| #revengetour has been the motto for Michigan all year, and there are two more stops left on it. While Ohio State and Michigan State are the two hurdles that were most frequently brought up, it was the loss in Happy Valley last year, and the manner in which it happened that may have stung the most. Michigan had poor quarterback play, and inconsistent line play, poor playcalling, and a myriad of offensive issues that cost them against Michigan State, Wisconsin and South Carolina. But Penn State was the one team that whipped them up and down the field, and most surprisingly toyed with their vaunted defense. Joe Moorehead is gone. Saquon Barkley is gone. Trace McSorley may or may not be hurt. The receivers are underperforming. The line has regressed. Maybe even moreso than the Wisconsin game, that turned into a blowout, and the Michigan State game, which was never in doubt, this one has all the making of a splattering. And yet... McSorley is is an easy guy to dislike as an opposing fan, but he has moxie, and he has pride. He'll also have to give a performance like he did against Ohio State for Penn State to have a prayer. He has been a shell of that guy since, although Michigan State and Iowa's defenses would be getting a lot more talk in a year where Michigan's wasn't playing like this. The question will be how Michigan matches up with Penn State's receivers. Juwan Johnson, who has been a colossal disappointment this year, and DeAndre Thompkins line up on the outside. Will Brown play them straight with Lavert Hill and David Long, and trust Josh Metellus to play with K.J. Hamler, the Michigan product who has been Penn State's best receiver? It would also help things if Ricky Slade worked his way back to healthy to compliment Miles Sanders, who has had to carry more of the load than expected. That goes both ways, as Karan Higdon has become even more of a workhorse than expcted. Higdon (23.8) and Sanders (17.4) are 1st and 3rd in carries per game in conference play. Much like Ricky Slade, where is Chris Evans? He was injured, returned against Wisconsin, but only tallied 8 total carries over those two games back. Granted one was a critical fumble that allowed Michigan State back into the game. Penn State's defense has been sneaky good, and they should be able to play Michigan pretty straight up. The Wolverines defense dominated against Michigan State, but the offense really struggled, and kept Michigan State in the game into the 4th quarter. The Nittany Lions defense is allowing only 4.9 ypp, 2nd in the conference only to Michigan, keyed by a pass defense that is allowing only 5.6 ypa, 2nd again to...yup, Michigan. They've also held opponents to just 52.2% completions, but have been susceptible to the big play. Shea Patterson runs enough to keep you honest, and the more comfortable he gets in the offense, the more he seems willing to do so. He was shut down last week in that area, but he showed off his wheels in Wisconsin's last home game. It's something to watch, but he'd rather go over the top to Peoples-Jones, which is Penn State's weakness. They can't let their safeties get caught up on some of those RPOs and get beat over the top. They match up well against the Wolverines offense, so they can't afford to throw it away in chunk plays. Michigan seems due for a B game after a pair of emotional wins, but they also had a bye week to rest up and get ready, while Penn State slugged it out with an Iowa team that left McSorley beat up. This has all the makings of a blowout, but I think Michigan is due for a bit of a fight, assuming McSorley is 100%. If not, it'll look a lot like 2016. It may anyway. |
