Penn State is set for its biggest game of the season this weekend. The two-time defending Big Ten champion Michigan Wolverines are coming to town for a pivotal game in the Big Ten East Division race that also carries College Football Playoff implications. Penn State must win this game in order to remain in the hunt for either, while Michigan will make the trip to State College as a favorite with a little more potential breathing room to spare.
Penn State has lost the last two meetings in this series, including a blowout loss in Ann Arbor last season. But can this Penn State defense keep this game from getting out of hand like last year’s game and give this offense a chance to make something special happen?
Our staff gathers once again to share our official predictions for this weekend’s big showdown in Beaver Stadium.
Brad Wakai, Contributor
Penn State’s season hinges on this game. If they win they have a chance to make the Big Ten championship game as wild as that sounds. Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions just come up short at home losing 27-24 in another heartbreaker.
Final score: Michigan 27, Penn State 24
Season record: 8-1
Season record ATS: 8-1
Kevin McGuire, Editor
From the start of this season I firmly believed Penn State had a real shot to knock off Michigan at home. I still believe that to be true, but it is not going to be easy at all. Michigan has yet to be tested the way they will on Saturday, but the Wolverines have done everything I would have expected them to do this season up until this point.
So how does Penn State pull this off? For starters, the offense absolutely cannot play as ineffectively as it did a few weeks ago at Ohio State. Michigan’s defense is better than Ohio State’s, and that concerns me significantly. I’m not sold that last week’s scoring outburst at Marland has a carryover effect this week against a significantly better team.
This is a defensive battle between two of the Big Ten’s best. I don’t think Michigan has a receiver of the level of Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., but they do have a superior quarterback in JJ McCarthy. Penn State must knock him off his game, and this is far easier said than done.
I have Michigan in a low-scoring victory.
Final score: Michigan 20, Penn State 16
Season record: 9-0
Season record ATS: 3-6
Charlie Strella, Contributor
Michigan finally gets to show who they truly are against a top-10 Penn State squad, hoping to keep their College Football Playoff and Big Ten title game hope alive. This game is tough to predict, considering Michigan’s lack of competition so far, and the Nittany Lions defense, especially against the run, is far and away a different animal for the Wolverines to handle.
I think Penn State’s run defense presents a real challenge for Michigan, and they prevent Blake Corum from torching them like he did last year. Beaver Stadium should be rocking, and Penn State is motivated to show they can take down a top team after coming up short against Ohio State. I’ve flipped-flopped my choice all week, and either team has a realistic shot to win. With two stifling defenses, the game will come down to which offense can do that little bit extra. In a super tight game, I am going with the Nittany Lions at home to do just enough to eke out a win.
Final score: Penn State 23, Michigan 21
Season record: 1-0
Season record ATS: 1-0