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P R E G A M E R E P O R T P E N N S T A T E @ M I C H I G A N S T A T E T I M E N O O N , N O V . 4 | T V F O X MICHIGAN STATE FACTS COACH Mark Dantonio (South Carolina, '79) COACH'S RECORD 96-44, 57-29 Big Ten, in 11 seasons at Michigan State; career record: 114-61 2017 RECORD 6-2, 4-1 Big Ten RECORD VS. PSU The series is tied, 15-15-1. MOST RECENT MEETING Trace McSorley threw for 376 yards and four touchdowns, as Penn State clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game with a 45-12 rout of the visiting Spartans on Nov. 26, 2016. GOOD NEWS Freshman wideout Cody White has been coming on strong for the Spartans lately. Against North- western last weekend, the 6-foot- 3, 206-pounder set a Michigan State freshman record with 165 receiving yards. Six of his nine catches went for first downs. BAD NEWS Michigan State has the Big Ten's worst kickoff-coverage unit, with a net average of only 36.8 yards and only eight touchbacks. That's a big concern for the Spartans this weekend, as Saquon Barkley has as many kickoff-return touch- downs (two) as the rest of the Big Ten's return men put together. DID YOU KNOW? In addition to coaching seven games against the Nittany Lions since his arrival in East Lansing, Dantonio faced them as head coach of Cincinnati in 2005. The Bearcats visited Beaver Stadium in week two of the season and suffered a 42-24 defeat. Two years later, he was hired by Michi- gan State. M A T T   H E R B | M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M If you think that this week's trip to Michigan State will be a test of Penn State's resilience, imagine how the hosts must feel. While the Nittany Lions were in Columbus last Saturday suffering one of the more agonizing losses in the program's recent history, the Spartans were on the road trying – and eventually failing – to rally past Northwest- ern. Michigan State did manage to tie the score with a touchdown pass in the final minute, and it survived the first two overtime periods. But with Northwestern leading by eight in the third overtime, sophomore quarter- back Brian Lewerke lobbed an off-balance pass into traffic in the end zone, and the resulting interception gave the Wildcats a 39-31 victory. So now Michigan State must try to regroup against a Penn State team Dantonio coached the Spartans to an upset victory over Michigan during a down- pour in Ann Arbor earlier this season. The Spartans have won eight of their past 10 games vs. the Wolverines. Photo by Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog 1 N O V E M B E R 1 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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