Staff Score Predictions: Michigan vs. Penn State

Penn State is favored over the Wolverines and it seems like just about everyone agrees.

Brandon Brown

I feel like a broken record, but I have not seen enough out of Michigan to think that they can beat the Nittany Lions tomorrow night. The road, white out environment is as tough as any in college football and Jim Harbaugh simply hasn't shown that he can win this type of game. 

Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson needs to play his best game in a winged helmet in order to beat Penn State but six games in, I think he is who he is. I expect Michigan's defense to play well but I don't think U-M's offense can score enough points to get a win away from Ann Arbor.

Penn State 24, Michigan 20

Steve Deace

While my official prediction is 24-14 Penn State, after a week of everyone and and their wicked step mother picking a Penn State win, I feel someone needs to lay out a plausible scenario for the Wolverines to pull this off. 

Penn State's offense has proven to be limited in its only two games against teams with a chance of going anywhere this season. Against Pittsburgh and Iowa, the Nittany Lions scored 17 points in each of those games. Penn State's offense is still shuffling offensive linemen and running backs, while attempting to develop an outside receiving threat to complement K.J. Hamler. If the Michigan offense, finally, limits its mistakes, and the Michigan defense forces quarterback Sean Clifford to make plays from the pocket rather than being resourceful with his feet as he was against Iowa, that's the recipe for a pulling off the biggest win of the Harbaugh era. 

However, that would require the first clean game of the season for Michigan. Even against Iowa the Wolverines won the turnover battle despite fumbling twice. They were just fortunate enough to recover those. 

Penn State 24, Michigan 14

Michael Spath

No matter how much I try to convince myself that this time it will be different, Michigan has yet to prove that they‘re capable of going on the road against a strong opponent and make the necessary plays offensively to win a big game like this. I think Penn State wins and that will pull away late.

Penn State 28, Michigan 17

What say you? What is your prediction for today's game? Comment below!!!