(Photo: Clutchpoints)

Saturday Spotlight 

(3) Michigan Wolverines at (10) Penn State Nittany Lions

Michigan: “They haven’t played anyone”. “Nothing has stood out” or there’s my personal favorite, “They haven’t beat anyone”. I understand the Georgia Bulldogs have won 26 games in a row and they are the defending National Champions until further notice. The best team I’ve watched all year resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan and they are more than worthy of holding that title from me and as always, I will back my opinion up as always. This Michigan group has no weaknesses and if you feel they do, you have to squint to find them. As an offense, they lead the Big Ten in points per game with 40 and yards per play with 6.8. One thing I’ve also noticed is the growth of the Quarterback, J.J. McCarthy. He’s grown as a passer and has become a legit Heisman candidate. This is a balanced offensive attack that can beat a defense with either the run or the pass and they have the weapons as well such as Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson and Colston Loveland. When it comes to plays of 10 yards or more, Michigan leads the conference with 141, and on third down which I always call the money down, they are converting 55 percent of the time. Again, please show me the weakness in anything I just listed. Defense has always been the mantra in Ann Arbor as they’ve always had one of the best defenses not just in the Big Ten, but in the nation. They’ve only allowed 6.7 points per game this year along with 4.2 yards per play and they only allow 90 rushing yards per contest. Today, they will do battle in Happy Valley.

Penn State: Ever since the loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, they’ve been on their own little winning streak. They had to earn that victory against the Indiana Hoosiers who truly gave them all they could handle and last weekend against the Maryland Terrapins, they started quickly and never looked back. They’ve been strong throughout the year, I’ll give them that much and the best thing James Franklin did was hire Manny Diaz as his Defensive Coordinator because this Penn State defense has been amongst one of the best in the nation. They rank number one in defensive success rate and are allowing only 11.9 points per game (just round it up to 12!) The Nittany Lions offense has scored 30 or more in eight of their nine games this year with the one contest in Columbus where they only scored 12. Their offense is able to stay on schedule and excel that way, but they struggle to hit the big play down the field. However, they have been able to convert on third down 42 percent of the time and 119 gains of 10-plus yards in games. Last week was the best I’ve seen Drew Allar look all season long. He completed 25 of his 34 pass attempts with 240 yards passing and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Everyone knows who this offense travels through and that’s the Running Back tandem of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. This is by far the biggest game of the year for James Franklin and company and this could be a signature win. To get that victory, they will have to take down the Michigan Wolverines this afternoon at home.

Michigan X-Factor: Donovan Edwards– The burst he displays into the open lanes will forever stand out to me. Donovan is their guy that gets the hard fought yards up the middle in between the tackles. He’s also the guy they’ll turn to in goal line situations in the red area of the football field. Donovan is a patient runner who can change the dynamic of a football game at anytime. Look what he did last year in Columbus against Ohio State.

Penn State X-Factor: Chop Robinson– Penn State must have a thing for producing elite edge rushers. Look at Micah Parsons. Now, let’s meet Chop Robinson. The one question what can’t this kid do? He has the long arms to help bat the football down, he can stop the run, but his speciality is rushing the passer! Chop is quick with a great bend. He’s quick as if he were shot out of a cannon. Watch how he pursues wherever he wants to get. He returns today from an injury.

Final Thoughts: It’s another big game in the Big Ten. The Michigan Wolverines will be without Jim Harbaugh who has been suspended for the remainder of the year due to the sign stealing allegations. The Big Ten East has been a three-team race all year long with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. The biggest key for Michigan will be limiting Chop Robinson. He’s the one guy that can destroy Michigan’s entire offensive gameplan, so I expect Michigan to chip him with many Running Backs, Tight Ends and Offensive Tackles. You’ll see many max protections. On defense, I’d give Drew Allar a lot to think about. Hit him early, make him hesitate. It’s also important for Michigan to not get fancy. Don’t jump out the box. For Penn State, they must win the third quarter. Also, they must limit Michigan’s ground attack and time of possession will also be key for the Nittany Lions. Run the football and keep that Michigan offense on the sideline. They must also convert their third down opportunities when they present themselves. The winner of this game will be in solid shape and this is basically an elimination game for Penn State. Michigan will roll on to another victory in a hostile environment and make a statement to the college football world.

Prediction: Michigan 27, Penn State 17