Ten Things I Think Will Happen For Michigan vs. Penn State
Michigan is a nine-point dog for its contest against Penn State, which is quite a bit, but not necessarily unrealistic. Everyone knows the numbers under Jim Harbaugh at this point — 0-7 as an underdog, 1-9 against AP Top 10 teams and obviously the subpar record against rivals. However, he is 3-1 against the Nittany Lions, but not many people are optimistic about Saturday.
Michigan's games have been tough to predict because none of them have really played out how many thought they would. As 22-point favorites over the Black Knights of Army, Michigan escaped with a three-point win in double overtime. As 3.5-dogs against the Badgers, U-M limped away from Madison after a 21-point loss that was actually much worse. The Wolverines were favored by 27.5 over Rutgers and won by 52 in an offensive explosion compared to weeks prior. There was the 10-point offensive clunker against the Hawkeyes that somehow resulted in a win. And then last week, Michigan inexplicably gave up 25 straight points to Illinois before ultimately winning the game 42-25. That makes these guesses tricky, but here are some specific predictions on how the action will look this Saturday.
Player Predictions
Hassan Haskins will score another touchdown
Haskins is really ascending and was Michigan's best looking running back last week against the Illini. He started off with four carries for 68 yards and then didn't touch the ball for 36 offensive plays. Hopefully that lull doesn't take place against the Nittany Lions, which might give the redshirt freshman back a chance to get into the end zone again.
Kwity Paye will return to the lineup and record a sack
Paye missed the game last week but should be good to go this week and has been hot. He, along with Josh Uche, leads the team with 4.5 sacks and would love to add to that total this weekend. I think he will if he's healthy and we're hearing he should be good to go.
Ronnie Bell scores his first touchdown of the year
Bell leads the team in both catches with 20 and receiving yards with 361 but he has not found the end zone yet. Senior quarterback Shea Patterson has a ton of confidence in Bell and has looked for him in the end zone several times, but Bell hasn't been able to put six on the board yet. I think he will this weekend as Penn State's top corners key on U-M's big three of Tarik Black, Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Nico Collins leads the team in catches and yards
Collins also missed last week's game in Champaign but should be good to go in Happy Valley. Collins hasn't been targeted enough in my opinion but he needs to be against the Nittany Lions. He only has 13 catches and two touchdowns on the year, which is criminal. Penn State's defensive backs are not very tall at all, so Collins needs to be utilized in a big way.
Dylan McCaffrey will play
McCaffrey was ready to go last week against Illinois but stayed on the sidelines. If he's healthy and can provide a spark as a runner, he should play. It's clear that Patterson is Jim Harbaugh's guy but he's left a lot on the field in several games. If McCaffrey can make Penn State pay in ways that Patterson can't or simply won't, he should get some snaps.
Team Predictions
Michigan allows Sean Clifford to score a rushing touchdown
Clifford isn't exactly Michael Vick as a runner but he's been effective. He's carried it 43 times for 200 yards and two scores. I think he'll be needed as a runner against the Wolverines and if the Nittany Lions get into the red zone he'll become much more of a weapon.
Michigan recovers a Sean Clifford fumble
Because of Clifford's propensity to run, I think Michigan will cause him to lose a fumble. He has fumbled twice on the year but Penn State recovered both. Again Michigan's athletes on defense, Clifford will cough it up and turn it over.
Michigan will fall short of 350 yards of offense
The Wolverines' offense has been pretty bad overall on the year and is averaging 387 yards of offense per game. If the rumblings we've heard are true, Michigan isn't expecting to come in and light it up. They'd rather control the clock, play the field possession game and let the defense do its thing. I hope that's not the case but if it is, offensive numbers will be modest.
Michigan will score first
This one might be more of a necessity than a prediction, but I see it happening. For some reason I think it might be a field goal, but I think U-M breaks the seal on the scoreboard in Happy Valley.
Penn State will not cover the spread
I do think Penn State will win but I don't think it'll be by nine points or more. If it is, Michigan's season could really, really skid. A loss in general would be bad and essentially ruin any significant goals U-M had coming into 2019, but a double-digit loss to a team that's really pretty comparable would really speak to the regression we think we've been seeing this year.
What do you think of the predictions? Which will happen and which won't? What predictions do you have? Comment below!!!
