Michigan Football's Best Performances Against Penn State

Michigan and Penn State is a memorable Big Ten rivalry with some legendary matchups in the past. It also pits two of the best uniforms in all of college football against each other.

These two schools have not played since the 2023 season, but have had plenty of memorable matchups over the years.

Who are the authors of the most memorable performances for Michigan? Here are our thoughts.

2023 Blake Corum

Who could forget the end of the 2023 matchup in Happy Valley? The start of the game was rife with drama as Jim Harbaugh was suspended while Michigan was on the plane to Pennsylvania. That led to essentially the entire Michigan program and its fanbase uniting around one simple word.

Bet.

The Wolverines took the challenge, and what they saw as a lack of due process, and turned it into a rallying cry for the rest of the season.

 A shaky start from Michigan’s offensive line gave way to one of the most legendary performances in the history of the program’s powerful run game.

No, Blake Corum did not run for 400 yards. He didn’t score six touchdowns. What he did, was take the ball. Over, and over, and over again.

32 consecutive run plays ended Michigan’s day on offense that day, as the Wolverines won 24-15 over a Penn State team who was looking to end Michigan’s perfect season.

Corum scored Michigan’s first touchdown of the game on a short burst from deep inside Nittany Lions’ territory.

Corum’s second touchdown of the day came in the fourth quarter. In a year where Corum resembled that of Mariano Rivera as Michigan’s closer, Corum looked to ice things after Penn State turned the ball over on downs.

Corum burst through a gaping hole on the left side of the offensive line, scored a touchdown, and proceeded to mock Penn State’s defensive coordinator.

26 carries, 145 yards, two touchdowns, a bloody nose, and one iconic picture later.

Corum reminded the world that day of the toughness that typically accompanies any great Michigan team.

2022 Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards

Corum’s bludgeoning of Penn State’s defense was as familiar theme during the late stage of Jim Harbaugh’s career as Michigan’s head coach.

In 2022, both Michigan and Penn State came into Ann Arbor undefeated for a showdown between two teams hoping to win a Big Ten title and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Michigan dominated, in essence, from the beginning of the game until the end, but a couple of big mistakes gave Penn State a 14-13 lead late in the first half.

Michigan would kick a field goal just before halftime, and unleash hell from their run game in the second half.

Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum exchanged touchdowns of 60 yards on back-to-back possessions to give the Wolverines a 31-17 lead. Edwards would add another score late in the game to rub some salt in the wound, and put Michigan over the 40-point mark for the day.

Edwards led the team with 173 yards rushing. Corum had 166 of his own. Both backs scored twice as Michigan piled on 418 yards rushing against a team who came into the game with a top-ranked defense against the run.

Michigan would go on to win the Big Ten title that season.

2021 Aidan Hutchinson

The 2021 season was the spark that gave the Wolverines life back into their football program.

Their biggest sparkplug that led the charge was defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson was a dominant force against top opponents during the 2021 season, and ultimately was in New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

His performance against Penn State was a big reason why.

One of the big matchups in Michigan’s favor coming into the game was their pass rush against Penn State’s offensive line.

David Ojabo helped lead the charge, but Hutchinson was phenomenal against the Nittany Lions. His game against Penn State was the first of two three-sack games he would have in November that year, with the other coming against Ohio State.

His performance helped keep the Wolverines’ offense within stirking distance, and eventually some heroics from the next guy on the list.

2021 Cade McNamara

Cade McNamara is a controversial figure in Michigan circles these days due to how his career ended in Ann Arbor, but it is worth remembering he was the first quarterback since Chad Henne in 20024 to win the Big Ten.

While that Michigan team in 2021 was powered mostly by its run game in defense, the heroics from McNamara against Penn State cannot be understated.

McNamara threw three touchdown passes that day, the third of which came in a situation where most Michigan teams before this one would have crumbled.

McNamara was stripped of the ball while the team was leading 14-10, and it gave Penn State the ball deep in Michigan territory. Penn State would score a go-ahead touchdown and it looked as if the Wolverines’ hopes for a Big Ten title would be dashed in Happy Valley.

Instead, McNamara and the rest of the Wolverines’ offense fought back. Erick All was McNamara’s target on a crossing route with plenty of room to run.

All would win the race against Penn State’s defense on his way to the end zone. Michigan led 21-17 with 3:29 left in the game. Michigan’s defense slammed the door shut from there, but it was McNamara who was the catalyst.

He said it best after the game earlier in the year against Nebraska. “I think Michigan teams in the past, no disrespect, since I’ve been on Michigan, I think we lose this game,” McNamara said.

If the Nebraska game from that season is a game that Michigan teams of the past typically lost, the Penn State game was certainly another. Instead, they won, due to the heroics of their quarterback.

2018 Revenge Tour

Michigan’s trip to Happy Valley in 2017 ended in absolute disaster. Saquon Barkley ran wild over the Wolverines’ and they were blown out of the stadium.

In 2018, Michigan defensive end Chase Winovich said his team was going on a revenge tour, and Penn State was one of the starting points for that tour.

It was a dominant defensive performance led by Winovich who recovered a fumble early in the game to set the tone for Michigan’s defense. The Wolverines’ defense beat up Trace McSorley and Tommy Stevens for two interceptions, including a pick six by Brandon Rusnak late after McSorley had been benched.

Josh Uche had two sacks, Karan Higdon ran for more than 130 yards. It was a dominant beatdown from start to finish.

2005 Mario Manningham

The 2005 meeting between Michigan and Penn State looked like one where the Wolverines were just going to roll to a victory. Their defense shut out Penn State in the first half before surrendering 25 points in the second half to give the Nittany Lions a 25-21 lead late in the fourth quarter.

Michigan needed a spark and found one with dynamic kick returner Steve Breaston providing an electric return to put the Wolverines’ offense in business.

Ultimately, this game came down to one play. Fourth-and-4 from the Penn State 10 with one second remaining on the clock.

Chad Henne dropped back to pass, hit his back foot, and fired decisively in the direction of his top receiver.

Standing in the back of the end zone, was Mario Manningham, who hauled the pass in for a game-winning score.

“Touchdown Manningham,” then ABC commentator Brad Nessler exclaimed. “Michigan wins!”

1997 Charles Woodson

They called it judgement day in 1997. The Michigan Wolverines were headed to Happy Valley to take on the unbeaten Penn State Nittany Lions.

There was certainly one team who waved their gavel. This was supposed to be a close matchup between two teams fighting for a national championship.

What happened, was a beatdown.

Charles Woodson, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner led the charge with his two-way excellence. He scored a touchdown as a wide receiver on offense to make the score 17-0 in the second quarter.

Michigan’s defense had more than enough from there as they shut down Penn State’s run game led by Curtis Enis.

The final score was 34-8, and the Wolverines made an announcement to the rest of the world that they were the best defense in the country.

1993 Tyrone Wheatley

We save the best for last. One of the greatest performances in the history of Michigan’s program came from the legs of Tyrone Wheatley against Penn State in 1993.

Wheatley ran for what was then a program record of 192 rushing yards, which included a 47-yard touchdown run that showed off his impressive size and speed combination.

The matchup in 1993 was Penn State’s first ever game in the Big Ten conference, and they got a rude introduction thanks to Wheatley and a goal line stand late in the game to help preserve a victory for the Wolverines.