Jim Harbaugh proud of Michigan for 'poise' at MSU: 'There were a lot of cheap shots'
There have been dirty plays from Michigan State against Michigan over the years. Defensive lineman Jacub Panasiuk hit quarterback Shea Patterson late in 2019, Spartans twisted Denard Robinson‘s facemask in 2011 and so on, not to mention the 2022 MSU attacks in The Big House tunnel.
There was an egregious penalty on MSU’s Spencer Brown in the Spartans’ 49-0 loss to Michigan Saturday in East Lansing, the latest example. Brown speared Michigan senior EDGE Braiden McGregor, and he was ejected from the game. The Spartans also committed a kick catch interference (wideout Alante Brown), illegal use of the hands (defensive lineman Derrick Harmon), a late hit out of bounds (cornerback Dillon Tatum), a facemask (Tatum) and an unnecessary roughness with just seconds to go (defensive lineman Maverick Hansen) in the blowout.
“I was really proud of Braiden and the whole team with the way they handled their poise,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show.
There was a stretch in the third quarter where MSU had two penalties on the same play (illegal use of the hands and late hit out of bounds), and then another (facemask) on the next, an undisciplined display by the Spartans.
“There were a lot of cheap shots that were happening in the game,” Harbaugh said. “The hit that Braiden took to the back of the [head], just the way he kept his poise, I think that’s a great representative for all defensive players on our team.”
“It got ugly out there,” sports talk show host Rich Eisen said on his show.
“Honestly, I don’t even really know what happened,” McGregor said Monday. “I went to make a block and ended up on the ground, and then I thought someone fell on me. I didn’t think I didn’t think anything of it. The refs took care of it real quick. It’s a rivalry game. You kind of expect dirty things, so I didn’t really think anything of it.”
Michigan’s reserves also committed two personal fouls late in the game.
Michigan sophomore quarterback Alex Orji was unnecessarily roughed by Hansen while carrying out a fake after handing the ball off with 30 seconds remaining in the game. Perhaps the Wolverines would’ve taken a knee, showing MSU some mercy, but U-M kept running, and Orji found the end zone to make it 49-0 with eight seconds to go. That made it the most lopsided MSU home loss in history.
“Alex Orji, the cheap shot he got,” the Michigan coach continued. “Just the way they kept their poise and discipline. Super proud, and I thought those were two tremendous examples from the game.”
Harbaugh spoke highly of the way McGregor and the defense played in the team’s first shoutout of the season (after some near-shutouts earlier in the year), and offered a lofty comparison.
“It’s been manly man,” Harbaugh said of the Michigan EDGE’s impact this season. “He’s played so good in every phase. He’s getting somewhat like [former Michigan defensive end] Aidan Hutcinson. He just kept coming and coming, and getting better and better. I see two guys with similar athletic traits, physical traits. Really special.”
McGregor, a 6-foot-6, 267-pounder from Port Huron, Mich., has enjoyed a breakout season, posting 14 tackles, 4.5 stops for loss and a sack. He’s been great at batting passes down at the line of scrimmage, doing so 4 times this year.
