Game 8 Preview: Michigan @ Penn State

Gametime: 4:30 pm

Records: Penn State: 7-0 (3-0), Michigan: 2-4 (1-1)

Series Record: Michigan leads, 10-3 (ouch)

TV: ESPN

Audio: Here

Weather: Partly cloudy, high of 55, 0% chance of rain, 100% of beer can chicken at our tailgate, 98% of beatdown in the Beav.

Where to begin? We all know about the losing streak (we even wrote about it Wednesday). Usually we would down-play it and say it doesn't matter, even though we all know it does. But this year, it totally works out in Penn State's favor for once. First of all, against any other team this game would have "TRAP" written all over it. But against a team to which you've lost nine in a row, you're not going to take the game lightly, no matter how bad said team is.

Which brings us to our second point: Michigan has been awful this season. Does that mean they'll be awful tomorrow? Well, not necessarily, but there's a pretty good chance. The Wolverines' loss to Toledo last week was a microcosm of their season so far: good enough defense, virtually zero offense, enough mistakes to cost you the game, and pretty much embarrassing for everyone on the team. The whole season has been rough for the Big Blue, but last week took it a step further. It's not uncommon for Michigan to have trouble with teams from Ohio, but this is a little ridiculous.

Of course, we've been there before. We lost to Toledo earlier in the decade. This stuff happens. Teams go through ups and downs. With an exception or two, usually we match up really well with Michigan, they (or the refs) have just done the little things to pull out the wins over the years. Well, finally, the tables have turned. We are having an outstanding season, steamrolling almost everyone, dominating on both sides of the ball. And Michigan? Well, not so much.

So what exactly is going to happen in this one? Well if we knew that, we would be getting paid for this, hopefully. But since we don't, here's our token analysis:

Michigan Offense vs. Penn State Defense
This match-up is a joke. Penn State has the best defense in the conference right now, allowing 259 yards of offense per game. Combine that with Michigan's offense, which is 10th in the conference in passing (only Ohio State is worse, imagine that), 9th in rushing, and dead last in total offense, with 291 yards a game. Having watched Michigan, we're not sure how they're averaging even that much.

Wolverines quarterback Steven Threet has been shaky at best so far, showing pretty awful accuracy by completing only half of his passes. His favorite targets are Martavious Odoms and Greg Matthews, who have combined for 43 receptions through six games. Freshman running back Sam McGuffie leads the squad in rushing with 470 yards and 3 TDs. He also sports a stellar 3.9 ypc average, and we'd imagine he's going to have a tough time against Penn State's run D, which is only allowing 89 yards a game on the ground.

To be frank, if Michigan puts up two touchdowns on the Lions D, we'll be surprised.

Michigan Defense vs. Penn State Offense
Well, this is a better match-up, but we obviously still like our chances. Michigan is 6th in the conference in total defense, and third in rush defense, allowing just over 102 yards per game. Of course, Penn State is leading the conference in rushing (as well as total offense), so it should be interesting to see how that match-up plays out. It should be a decent test for Royster and the line.

On pass defense, Michigan is faring much worse however, as they are allowing 241 yards per game, good for just 10th in the Big11Ten. It could be a field day out there for Clark and company, so look for the big play down field early and often.

As for individual standouts, sophomore linebacker Obi Ezeh has done a solid job in his role and leads the team with 56 tackles. Junior defensive end Brandon Graham has 5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, and senior cornerback Morgan Trent has two picks. But again, we still think the Lions will fare just fine against this D.

Michigan Player To Watch: RB Sam McGuffie
Hey, we had to pick someone. He has made some decent plays, and is having a good enough year for a freshman. Probably Michigan's best chance at getting points on the board this weekend.

Penn State Player To Watch: DE Aaron Maybin
Note to Steven Threet: be afraid. Be very afraid.

3 Bold Predictions:

• Evan Royster out-gains the entire Michigan offense by himself.
• Aaron Maybin records a record 14 sacks against the woeful Michigan offensive line.
  
• During the post-game presser, after the worst ass-whooping of his professional coaching career, Rich Rodriguez announces that he's taking his dream job at Clemson after the season.

And finally, just in case you need any more motivation this weekend, remember this:

Let's go out and end the streak this weekend.

Game Prediction: Penn State 38, Michigan 7