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Game No. 9: Penn State Beaver Stadium
Coverage from The Michigan Daily
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 | Michigan 34 |
| Penn State 8 |
The game between undefeated Michigan and Penn State for control of the Big Ten was anticipated to be the best matchup in the country, but sometimes expectations fall short of reality.
Behind a dominant offensive line and stellar defensive performance, No. 4 Michigan rolled to a convincing 34-8 victory over No. 2 Penn State in front of a record crowd of 97,498 at Beaver Stadium.
The victory, Michigan's first over Penn State in the past three tries, made the Wolverines the lone undefeated team in the Big Ten, gave them the lead in the Rose Bowl race and sent them to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time since
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| SARA STILLMAN/Daily Michigan's Charles Woodson is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the Wolverines' second touchdown in Michigan's 34-8 victory over Penn State. |
"Honestly, it wasn't easy. It was a matter of preparation," Michigan safety Marcus Ray said. "You watch our offensive line, the guys up front - they dominated. If our offense continues to play like that, we'll be very, very successful."
Michigan dominated the Nittany Lions from the opening drive to the end of the game, due in large part to a renewed offense. The Wolverines cut down on the turnovers and penalties that have ailed them throughout the season to turn in their best offensive performance to date.
"It was the best performance we had at Michigan in a long time," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
Michigan quarterback Brian Griese, who paced the Wolverines with short pass patterns, passed for 151 yards and two touchdowns while running backs Chris Howard and Anthony Thomas and fullback Chris Floyd combined to add finesse and power to the rushing attack. In total, the three backs accounted for 195 of the Wolverines 265 rushing yards and added two touchdowns.
But the story of the day was again Michigan's defense, which entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation. Saturday, with the exception of a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, Michigan's defense entirely shut down Penn State's usually potent offense.
Penn State came in averaging 240.7 yards rushing and 223.9 yards passing. The Lions were eighth nationally in total offense (464.6 yards per game) and ninth in scoring offense (37.3 points). At the head of Penn State's success was its star tailback, Curtis Enis, who entered the game averaging 118.6 yards rushing.
The Wolverines held the Lions to 101 yards on the ground and 68 yards passing. Enis carried the bulk of the load to gain 103 yards rushing; the rest of the team had -2 yards on the ground. Enis had just 35 yards at halftime as Michigan raced to a 24-0 lead, the Lions' biggest halftime deficit at home ever under Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
The defense rattled Penn State quarterback Mike McQueary all day, sacking him twice in the first four plays of Penn State's first drive. He was sacked a total of five times, accounting for 20 lost yards. All in all, the Lions did not convert any of their 12 third-down opportunities.
"They completely dominated us all game. They flat out took it to us," McQueary said.
The Lions only managed to break out of their end of the field twice, and the touchdown in the fourth quarter accounted for their only points. That touchdown broke Michigan's streak of not allowing a touchdown in the second half this season.
"Obviously, in the fourth quarter, they scored on us," Ray said. "We didn't like that. We really, really did not like that.
Thomas and Howard rushed for touchdowns for the Wolverines while Griese completed his stellar day with scoring passes to Charles Woodson and tight end Jerame Tuman.
"The plays they beat us with are the ones they've been making all year," Paterno said. "They're very good, and few people can do it consistently."
11-22-97
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