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KEY MATCHUPS P E N N   S T A T E   V S .   M I C H I G A N | B Y P H I L G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 165.0 YPG, 4.8 YPC // MICHIGAN RUN DEFENSE85.8 YPG, 2.6 YPC THE LOWDOWNAfter an off-week, Penn State's offensive line will face its toughest assignment of the 2017 season as it goes up against the No. 1 defense in the country in Michigan. The Wolverines are allowing only 223.8 yards of total offense per game and are No. 2 in the Big Ten in run defense. Penn State's running game ranks eighth in the Big Ten, but its average of 4.8 yards per carry is third-best. RB Saquon Barkley, who ranks third in the Big Ten in rushing with 649 yards on 102 carries (6.4 yards per carry), leads the Nittany Lion ground attack. Barkley has six rushing touchdowns. QB Trace McSorley is the Lions' second-leading rusher with 178 yards on 72 car- ries and four rushing touchdowns. No one else on Penn State's roster has more than nine carries. ILB Devin Bush Jr. is the leader of the Michigan defense. Bush is the Wolverines' top tackler with 50 stops and is third in tackles for loss with 5.5. DE Chase Winovich and ILB Mike McCray have 40 and 39 tackles, respectively. Winovich has a team-best eight tackles for loss, while DT Maurice Hurst has seven. As a team, Michigan is sec- ond in the Big Ten with 47 tackles for loss. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State LT Ryan Bates will face Michigan DE Rashan Gary, while right tackles Will Fries and Chasz Wright will face Winovich. On the inside, guards Steven Gonzalez and Brendan Mahon will tangle with Bush. Michigan loves to run-blitz Bush from his inside linebacker position. // EDGE Michigan PENN STATE PASSING GAME 291.2 YPG, 12.4 YPC // MICHIGAN PASS DEFENSE 138.0 YPG, 11.0 YPC THE LOWDOWN This matchup will pit strength against strength. Penn State has the second-best pass offense in the Big Ten, while Michigan has the league's top-rated pass defense. Opponents are completing only 44.1 percent of their attempts against the Wolverines. McSorley is the top passer in the Big Ten, having completed 130 of 194 at- tempts for 1,597 yards, with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. His pass-efficiency rating of 154.1 ranks third in the Big Ten. Backup QB Tommy Stevens has completed 9 of 17 passes for 126 yards and one TD. Barkley is Penn State's leading receiver with 29 catches for 395 yards and two TDs. WR Juwan Johnson is next with 24 catches for 303 yards and one TD. FS Tyree Kinnel and CB Lavert Hill have two interceptions apiece to lead the Wolverines. Michigan is second in the Big Ten with 20 sacks. Bush and Winovich lead Michigan with five sacks apiece. Surpris- ingly, Gary has only 1.5 sacks. // KEY MATCHUP Bates, Wright and Fries will have to keep Winovich and Gary out of the backfield, while Barkley will be going up against Bush. Those three Michigan standouts are among the Big Ten's best pass rushers. Elsewhere, Johnson will be looking to use his 5-inch height advantage to catch passes against Hill. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. MICHIGAN PASS DEFENSE MICHIGAN RUNNING GAME 127.4 YPG, 3.2 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE127.4 YPG, 3.2 YPC THE LOWDOWN Michigan relies heavily on a two-tight end power running game between the tackles. Ranked fourth in the Big Ten, this will be the best power running game Penn State will face all season. The Wolverines' leading rusher is Ty Issac, a 6-3, 228-pound senior who has rushed for 403 yards on 68 carries and one touchdown. In ad- dition, Karan Higdon had a breakout game against Indiana, rushing for 200 yards and three touchdowns. One other noteworthy aspect of Michigan's rushing attack is that receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones and Eddie Mc- Doom have been effective on the jet sweep. Peoples-Jones has two carries for 50 yards. Penn State ranks fiBh in the Big Ten in run defense but has allowed only four rushing TDs and leads the country in scoring defense at 9.0 points per game. MLB Jason Cabinda is Penn State's leading tackler with 40 stops, including three tackles for loss. FS Marcus Allen is next with 35 total tackles and four tackles for loss. // KEY MATCHUP Michigan LT Mason Cole will face Penn State DE Shareef Miller, while guards Ben Bredeson and Michael Onwenu will be trying to neutralize Cabinda. Elsewhere, Michigan tight ends Sean McKeon and Tyrone Wheatley will take on outside linebackers Manny Bowen and Koa Farmer. // EDGE Even MICHIGAN RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE MICHIGAN PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N M I C H I G A N H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. MICHIGAN RUN DEFENSE O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 MICHIGAN PASSING GAME 191.3 YPG, 12.8 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE167.8 YPG, 9.4 YPC THE LOWDOWNMichigan's pass offense has struggled throughout the season, ranking 11th in the Big Ten. Injuries have had a big impact here, as starting QB Wilton Speight hurt his back against Purdue and may be out for the season. Since taking over for Speight, senior John O'Korn has completed 45 of 82 passes (54.9 percent) for 563 yards, with one touchdown and four interceptions. With a pass-efficiency rating of 106.8, O'Korn is not among the top 10 quarterbacks in the Big Ten. WR Grant Perry leads Michigan's receiver corps with 18 catches for 224

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