Michigan refused to help MSU on Saturday night

Chris Breiler | Oct 27, 2024

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Entering Saturday's matchup against Michigan State, the Wolverines had committed a total of 15 turnovers through the first seven games - good for an average of over two turnovers per game. That tendency to commit costly turnovers was one of the biggest concerns heading into the rivalry game, particularly with senior QB Davis Warren returning to the starting lineup. Warren began the 2024 season as Michigan's QB1, but after three weeks and six interceptions, head coach Sherrone Moore had no choice but to go in a different direction. After trying his luck with both Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle with little success, Moore once again returned to the guy he started with.

With the stakes high in a must-win game, Warren delivered for the Wolverines. He was a solid 13-of-19 for 123 yards and 1 touchdown through the air, and, more importantly, he avoided turning the ball over. In fact, the Wolverines as a whole avoided turning the ball over for the first time all season long.

Perhaps equally as impressive as avoiding any turnovers is the fact that Michigan also didn't commit a single penalty all evening long. That was also the first time that Michigan had gone an entire game without committing a penalty this season.

Prior to Saturday's win over MSU, Michigan had committed at least one turnover AND multiple penalties in all seven games.

On Saturday night against the Spartans, they didn't do either (0 turnovers, 0 penalties).

Good clean football.〽️

📸#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/3ropdX5QgJ
— The Winged Helmet (@TWH_Chris) October 27, 2024

Put simply, Michigan refused to help MSU on Saturday night. The Wolverines played a clean football game and avoided making any costly mistakes that could swing the game in the Spartan's favor. There's no question that there are still some puzzling decisions being made on both sides of the ball when it comes to the play calling, but Saturday's win over the Spartans proved that the Wolverines are capable of playing a better brand of football than what we saw through the first seven games.

With matchups against three teams ranked in the AP Top 15 still to come, the Wolverines will need that level of discipline moving forward in order to have any shot at pulling off some upsets down the stretch.

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