Penn State-Michigan State breakdown

James Franklin’s Nittany Lions are again well outside of the Big Ten title picture, but will look to not only drop No. 5 Michigan State’s Big Ten title hopes, but also their playoff chances.

“I was going to write something this week about the similarities between Schembechler’s first MI team in 1969 to this one, and how the Wolverines upset the Buckeyes in the final game of that season to get to the Rose Bowl”. If Cook can’t play, O’Connor and Damion Terry are the QBs in waiting. Which do you think you’ll like more: close games and a balanced rivalry, or Ohio State dominating (like it has for the past 10 years)? Michigan State has several key players that will take part in this tradition.

Penn State: Christian Hackenberg can make all the throws if he’s afforded the time, which is why he’s the Nitany Lions’ all-time leading passer (yardage, touchdowns, completions). Hackenberg struggled against a solid MI defense last week, going just 13-31 for 132 yards and one touchdown in the 28-16 loss.

He talked about a couple of sleepless nights in the wake of his undisciplined play against Michigan State. Delton Williams is from Pennsylvania, and he along with Madre London will get carries. Penn State surrendered 37 sacks this season and with two games left who knows what happens up front?

If Rudock isn’t enough, and if a revamped O-line, increased pass-protection and the No. 1-ranked total defense in the Big Ten doesn’t do the trick, there’s always that one guy-Jabrill Peppers. But the Buckeyes’ bandwagon swerved to miss a deer, veered into a ditch and exploded in a ball of fire last week, burning every bettor who was riding it. And that’s what makes this weekend even more intriguing. DaeSean Hamilton hasn’t had the year some expected, but he has five TD grabs. More so actually, because as the season progressed, the defense did more than just keep the Wolverines in games, it often looked dominant.

“Ohio State lost last week, and you wonder about their off-field distractions now”.

11-2, 7-1 Big Ten.

John Niyo: Ohio State play-calling came under fire after the loss Michigan State. Backups Damon Knox and Craig Evans are coming off strong outings.

Florida State is playing a role it is not used to, having already suffered two losses this season – spoiler. Linebackers Riley Bullough, Darien Harris and Jon Reschke are MSU’s top three tacklers with 83, 71 and 67 stops, respectively.

MI followers – to paraphrase a Wolverines player from the 1930s who ended up in the Oval Office – think the long national nightmare against Ohio State is about to end. The Spartans, 5th in the league in run defense, have great depth with Chris Frey, Shane Jones and Andrew Dowell. Penn State has been solid in that area but the Lions were exposed last week by poor tackling on Michigan’s receiver screens. In the last three years, the MSU boss has beaten Ohio State in the Horseshoe and Indianapolis, Stanford in California, Baylor in Texas and OR at home in Spartan Stadium.

Best player: Senior WR Aaron Burbridge leads the Big Ten in receptions (69) and receiving yards (1,083). From 1985-2000, the Wolverines waxed the Buckeyes winning 12 times. DE Shilique Calhoun leads team with 81/2 sacks and 111/2 tackles for loss.

As noted above, Penn State is not going to win this contest if its third down percentage sags anywhere near its season average. The secondary benefits greatly from the pressure the defensive line gets on opposing quarterbacks.

J.T. Barrett wasn’t called to consistently challenge Michigan State down the field as the Buckeyes stayed conservative, and that worked early when they leaned on Elliott, who ran eight times on a 10-play touchdown drive early in the second quarter. Losing last Saturday was tough for us and disappointing. But they got the now-famous miracle at the Big House, hung on to win their non-conference showdown with OR and, last week, outlasted dysfunctional Ohio State without star QB Connor Cook.