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O T H E R M A T C H U P S THE LOWDOWNThe edge here has to go to the Wolverines. Will Hart leads the Big Ten in punting, averaging 49.5 yards per attempt, while Quinn Nordin has converted 11 of 15 field goal attempts, with his longest being 50 yards. In the return game, Peoples-Jones has averaged 9.3 yards per punt return and has a 63-yard touchdown. Except for its kickoff-return game, where Hamler has turned out to be a huge asset, Penn State's special teams have been er- ratic. Even the usually reliable punting unit has struggled, as the Lions allowed two safeties on botched punts against Iowa. One piece of good news for Penn State: Jake Pinegar was 3 for 3 on field goals last week, with all of his makes coming from beyond 40 yards. // EDGE Michigan SPECIAL TEAMS THE LOWDOWNMichigan has mostly dominated this series, which began when Penn State started Big Ten play in 1993. The Wolverines hold a 13-8 edge, and they've been especially good at home. The Nittany Lions have only won three of their 10 games in Ann Arbor. The biggest of those wins was in 1994, when they prevailed 31-24 to keep their unbeaten season going. They also won 29-17 in 1996 and 35-10 in 2009. // EDGEMichigan THIS 'N' THAT THE LOWDOWN This is Jim Harbaugh's fourth season at Michigan. He's caught some flak for his 2-5 combined record against Michigan State and Ohio State, but his team claimed in-state bragging rights – along with the Paul Bunyan Trophy – with a 21-7 victory over the Spartans two weeks ago. The Wolverines will get their next shot at the Buckeyes on Nov. 24 in Columbus. James Franklin is in his fiBh year as Penn State's head coach. He has a 42-19 record, but has won only one of four games against Michigan, a 42-13 romp last season. // EDGE Even COACHING STAFF O C T O B E R   3 1 ,   2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 5 in the Big Ten in yards allowed per game, but they are second in pass-efficiency defense with a rating of 107.1. Op- ponents have completed only 53.8 percent of their attempts against Penn State, with just 12 touchdown passes. The Nittany Lions also lead the conference in sacks with 28, an average of 3.5 sacks per game. ABer big games against In- diana and Iowa, Gross-Matos leads the way with six sacks, followed by Shaka Toney with five and Shareef Miller with four. // KEY MATCHUP If Bushell-Beatty and Runyan can control Gross-Matos, Toney and Miller, then Patter- son will have some success throwing the football. Gentry stands 6-foot-8, while Peoples-Jones is 6-2 and Collins is 6-4. They will pose matchup problems in the secondary. If Penn State is going to keep Michigan's passing game under control, its defensive ends must be able to put pressure on Patterson. // EDGE Even

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