Harbaugh absent as Wolverines win
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Before the game, senior running back Blake Corum warmed up wearing a ski hat that summed up his team’s attitude right now: “Michigan vs. Everybody.”
After second-ranked Michigan was done pummeling No. 9 Penn State, Corum wore a bloodied bridge of his nose and the satisfaction of knowing that everybody is still winless against the Wolverines this season.
With head coach Jim Harbaugh banned by the Big Ten Conference, Corum, quarterback J.J. McCarthy and their teammaes were not fazed by a scandal that has hounded the program for weeks, nor were they troubled by their toughest on-field opponent yet, grinding past the Nittany Lions 24-15 on Saturday.
“We’re one. It made us stronger,” said Corum, who carried 26 times. “Obviously, we wanted Coach Harbaugh to be here, but we did it for him today. We’ve been going through a lot lately, but it’s only brought us closer together.”
Corum ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, McCarthy made a few key plays with his arm and legs, and the Wolverines (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 3 CFP) improved to 3-0 since it was revealed the program was under NCAA investigation for a sign-stealing scheme.
The timeline of the accusations cover the last three seasons of Michigan’s surge to the top of the Big Ten and two straight College Football Playoff appearances. Coincidence? Plenty of fans think not.
“People can say whatever they want,” fifth-year offensive lineman Trevor Keegan said. “We know what’s true. We know what’s in this locker room. We trust each other. We’re brothers, we’re in this thing together. That’s the way it’s going to be.”
The struggles in big games continued for coach James Franklin and Penn State (8-2, 5-3, No. 10 CFP), which scored a combined 27 points in losses to Big Ten East Division rivals Ohio State and Michigan this season.
“We’ve lost to the No. 1 and the No. 3 team in the country. That’s not good enough,” Franklin said. “We have to find ways to win those games.”
Under Franklin, the Nittany Lions are 3-17 versus top-10 teams, including 1-14 versus Michigan and Ohio State teams ranked in the top 10.
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 kneel-downs.
“As we got in the game, obviously the running game became a priority, and I think our guys up front really asserted themselves to be dominant and those backs ran super hard,” said offensive coordinator and line coach Sherrone Moore, who took over as acting head coach with Harbaugh out.
McCarthy bounded off the field after doing a couple of postgame interviews, pumping his fists and flexing while being cheered by the Michigan fans in the stands. He said the team FaceTimed with Harbaugh after the win.
It was a routine victory for the team with the best scoring defense in the country on a day that began anything but normal.
The Wolverines left their hotel just outside of State College without their head coach Saturday morning but did not know for sure Harbaugh would not be with them until after they arrived at Beaver Stadium. 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.