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| Isaiah Hole/247 Sports |
The usual narrative is “one game at a time,” and that is
exactly what the Wolverines are doing, hopefully. I talked last week about how
Indiana is a possible trap game due to the Wolverines struggles on the road,
and that Indiana is a bit underrated. This again is yet another trap game for
the Wolverines as they continue their quest to earn their first Big Ten
Championship birth. Here is my weekly breakdown and prediction for Michigan vs.
Penn State which kicks off Saturday at noon in Happy Valley.
Offense:
In Jake Rudock we trust! Seriously, had anyone said that
back in September, the tears of laughter would drown the state of Michigan. How
things have changed in a few months. The Wolverines are riding the hot hand of
Rudock who has 777 passing yards his last two games. Rudock set a career high
with 337 against Rutgers, and then set a new career high in a 440 yard effort
against Indiana last week. The Wolverines must continue to keep the ball in the
hands of their hot quarterback. The run game hasn’t been what has been expected
of them the last few weeks. The Wolverines lack a clear cut number one running
back. Drake Johnson hasn’t looked bad, but hasn’t been great. Same goes for De’Veon
Smith. Derrick Green hardly looks like the five star recruit he was, and nobody
knows what is going on with Ty Isaac. Amara Darboh, Jehu Chesson, and Jake Butt
have been lights out, and have just gotten stronger each week. The Wolverines
need to establish a solid slot receiver option to add a fourth receiver to the
equation to really throw teams off. Drake Johnson motioning into the slot would
make sense, but that’s not normally Jim Harbaugh’s game offensively. I would
love to see Grant Perry come out and make a huge impact against Penn State. I
expect Michigan to try and run the ball throughout the game against Penn State,
but fully expect the Wolverines to rely heavily on Rudock and the pass game.
Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg isn’t quite
having the season many were expecting him to have as he was originally
projected to be a possible first round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. He hasn’t
looked like that at all this season. While Hackenberg hasn’t had a horrible
season, he hasn’t been spectacular. He’s thrown for 1,992 yards and 13
touchdowns, and only three interceptions on the season, so ball control has
been big for the Penn State offense. Saquon Barkley has had an outstanding
freshman season rushing for 876 yards and seven touchdowns. I foresee the Penn
State offense focusing heavily on running the football on the Wolverine defense
that looked incapable of stopping the run last week. If Penn State is able to
control the ground game, they will ultimately control the game.
Defense:
Without nose tackle Ryan Glasgow, the Wolverine defense
looked almost lifeless last week. The defensive line didn’t put as much
pressure on the quarterback that we are used to seeing, and against the run
they looked absolutely horrible. With the way Barkley can run the football, the
Michigan defense is going to need to focus on stopping the run and staying
strong in the pass game. Hackenberg doesn’t throw many interceptions .If the
defense does intercept Hackenberg, they will need to take full advantage of
that. The main focus again will be finding a way to stop the run game. Chris
Wormley, Taco Charlton and others on the defensive line will need to step up
big time in filling in for Glasgow and show that this defense is still capable
of being the elite defense they are. I expect Harbaugh and defensive
coordinator DJ Durkin will have a good scheme in place for the week after what
happened last week.
Penn State is going to key on pressuring Rudock and forcing
him to make bad passes. With Michigan have three main targets in the passing
game it will be tough for Penn State to keep up with the Wolverine pass game
all night, adding a fourth option will make it very very difficult for Penn
State to consistently stop Rudock and the Wolverine pass catchers. Pressure on
Rudock will be the number one focus. Penn State also cannot forget about the
Michigan running backs. The last few weeks the running game hasn’t been great,
but anyone is capable of breaking out, especially in a big game like this.
Bold Predictions:
Jabrill Peppers reaches the endzone twice. Once in the run
game, and once on a receiving touchdown.
Rudock throws for over 300 again, tossing for 330 yards.
Drake Johnson busts open a huge play on a screen pass, taking
it over 50-yards for a score.
Michigan defense holds Barkley under 100 yards rushing.
Hackenberg throws for 300 yards as well, but a late
interception seals the game for the Wolverines.
Final Score: Michigan
31, Penn State 27
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