Blake Corum Hyped as 'One of the Best Players in the Country' as Michigan Tops PSU
With junior running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Blake Corum leading the way once again, the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines remained undefeated with a 41-17 win over the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
Corum topped 100 rushing yards for the fourth consecutive game, finishing with 166 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in the key victory over a Big Ten rival.
The praise rolled in for Corum on social media during and after his performance, with Nicole Auerbach and Dane Brugler of The Athletic heralding him as one of the best players in the country:
With Michigan leading 6-0 thanks to a pair of field goals, Corum was responsible for the first touchdown of the day in the second quarter, powering into the end zone from one yard out:
Penn State willed its way back into the game after that, however, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter and seizing a 17-16 lead early in the third quarter.
Corum's backfield mate, Donovan Edwards, had a great game in his own right with 173 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and he helped restore the Wolverines' lead with a 67-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
With the momentum in Michigan's favor once again, Corum went back to work, scoring a 60-plus-yard touchdown of his own just minutes later when he outran the defense for a 61-yard score:
That touchdown extended Michigan's lead to 14 points, and Penn State never managed to challenge the Wolverines again for the remainder of the game.
With Corum leading a dominant outing for the Michigan rushing attack, the Heisman Trophy hype train was out in full force on Twitter:
While it has traditionally been common for running backs to win the Heisman Trophy, things have tipped far more in favor of quarterbacks in recent years.
In fact, no running back has won the Heisman since Alabama's Derrick Henry accomplished the feat in 2015. Before that, Alabama's Mark Ingram was the last running back to do so in 2009.
It is even less common for a Michigan player to win the Heisman, as it has only been done three times in the illustrious history of the program, with the most recent example being cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
This year's Michigan team is a rarity in present-day football, though, in that it is a top team in the mix for a national championship that loves to pound the rock on offense rather than airing it out.
There is still plenty of football to be played this season, but if the Wolverines continue to win and Corum continues to be the primary reason why, he stands a good chance of getting invited to the Heisman ceremony in New York City.
