The Penn State Nittany Lions are coming off a bye week, playing on the road, at noon, against a top-five-ranked Michigan team. In the past, all of these things would point to disaster. This year? Well, we honestly don’t know. The Nittany Lions started 2021 5-0. They also start this season 5-0. Last season the sixth game was against Iowa and that game is the pinpoint of when Penn State’s season completely derailed. Will this year be the same? Or can Penn State win on Saturday against Michigan? Let’s take a look.
How Can Penn State Win on Saturday?
It feels like fans ask this question every week. How can Penn State win on Saturday? To start the season it was “How can Penn State win on Thursday? On the road? Against the Big Ten to start the season?”. The Nittany Lions did it. The defense held on to win in a hostile environment at Purdue. Then, two weeks later it was “How can Penn State win against the SEC away from Beaver Stadium?”. The offense clicked on all cylinders to beat Auburn, badly. Next, “How can Penn State keep this going against Northwestern in the rain?” It wasn’t pretty, but the Nittany Lions rushed for 22o yards to win.
Now? How can Penn State win against Michigan on Saturday? We spoke about the differences between last year’s team and the 2022 team earlier in the season. However, those differences will need to be on full display on Saturday to come away with a win. Let’s talk through those now.
The Nittany Lions Have Depth
It was no secret against Iowa last season that Penn State didn’t have experienced depth. When starting quarterback Sean Clifford went down with an injury there wasn’t a quarterback ready to come in for him. This year is different. True freshman backup Drew Allar has already played in four games this season. In addition, behind him, Christian Veilleux has seen action in two games. This is crucial to making it through the Big Ten East gauntlet that the Nittany Lions have to go through over the next few weeks.
Another place Penn State has depth is at the running back position. During the off week, we learned that fourth-string back Devyn Ford stepped away from the team to focus on academics. This means that the top four for the Nittany Lions are now Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Keyvone Lee, and walk-on Tank Smith. It is unlikely that Smith will see action this week or even this season, but Penn State is in good hands with the top three. True freshmen Singleton and Allen have played in all five games this season. Singleton leads the team with 463 rush yards and five touchdowns. Allen isn’t too far behind with 303 rush yards and three touchdowns. Last season Lee totaled just 530 rushing yards through 13 games. Singleton is on pace to match that in just one more game. Penn State needs to use this depth to continue to win on Saturday.
Contain the Michigan Rushing Attack
A big question coming into this season would be the defense with new Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz. The “bend don’t break” mentality that the Nittany Lion defense has had the last few seasons is on full display through five games. Penn State is allowing 79.8 rush yards per game this season. This statistic ranks fifth in the nation. However, Penn State has yet to face the rushing caliber that is Blake Corum of Michigan. Corum has played six games this season, Michigan’s bye week is next week, and he has accounted for 735 yards on the ground. Corum already has 11 touchdowns and averages 28 carries per game. It is no surprise that Michigan relies on the back a lot in-game. Penn State needs to figure out how to slow him down and force J.J. McCarthy to throw the ball.
McCarthy has 1,152 passing yards through six games, nine touchdowns, and one interception. The Nittany Lions have forced 12 turnovers this season and the “no-fly zone” headed by Joey Porter Jr.. Porter Jr. leads the nation in pass breakups with 10. And two spots behind him at number three? Kalen King with nine pass breakups. That’s two Penn State cornerbacks in the top three in the nation. Forcing McCarthy to throw the ball will allow the secondary to do its thing.
Looking at the Game
There are many other keys to this game, but those are the two major ones. Taking advantage of the experience that Penn State has been able to build over the first five games and containing Corum. The honorable mentions will be the Penn State offensive line keeping Clifford upright, allowing the young backs to get space, and giving Clifford time to allow plays to develop. We can see if Penn State can do these things to win the FOX Big Noon Kickoff on Saturday against Michigan at the Big House.
