3 Key Matchups for Michigan Football Against Penn State

The Michigan Wolverines are back from their bye week and looking to get their season back on track against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

The Wolverines have won the last three meetings between these two teams, and the most recent matchup in Ann Arbor came in 2022. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards were dominant in the second half en route to a 41-17 victory.

This time around, both teams are heading in opposite directions from where they were in 2022. Penn State is on a three-game losing streak, with Michigan mired in a two-game skid of their own.

Michigan will be playing elimination games for the rest of the season with a 10-2 record likely to be required to qualify for the College Football Playoff.

What are the key matchups to ensure Michigan walks out of their home stadium at 4-2? Let’s dive in.

Michigan Run Game vs Penn State Run D

The lifeblood of Michigan’s program is their run game. That lifeblood is on life support this season. Michigan’s offense is terrible, and the lack of ability to find any success on the ground is a big reason why.

Yes, the passing game has struggled. That’s almost expected in Ann Arbor. Outside of a stretch with JJ McCarthy, Michigan’s struggled to find consistency at the quarterback position.

Bryce Underwood has struggled. The passing game has struggled. Growing pains should have been expected in an offense that was brand new to a quarterback who was not very successful a season ago.

The run game was supposed to be a given, but has not been. If there were ever a week to get going, it’s this week against a putrid run defense that Penn State employs. They could also be missing multiple key players in the spine of that defense.

Of 18 teams in the Big Ten, Penn State ranks 17th, and gave up more than 400 yards rushing to Northwestern.

If the run game cannot get going this week, it’ll be fair to start asking if it ever will.

Bryce Underwood vs Outside Noise

Of course, the run game is not all that Michigan needed to figure out during the bye week. Their passing game is in dire straits, and to the point that questions are being asked about their quarterback.

Bryce Underwood was named the starter this week, but that appears to be tenuous at best. Underwood has not taken care of the football in his second season under center. He’s turned the ball over in all but one game this year. The one he didn’t was against Oklahoma, and the ball was on the ground twice in that matchup as well.

Kyle Whittingham also noted this week that backup quarterback Tommy Carr took 50 percent of the reps with the starters during the bye week.

This is a hell of a throw by Underwood; Rrolling to his left, throwing across his body vs zone coverage.
Bryce pumps to Hiter which causes the safety to overreact.
Bryce lets that guy clear, then finds Buchanan in the hole.
Damn good QBing. pic.twitter.com/suA9FrX3WG
— Due# (@JDue51) September 27, 2026

Whittingham said that was normal procedure, but we’re not buying it. A quarterback who is struggling like Underwood in a new offense needs as many reps as he can get. I don’t think he’s splitting reps with his backup if there’s not some semblance of a competition beginning to take place.

Underwood needs to block that out. He cannot play afraid to make a mistake simply in the name of taking care of the football.

Underwood cares. He wants to be great. Things just have not come as easily for him as they did throughout most of his career prior to coming to Michigan.

“The thing I’ll say with Bryce is he cares,” offensive coordinator Jason Beck said. “He works hard. It matters to him, and he’s feeling that outside noise and all that as much as anybody. He’s really handling that well with his approach and the teammate he is, so we’re always working to get better and improve.

“I really respect the kid he is and how hard he works and how much it matters to him. And we’ll just keep going from here to improve.”

That improvement needs to start on Saturday. Yes, Underwood needs to take care of the ball. Yes, he needs to be cautious, but not too careful in the name of making big plays down the field.

If Underwood looks indecisive, things could get ugly in front of his home crowd, and quickly.

Michigan Defense vs Rocco Becht

Rocco Becht is probably the best quarterback Michigan has faced on this side of Oklahoma’s John Mateer. The veteran quarterback was successful with Matt Campbell at Iowa State before moving with him over to Happy Valley in the offseason.

How do you make a quarterback unsuccessful? Give him a couple of hits to the mouth.

SMITH SNOWDEN INTERCEPTION pic.twitter.com/kkimBXR8Jk
— Nick Brandel (@MotorCityBanter) October 3, 2026

Michigan’s pass rush has been quiet in recent weeks after a scorching hot start to the season. John Henry Daley and Dom Nichols were both nursing injuries. The good news on that front is Tariq Boney and Carter Meadows were players who made names for themselves during the bye week. Perhaps they could be in line for more snaps as a way to keep both Daley and Nichols fresh.

If the veteran Becht has time to throw, he has the ability to dice up a defense. Michigan’s secondary has been top notch during the season, but even the best secondaries can only cover for so long. Michigan needs their front to get home.

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