leading 13-7 at halftime, Michigan (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) surged ahead in the second half, adding 16 points while holding the Spartans to just 63 total yards, including -18 rushing yards, and three first downs. In all, the Wolverines limited Michigan State to 37 yards on the ground -- the third time in four games that U-M has held an opponent to fewer than 40 rushing yards.

Michigan alternated Moody field goals with Michigan State (3-2, 1-4 Big Ten) three-and-outs through the third quarter and into the fourth. The kicker hit from 39 and 33 yards in the third stanza before nailing the 54-yarder early in the fourth -- his career long by two yards.

Corum added his second touchdown of the game after MSU mishandled the snap on a punt deep inside its own territory and turned the ball over on downs at its eight-yard line; Corum ran four yards into the end zone to up his season total to 15 touchdowns, 14 rushing.

Sophomore safety Rod Moore iced the game with an interception on the Michigan seven-yard line and returned it 34 yards -- after MSU drove 49 yards on eight plays -- with under six minutes left in the game.

The teams exchanged the lead in the first half. Michigan, after fumbling on its first possession, earned a fourth-down stop at midfield to set up Moody's first field goal, a 22-yarder, for the first points of the game. The Spartans scored on their next possession, going 75 yards on six plays and capping the drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-3 lead.

Michigan answered on with a lengthy touchdown drive of its own -- eight plays, 80 yards -- to retake the lead for good on sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy's two-yard shovel pass to Corum -- the latter's second career receiving touchdown. Senior tight end Luke Schoonmaker used a pair of catches to contribute 42 yards to the drive; Schoonmaker finished with the game with five catches and 70 yards -- two shy of his career best. McCarthy completed 15 of 25 passes for 167 yards and the touchdown to Corum.

Moody added another short field goal after a Michigan fourth-down stop in the red zone late in the half, making good from 25 yards to extend the lead to 13-7 at halftime.

Michigan will hit the road next Saturday (Nov. 5), traveling to Piscataway, N.J., to face Rutgers at SHI Stadium. U-M and Rutgers kick off at 7:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.