Penn State Nittany Lions vs Michigan Wolverines Match Player Stats On Sep 24, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Sep 24, 2016

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- De'Veon Smith ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries to lead No. 4 Michigan to its fourth consecutive lopsided home win to start the season with a 49-10 victory over Penn State in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Next up for Michigan is a showdown with unbeaten Wisconsin next Saturday at Michigan Stadium in what assuredly will be a matchup of top-10 teams.

Smith wasn't the only running back that stood out for the Wolverines, who rushed for a season-high 327 yards and saw five different running backs score touchdowns.

Michigan jumped out to a 21-0 lead before the game was 16 minutes old. Senior fullback Khalid Hill had a 1-yard touchdown run with 9:51 left in the first quarter, Smith added a 2-yard score nearly six minutes later and quarterback Wilton Speight found freshman tight end Devin Asiasi for a 2-yard touchdown with 14:09 left in the first half.

With 46 seconds left until halftime, Michigan went ahead 28-0 on a 2-yard touchdown run by sophomore Karan Higdon.

Following a 21-yard field goal by Penn State senior Tyler Davis, Michigan took a 35-3 lead with 2:42 remaining in the third quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman Chris Evans.

Penn State scored its first touchdown of the game with 11:22 remaining on an 8-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Trace McSorley to junior wideout Chris Godwin to cut Michigan's lead to 35-10.

But the Wolverines' offense responded, making it 42-10 with 6:11 remaining on a 40-yard touchdown run by Higdon.

Speight went 21 of 33 passing for 189 yards and a touchdown.

NOTES: After missing the first three games of the season with an undisclosed injury, Michigan senior CB Jourdan Lewis made his first start of the season. Wolverines DL Taco Charlton also returned to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with an ankle injury. ... Michigan won its third straight game over Penn State and is now 13-7 all-time against the Nittany Lions with victories in seven of the last eight encounters. ... Penn State sophomore RB Saquon Barkley entered the game with seven total touchdowns (six rushing, one receiving), the most for a Penn State player to start a season since Lydell Mitchell collected seven in the first three games of the 1971 season. ... With 14:55 remaining in the second half, Penn State DB Brandon Smith was ejected from the game for targeting following a hit near the goal line on Michigan sophomore WR Grant Perry. ... Michigan is now 84-25-2 all-time in conference openers and has won its conference opener in 46 of the past 49 years. ... Penn State will now play its next three games at home, all against conference opponents, starting next Saturday against Minnesota. ... Michigan has outscored its opponents in the first half this year by a margin of 121-28.