Michigan Football Could Gain an Edge as Penn State's Depth Thins at Key Position

The Nittany Lions are taking hits and Michigan needs to make them pay.

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Both Michigan and Penn State are up against the wall when they take the field on Saturday. The Wolverines have lost two in a row and the Nittany Lions have dropped three straight. While Michigan had a bye week to attempt to get things in order, Penn State lost another home game and have some injury concerns.

Entering Week 7, Penn State has the No. 17 ranked rushing defense in the Big Ten, allowing over 165 yards per game on the ground. The best way to attack the Nittany Lions' defense is on the ground, and Northwestern showed that a couple of weeks ago when the Wildcats gashed Penn State for 413 yards.

And for Penn State, things might not be getting better anytime soon, with some more hits taking place on the defense. On Tuesday, head coach Matt Campbell confirmed the loss of linebacker Alex Tatsch, who will miss the remainder of the season.

"Obviously right now we are stressed a little bit at that linebacker room," Campbell said on his radio show. "With losing Alex here, really tough blow for Alex first and foremost and tough blow for us because of the type of player he's becoming."

Tatsch played in four games for the Nittany Lions, recording 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. Campbell said linebacker Cam Smith, a second-year linebacker, is working his way back from injury, and could play this weekend. But it's not going to replace what Penn State has lost.

Attacking the Nittany Lions' linebackers

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Arguably the best play on Penn State is linebacker Tony Rojas, who has 44 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and two interceptions this season. Rojas has played the most snaps of any Penn State defender with 270 over six games.

Both Kooper Ebel and Cael Brezina are the other two linebackers who play, but the Nittany Lions continue to get hit with injuries. LaVar Arrington II has yet to play this season. He was at linebacker before moving to defensive end, but the Nittany Lions would love to have the opportunity to play him all over the place.

Not only can Michigan run the football against Penn State, but the linebackers are susceptible in pass coverage. Ebel has allowed 10 catches on 13 targets his way, and Brezina has allowed three catches on four targets his way.

Now or never for Michigan

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It's been far from easy for Michigan on the ground this season. The Wolverines have the No. 13 rushing offense in the Big Ten, averaging 135 yards per game on the ground. It's the worst Michigan has averaged since the 2020 COVID-19 season.

But after a bye week, Kyle Whittingham said the staff canned a few things that weren't helping the Wolverines, and it's possible Michigan will look to run more downhill to help better feature the personnel it has.

Playing against a reeling Penn State team, that struggles to stop the run, is exactly what this team needs. Now it comes down to executing and seeing it happen on the field. Michigan has a chance to do so this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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