CFN Analysis - Michigan's thriller over MSU

It wasn't a thing of beauty, but Michigan ended its losing streak to MSU

By Matt Zemek
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The Michigan Wolverines didn't score a touchdown. Their offense was a train wreck. Denard Robinson, though a senior, made loads of poor choices as the leader of his offense in the fourth quarter, failing to throw a ball downfield even when he knew Michigan State had jumped offside. Michigan's offensive line took the Maize and Blue out of field goal range when the Wolverines trailed by a point in the fourth quarter. Compared to last season, there can be no doubt about the following point: Michigan's offense has regressed.

Yet, that was the verdict of the winning team's offense. Saturday's contest in Ann Arbor was that hard to watch.

Overthrown receivers, missed connections, and (worst of all for both squads) the lack of continued improvement on the offensive side of the ball made this particular edition of Spartans-Wolverines particularly difficult to stomach.

Michigan and Michigan State had a chance to not only gain leverage in the Big Ten Legends Division; they had a chance to play well on a big stage. Facing lower-tier conference opponents will not give either program the opportunity to change impressions across the country, so this marked one of the last, best forums of 2012 for the Spartans and Wolverines, one of the last occasions in which each program could put the first half of the season in the rearview mirror. Kicker Brendan Gibbons deserves a lavish amount of praise for nailing his game-winning kick in the final 10 seconds of regulation, but let's not claim that this is a crowning triumph for Michigan.

To be sure, the result is supremely meaningful for the Wolverines. They had to stop Michigan State's winning streak while also staying on top in the Legends race. However, let's not confuse a "big result" with a "quality performance." Michigan and Michigan State are two half-a-loaf teams who can only play defense against formidable opponents. They didn't do anything to reshape their reputations on Saturday.

By Bart Doan
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If you’d have told the world that Michigan would fail to score a touchdown against Michigan State, you’d have assumed the game was a hideous watch and a bad blowout. If you’d have teased that it’d come down to a medium range field goal, you’d have been surprised, but assumed Michigan lost.

But the state of Michigan’s college football pride is back in Ann Arbor, at least for a year, after the Wolverines booted their in-state rivals with...wait for it...being lights-out between the pipes with the boot. That Hoaders level mess you see on the front lawn is the Sparty playbook. Mark Dantonio always seemed to bill this rivalry as their Super Bowl, and it was coached that way.

End around red zone wide receiver passes turned runs, reverses, constant pressuring Michigan’s defense deep, and of course a fake punt on third and nine deep in their own territory down 9-7 that went for 26 yards. For the most part, Denard Robinson was bottled all day. The other unsung story was the Michigan State offensive line. Rarely was Andrew Maxwell touched.

But in the end, this one had to make Alabama-LSU circa 2011 grin just a bit. It was a game not rife with turnovers or penalties (thanks to some very fortunate fumble bounces deep in their own end, twice, by Michigan State running backs) and a game of one sideline keeping to their year long strategy and one ripping the chains off of their intellect arsenal.

As so many football games go though, in the end it comes down to one play that defines who goes home with the hardware (in this case, a giant wooden version of Paul Bunyan) and who goes home with four letter words under their breath.

And it looked fairly written who would be who with Michigan scuffling with Sparty at midfield twice in the final five minutes. With one throw, Robinson kicked the vultures away from his legacy, one that saw not a single Michigan player coming into the game with a win over MSU in their careers. Drew Dileo did his best Wes Welker at points in the day and made one last catch. With it all on the foot of a guy left for collegiate career dead after going 20 percent on field goals his freshman year, Brendan Gibbons continued his sensational turnaround since Brady Hoke’s staff took over (3 for 3, 48 yarder made by Matt Wile). One that re-wrote the lore of Michigan and blown field goals. One that ends with Michigan back in the drivers seat in the state they call home.

By Richard Cirminiello

Welcome back home, Paul Bunyan. The Big House has missed you.

This was an ugly win just to just about everyone in the country except folks in Ann Arbor, where it was a work of art. Michigan had dropped four in a row against Michigan State before today, a nasty losing streak in a heated rivalry that permeates throughout the state, and awards the winner the Paul Bunyan Trophy.

It was a vintage Big Ten game, a slugfest dominated by the defenses and the kicking games. Both D’s played very well, but it’s the one in maize and blue that was a small cut above, holding a fifth straight opponent to no more than 13 points. Heck, the Wolverines didn’t score a touchdown or get many lights-out plays from Denard Robinson, yet still found a way to survive behind the play of Greg Mattison’s emerging unit.

Michigan needed this game. Denard needed this game. Regardless of what the final resume looks like, it would always sit poorly with No. 16 had he never defeated the hated Spartans. As far as Michigan State is concerned, the team’s disappointing season added a new chapter this afternoon. As hard as it is to process, this once-trendy pick to win the league is no longer a sure-thing to qualify for the postseason.