The No. 5 Michigan Wolverines are one of the hottest teams in the country right now following wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State in consecutive weeks. Fresh off a bye week, they'll look to keep the momentum going against No. 14 Penn State.
Opponent Overview Despite heavy losses from last year's team, the Nittany Lions still have a lot of talent across the board. However, they haven't quite been able to put it together the way fans hoped they would. Penn State (6-2, 3-2) let a 26-14 fourth-quarter lead against Ohio State slip away as they lost 27-26. The next week, they led Michigan State 17-14 before a touchdown pass with 19 seconds left gave the Spartans the win. The team has since rebounded with wins over Indiana and Iowa. However, neither of them came easily. The offense is centered around quarterback Trace McSorely. The junior has completed 52.8 percent of his passes for 1,620 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's also taken 110 carries for 617 yards and nine touchdowns, the most in the Big Ten. In the backfield, he's joined by junior running back Miles Sanders. His 834 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground are both the second best marks in the Big Ten. He also had 15 catches for 112 yards. The receivers are led by true freshman KJ Hamler, whose 27 catches for 497 yards and five touchdowns are all team-highs. Juwan Johnson and DeAndre Thompkins make for dangerous deep threats while tight end Pat Freiermuth will make noise in the red zone. His four receiving touchdowns are second most on the team. Players to Watch Chase Winovich-The front seven has done well to start their season, but they're about to face their toughest test of the season. As a team Penn State has scored 27 touchdowns on the ground, tied for second most in college football behind Georgia Tech. It'll be up to guys like Chase Winovich and Josh Uche, who leads the team with 5 sacks, to hold down the backfield duo of McSorely and Sanders, especially if Rashan Gary has to sit out another week. Shea Patterson-Despite what he's been able to do already, Patterson will have to kick it into another gear. The junior will be tasked with matching Trace McSorely's offensive production in what might end up being a shootout. In doing so, he'll need to avoid a Penn State defense that has 28 sacks, the most in the Big Ten this season. Quinn Nordin-A guy who had usually been a reliable source of scoring has become very inconsistent. Nordin has made just three of his last six field goal attempts including a brutal miss from 38 yards out against Michigan State in the team's last game. Mistakes like that won't fly in games like the one coming up. Michigan will need all the points they can get to match the Nittany Lions and Nordin's consistency will be a big part of that. Michigan and Penn State kick off Saturday, Nov. 3 at 3:45 eastern on ESPN.
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It was more of the same from Michigan in their season opening loss to Notre Dame.
The offense was mediocre, the play calling showed no urgency, they missed out on chances to get momentum back and the defense let up just enough so that the team as a whole couldn't recover. And to top it all of, they still haven't beat a ranked opponent on the road since 2006. However, Michigan still has at least 11 more games to play this season, and their next game, a home matchup against Western Michigan, could be an opportunity to right the ship. Opponent Overview The Broncos find themselves looking for their first win of the year after dropping their home opener to Syracuse 55-42. Junior quarterback Jon Wassink threw for 379 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in that game. LeVante Bellamy had himself a day as Western Michigan's feature back. The junior had 11 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Over the course of 12 games last year, he had 49 carries for 394 yards and three touchdowns. Junior D'Wayne Eskridge and Freshman Jayden Reed appear to be the team's top wide receivers. Eskridge had eight receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse while Reed had seven receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown. Players to Watch Nico Collins-Even with Shea Patterson making good throws, no one in the wide receiving core seemed to really stand out as a go-to playmaker. However, redshirt freshman Nico Collins made some nice grabs for the maize and blue, including a 52-yard catch on the first drive of the second half. Jon Runyan-The offensive line as a whole was the most concerning group in Saturday's contest. However, it was Runyan who looked the most overwhelmed. He allowed all three sacks on Shea Patterson to go along with eight QB hurries. The senior will have to improve fast or Patterson will have defensive linemen breathing down his neck all season. Josh Metellus-The safety was ejected in the first quarter against Notre Dame for targeting. His replacement, Brad Hawkins, would go on to let up the second touchdown of the game. Not only will Metellus need to keep his act together against Western Michigan, but he'll also need to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Wolverines take on the Broncos Saturday, Sep. 8 at Noon EST on ESPN. James Murphy Wolverines Take On Western Michigan In First Home Game 9/3/18 |
AuthorBeat writer for Michigan Wolverines football and basketball, Ithaca College '20 Archives
November 2018
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