Michigan at Penn State - I'm calling it, making it a lock that it WON'T happen, but here goes anyway:
No one can run on Michigan (No. 1 at 40 yds/game), but no one can run on Penn State, either (No. 14 at 75 yds/game). Both teams give up significant passing yardage because teams cannot run against them. Morelli gets maligned as Penn State's QB, but Henne has thrown almost as many picks as Morelli in 60 fewer attempts. Morelli's thrown 5 in 184 attempts, Henne 4 in 122. Henne's efficiency numbers are better because he throws bombs to Mario Manningham. But Manningham ain't playing, is he? The loss of Manningham means Henne loses half of his passing yardage, 75% of his TD throws, and 40% of Michigan's total scoring.
The absence of Manningham will force Carr to try and grind up yardage (and clock time) on the ground. Michigan is No. 17 in rushing offense at 195 yards per game. However, with the complete absence of a deep threat, Penn State's already stingy defense will be able to put 8 or 9 guys in the box to stop the run. When PSU has the ball, their rushing offense is No. 20 at 191 yards per game going against the No. 1 rushing defense. But Penn State has the speedy wideouts that the Wolverines lack.
Saturday night in Happy Valley. That place will be rocking. Michigan will not score early and often as they did in ND to take the crowd out. And PSU is a different team at home than on the road, winning by an average score of 34-8.
An undefeated Mich - OSU game goes down the drain with Llllloyd:
Penn State 13, Michigan 10
No comments:
Post a Comment