Michigan rushes past PSU

ANN ARBOR, MICH. >> Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight took a beating last week against Colorado. This week, he spent most of the day standing back and watching his teammates do all the work.

De’Veon Smith led an overwhelming ground game with 107 yards rushing and a touchdown and Karan Higdon ran for two scores and No. 4 Michigan routed Penn State 49-10 on Saturday in both teams’ Big Ten opener.

“We were looking for a way to be more careful out there so I wasn’t getting hit as much as I did last week,” Speight said. “Luckily, our offensive line and our running backs were great. I think there was one time where we called the same play eight straight times, just flipping the sides, and we were picking up nine or 10 yards a pop. I was just laughing every time I got the same signal.”

Michigan (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) finished with 326 yards rushing and scored six of its seven touchdowns on the ground. Five different backs scored on the ground.

The Nittany Lions (2-2, 0-1) were simply running out of bodies on defense. They

came into the game missing three starting linebackers, lost Brandon Smith to a second-quarter targeting penalty then lost Jan Johnson to injury.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been through or seen anything like this,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We’ve got three guys out, and then Brandon gets thrown out going for an interception. Then Jan Johnson comes in, and we lose

him, too.”

Penn State was overmatched on the other side of the ball as well. Saquon Barkley rushed for 59 yards and caught five passes for 77 more, but no one stepped up to help.

“They are just physical on both fronts,” Franklin said. “The offensive line is big and strong, and their defensive line is more of the same. Plus they’ve got one of the most talented secondaries in the country.”