Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509432
2 2 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M lenges. As of mid-October, the Buckeyes were ranked third in the Associated Press poll and the Wolverines second. They were sporting a combined 11-0 record. Throughout the offseason, those two matchups preoccupied Penn State sup- porters as well as anyone else with even a passing interest in how the 2023 season was likely to unfold. An anonymous Big Ten coach quoted in Athlon's college football preview magazine noted that "when recruiting is clicking, [the Lions'] roster looks close to Michigan or Ohio State, but they don't punch you back the same way those guys do." Lindy's wrote that "it's up to them to prove themselves as more than also-rans by beating the Buckeyes in Columbus on Oct. 21 and the Wolverines at Beaver Stadium on Nov. 11." Months have passed since those opin- ions were floated, and the nation's col- lege football pundits are still in a show- me frame of mind when it comes to Penn State. "Within the Big Ten realm … coaches think Michigan is the team to beat," ESPN's Adam Rittenberg wrote in late September. "Penn State must show it can match the muscle of Jim Harbaugh's best teams." The skepticism is rooted in Penn State's record against those two oppo- nents. The Nittany Lions have gone 2-13 at the Horseshoe since joining the Big Ten, with the most recent of those vic- tories coming in 2011 when the Buckeyes were playing under an interim coach fol- lowing Jim Tressel's exit and Penn State was just 10 days removed from Joe Pa- terno's ouster. The Lions have also struggled against Michigan, although not to the same de- gree. They are 10-16 all-time against the Wolverines, an opponent they had never faced before joining the Big Ten in 1993. They've gone 3-6 versus Michigan dur- ing the Franklin era but have been much more competitive at home than in the Big House. In addition to their 24-point loss last year, they've dropped games in Ann Arbor by scores of 49-10 in 2016 and 42-7 in 2018. At Penn State, they've won two of the past three, with the loss com- ing by four points two years ago, a game in which the ninth-ranked Wolverines got a 47-yard catch-and-run touchdown from tight end Erick All with 3:29 left to pull ahead. The recent losses have intensified Penn State's desire for a breakthrough in the fi- nal year of the four-team College Football Playoff. Ohio State has been to the playoff five times, while Michigan has made the past two. Penn State is still seeking its first appearance and is eager to make the field before it expands to 12 teams next year. "At the end of the day, I would love to put our team, and specifically our team this year, in a position to be part of that conversation and make a run at this thing," Franklin told BWI this past sum- mer. With victories in its first five games and a No. 6 ranking in the Oct. 8 AP poll, Penn State was still within reach of that goal as it approached the midway point of the regular season. But the road to play- off contention goes through Columbus, and there are several other arduous stops before it comes to an end at Ford Field in Detroit, where the Lions will meet Michi- gan State in their regular-season finale. Working Ahead Over the years, Franklin has bristled at the notion that some games matter more than others. He prefers to compartmen- talize, breaking the Nittany Lions' cam- paign down into 12 one-game seasons, all of them equally important. It's a tactic aimed at keeping players focused on the here and now. Losses to Maryland and Michigan State — both of whom PSU will play on the road in November — could derail a potential championship season just as easily as losses to Ohio State and Michigan, so those games need to be taken every bit as seriously as the ones on which fans and pundits tend to fixate. Coaches have a bit more leeway. During Penn State's bye week, the staff focused on much more than just the team's non- conference finale against Massachusetts. "We always work ahead," defensive co- ordinator Manny Diaz said. "We have a great group of analysts here that are al- ways working on our next couple of op- ponents. So, what everyone's going to do during the bye week is, you're always go- The last time Penn State defeated Michigan was in 2020, when Keyvone Lee rushed for 134 yards to fuel a 27-17 victory in Ann Arbor. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS