Michigan uses dominant run game to win fourth in a row against Michigan State

EAST LANSING – The Michigan Wolverines beat the Michigan State Spartans 31-20 on Saturday night, winning their sixth game of the season and their fourth in a row over their in-state rival.

Michigan’s ground game was the key factor on Saturday night. U-M rushed for 276 yards and 4 touchdowns, headlined by 152 yards and 2 scores from Justice Haynes. Jordan Marshall chipped in with 110 yards and a 56-yard touchdown.

Here is the blow-by-blow recap of the night’s events at Spartan Stadium.

First quarter

Michigan won the opening coin toss and deferred, booting the kickoff through the end zone and giving MSU the ball at its 25-yard line to start the game. The Spartans ran three plays before quarterback Aidan Chiles turned over the ball thanks to a forced fumble by junior defensive back Brandyn Hillman, which was recovered by senior linebacker Jimmy Rolder at the MSU 34-yard line with 14:14 on the clock. U-M put together a 10-play, 31-yard scoring drive down to the MSU 3-yard line, but stalled out. Senior kicker Dominic Zvada got U-M on the board with a 21-yard field goal, giving the Wolverines a 3-0 lead with 10:07 to go in the quarter.

Michigan State went three-and-out on its next drive, then had back-to-back penalties to force a fourth-and-18 punt from the 17-yard line. Michigan took over at its 32-yard line with 9:02 on the clock, but moved only 24 yards in four plays and punted back to the Spartans through the end zone. MSU took over on its 20-yard line with 7:40 to go. The Spartans went three-and-out again, not gaining a yard, and punted the ball back to Michigan at the U-M 38-yard line (7:16).

The Wolverines then put together their first touchdown drive of the game, going 63 yards in seven plays and scoring on a 13-yard designed run by freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. After the extra point, Michigan led 10-0 with 3:58 remaining. The Spartans got the ball back at their 24-yard line, but netted -12 yards on their next possession and had to punt back to the Wolverines, who took the ball back at their 32-yard line with 1:40 to go. After a three-and-out, U-M punted back to MSU to its 27-yard line as the quarter expired.

Michigan 10, MSU 0

Second quarter

The Spartans found life on their first possession of the second quarter. Missed Michigan tackles and penalties played a big role on a drive where MSU went 73 yards on 10 plays. The march was headlined by a 49-yard run from tailback Makhi Frazier and closed out by a QB sneak on third-and-1 from Chiles. After the extra point, MSU had cut U-M’s lead to 10-7 with 8:24 to go in the first half.

The two teams traded three-and-outs on their next two possessions and then punted on drives of six and seven plays, respectively. Michigan would get the ball back on its 17-yard line with 39 seconds to go and run five plays for 26 yards before the half closed out.

Michigan 10, MSU 7

Third quarter

Michigan got the ball to start the half and marched right down the field, going 71 yards in seven plays. Justice Haynes picked up 64 yards on 5 rush attempts and he closed out the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. U-M extended the lead to 17-7 with 11:50 to go in the quarter after Zvada’s second extra point of the night.

The Spartans ran five plays for 13 yards before having to punt right back to Michigan with 9:39 left in the quarter. Both the Wolverines and Spartans traded punts between the 9:39 and 5:46 marks, with Michigan taking over at its 48-yard line to start its next possession.

Michigan re-grabbed momentum on its next possession, going 52 yards in five plays and getting another touchdown run out of Haynes, his second of the night, this time from 14 yards out. After the extra point, U-M led 24-7 with 3:08 to go in the half.

MSU put together a promising drive before the clock ran out on the quarter with the Spartans near midfield.

Michigan 24, MSU 7

Fourth quarter

The Spartans paid off their drive that extended into the fourth quarter. The 12-play, 75-yard drive was headlined by a 25-yard connection from Chiles to Nick Marsh, who found the end zone but was later reviewed to be out at the 1-yard line. Brandon Tullis finished with a score from there, trimming the Michigan lead to 24-13. MSU attempted a 2-point conversion that was no good, leaving the score at an 11-point deficit with 12:34 remaining.

The Wolverines gave the ball right back to MSU, going three-and-out for the fourth time on Saturday night and punting back to their in-state rival. Michigan State took back over at its 41-yard line with 10:13 remaining. The Spartans drove 32 yards in five plays and attempted a fourth-down try instead of kicking a field goal to bring it to a one-score game, leading to a Jimmy Rolder tipped pass. Michigan would take over at its 26-yard line with 8:01 to play.

Five plays and 32 yards later, the Wolverines fumbled on the MSU 41-yard line, giving the ball back to the Spartans with 5:51 to play. The Spartans went 25 yards in five plays, but turned the ball over on downs and gave it back to Michigan at its 29-yard line with 4:37 to go.

The Wolverines iced the game five plays later thanks to a 56-yard touchdown run from Jordan Marshall. After the extra point, U-M pushed its lead to 31-13 with 2:48 remaining. MSU took over at its 25-yard line with 2:48 to go.

Michigan State would get one more score on the board, going 75 yards in nine plays and capping it with a 21-yard touchdown from Alessio Milivojevic to Michael Masunas. After the extra point, the lead was trimmed to 31-20 with 7 seconds to go. The clock would run out, and Paul Bunyan would be heading back to Ann Arbor.

FINAL: Michigan 31, MSU 20

Final Michigan at Michigan State box score