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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AuthorBeat writer for Michigan Wolverines football and basketball, Ithaca College '20 Archives
November 2018
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