Penn State vs. Michigan: Score and Twitter Reaction

The No. 4-ranked Michigan Wolverines kicked off their Big Ten season in style with a 49-10 rout of the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday.

The Wolverines showcased impressive running ability with plenty of balance throughout the lineup. De'Veon Smith had his best game of the season, recording 107 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He also added three catches for 16 yards before resting for much of the second half. Karan Higdon finished with nine carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

Michigan finished with 326 rushing yards as a team, with four different players recording at least 50 yards. Five players combined for six touchdowns on the ground.

Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight had a solid performance, finishing 21-of-33 for 189 yards with a touchdown. Most importantly, he had zero turnovers.

The Michigan defense was just as impressive, penetrating into the backfield all night and holding the Nittany Lions to 191 yards of total offense.

Penn State signal-caller Trace McSorley went 16-of-27 for 127 yards, while Saquon Barkley recorded 59 yards on 15 carries.

While one team looked like it deserved its ranking as the No. 4 team in the country, the other is still rebuilding.

Leon Halip/Getty Images

Just about everything went Michigan's way in the first half.

A long punt return by Jabrill Peppers set up a Khalid Hill rushing touchdown on 4th-and-1, helping the Wolverines seize a 7-0 advantage. On the next possession, Smith got on the board with a two-yard score.

Dan Wolken of USA Today compared Saturday's start to last week's game against Colorado:

Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com broke down the one-sided play in the first quarter:

There was controversy at the start of the second quarter, when Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith was flagged for targeting while attempting to make an interception.

Mike Pereira of Fox Sports disagreed with the call:

Smith was ejected, removing a top linebacker from a defense that was already short-handed at the position.

Michigan took advantage with a Devin Asiasi touchdown three plays later, the first score of the true freshman's career.

The Wolverines were finally stopped on the next drive, but they bounced back with a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to secure a 28-0 lead at halftime.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, this was the sixth first-half shutout for Michigan in the last two seasons. Penn State managed only 50 yards of offense in the first 30 minute of play, compared to 259 for the Wolverines.

Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer joked about the poor situation for the Nittany Lions:

The visitors had a chance to get back into the game in the third quarter with a strong drive deep into Michigan territory. However, some interesting coaching decisions derailed the drive, as Matt Brown of Sports on Earth described:

Although the field goal ended the shutout, Michigan extended its lead to 35-3 later in the third quarter thanks to a Chris Evans touchdown run.

Penn State finally got into the end zone in the fourth quarter, when McSorley found Chris Godwin for an eight-yard touchdown to cap off a 13-play drive.

The excitement was short-lived, though, as Michigan responded with a 40-yard Higdon touchdown that helped the team extend its lead to 42-10.

Geoff Robinson of the Detroit News has faith in the sophomore running back going forward:

After a McSorley interception and a Ty Isaac touchdown, Michigan closed out the 39-point victory.

As Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports noted, Saturday's game continued a poor trend for Penn State head coach James Franklin:

"

James Franklin seems to be on his way to 0-7 against Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) September 24, 2016"

The Nittany Lions will hope to bounce back with a home game next week against Minnesota, which is 3-0 and coming off a bye week.

Michigan will have a tough test next week, when it hosts No. 11 Wisconsin. The Badgers came through with a shocking 30-6 road win over Michigan State on Saturday to remain undefeated, making next Saturday's battle one of the best games of the week.

Postgame Reaction

Franklin noted after the game what everyone else watching at home realized in the first half, that there was a big gap in ability between these two teams. He explained, per Audrey Snyder of DK Pittsburgh Sports:

Meanwhile, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh provided the bare minimum of compliments to his dominant offensive line, per Adam Biggers of FanRag Sports:

There were few surprises in this game, but both coaching staffs likely learned a lot about what to expect going forward this season.

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