Corum's Crucial TD Runs Against Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State Had Striking Similarities

Late, game-deciding scores against a trio of Top 10 teams featured him following nearly the exact same route to the left corner of the end zone

Photo Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Wolverine tailback Blake Corum beats Ohio State safety Josh Proctor to the end zone on his game-changing, 22-yard touchdown run.

Photo Courtesy of Rose Bowl Game

Blake Corum carrying the ball as Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner, a consensus All-America selection, approaches.

By Steve Kornacki

HOUSTON -- – There is something very eerie and yet very consistent about Blake Corum’s big touchdown runs in the biggest games this season.

Corum has provided the touchdown clincher for Michigan in victories over three Top 10 teams this season headed into Monday night’s national championship game against Washington here at NRG Stadium.

And all three scoring runs took him on nearly identical paths from the center of the field to the left corner of the end zone after traveling at roughly a 45-degree angle.

Click into them below, and you’ll see the similarities.

Corum, who has clinched the NCAA’s scoring title with 156 points and broke placekicker Jake Moody’s single-season school points record of 147 set in 2022, had scoring on these three runs down to an almost exact science.

At No. 9 Penn State on Nov. 11, Corum went 30 yards to the end zone to make it 24-9 with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter of a 24-15 win.

#3 MICHIGAN at #10 PENN STATE: Blake Corum 30 yard TD run - YouTube

Against No. 2 Ohio State on Nov. 25, Corum bolted 22 yards to score on the first play when action resumed following All-America guard Zak Zinter’s gruesome broken leg injury. That made it 24-17 with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, and the home team never relinquished the lead in that 30-24 victory.

Michigan's Blake Corum rushes for a 22-yard TD to take the lead over Ohio State | FOX Sports

Against No. 4 Alabama in Monday night’s Rose Bowl, Corum displayed his quick cutting ability to assure some big blocks got him near the goal line. Then he bounced off would-be tacklers, spinning and churning, to score in overtime of a 27-20 win the defense sewed up by stopping the Crimson Tide’s fourth-and-goal run at the 3.

Blake Corum 17 Yard Touchdown Run in OT | #4 Alabama vs #1 Michigan | 2024 Rose Bowl - YouTube

When the game needs to be put away…

Corum delivers.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy, voted the team MVP by his teammates, said: “Everything that I see out of Blake on a day-to-day basis and everything that Blake is, when everyone is tired, when it's overtime, he's going to be the guy that shows out just like he does in sprints when we run them in the off-season.

“It was nothing new for me. It was just amazing the world got to see it…Extremely valuable. I feel like he, in my eyes, is the most valuable player of our team. There's so many of them that are right up at his caliber, but especially from an offensive perspective, I feel like he's one of the guys that makes our offense go. Just everything he's been through, all the adversity that he's been through, just from his upbringing to this past year, just everything about who he is and just his character, how he attacks every single day, it just rubs off on all of us.”

Offensive guard Trevor Keegan noted: “I think just the person he is and the role he has on this team, we depend on Blake, and he depends on us.’’

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh added, “Blake, the best. There's nobody we love more than Blake.”

Corum is a scoring machine.

He has locked up the NCAA scoring title for this season, and Texas kicker Bert Auburn will finish second by at least 13 points with his 143. His 25 rushing TDs – also a school single-season mark – will be the most by any collegiate runner this season. Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon will finish second with 21.

Corum ranks fourth in career rushing touchdowns in the Big Ten, and is 21 behind leader Montee Ball’s 77 for Wisconsin, 2009-2019.

He’s rushed for 1,111 yards to push his career total to 3,603, and needs 93 yards to tie Chris Perry (2000-03) for No. 7 at Michigan.

How might the Huskies do in stopping him? Well, they’re No. 41 in rushing yards allowed per game at 137.1. Not horrible, but not great.

However, statistics aren’t what Corum plays for.

It’s the national championship that is one win away.

“I love my guys,” Corum said after the Rose Bowl. “I love my guys. I don't really know what to say right now. I'm just blessed. I want to thank God for just allowing me to be here. This time last year, I wasn't here [after Dec. 3, 2022 surgery], so I just want to thank God, full circle, full 365, and I'm blessed.”