Here’s 5 things to watch in Saturday’s Penn State vs. Michigan college football game
The Penn State Nittany Lions (0-5) are looking to turn things around after starting their season with five consecutive losses for the first time in school history when they take on the Michigan Wolverines (2-3) at noon Saturday (ABC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Here are five things to keep an eye on:
HOW WILL SNAPS BE SPLIT AT QB FOR PSU?
After both redshirt sophomore quarterback Will Levis and redshirt junior Sean Clifford played against Iowa last Saturday, head coach James Franklin said Tuesday that he still hasn’t decided on a starter.
“We’re gonna need them both,” Franklin said. “The reality is turnovers have been our issue — one of our issues, but probably one of our bigger issues. And the reality is we’ve had it with both of them. So, we need to protect the football. But we’re gonna need both of those guys.”
Both Levis and Clifford struggled in the loss to the Hawkeyes.
Levis started the game but was pulled for Clifford at the 4:09 mark of the third quarter after fumbling twice. Clifford initially provided the offense an instant spark by throwing two touchdowns on his first two pass attempts, bringing the Nittany Lions within 10 points. But eventually, his turnover problem resurfaced. Clifford threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter, ending the hope of a Penn State comeback as quickly as he initially provided it.
Clifford has 16 career starts, but the 6-foot-2, 217-pound Ohio native has regressed this season. He was benched early in the second quarter of Penn State’s Week 4 loss to Nebraska before not getting the start against Iowa.
Out of the Nittany Lions’ 13 turnovers this season, Clifford is responsible for 10 of them. The redshirt junior has thrown eight interceptions, and had two fumbles returned for touchdowns. He’s completed just 87 of his 152 pass attempts (57.2 completion percentage) so far, throwing for 1,070 yards and 11 touchdowns to go with his eight picks.
Levis has been turnover prone, too. He’s fumbled three times this season — once in Penn State’s season-opener against Indiana and twice last week against Iowa. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound Connecticut native has completed 27 of his 47 pass attempts (57.4 completion percentage) for 325 yards and no touchdowns.
Based on Franklin’s Tuesday comments, it seems possible that both quarterbacks could take snaps on Saturday versus Michigan.
PSU WR JAHAN DOTSON
In what’s been a rough year for the Penn State offense, junior receiver Jahan Dotson has consistently put up monster numbers.
After his eight-catch, 139-yard and one-touchdown performance against Iowa last Saturday, Dotson is now up to 527 receiving yards and six touchdowns through the Nittany Lions’ first five games. He ranks second in the Big Ten in receiving yards and is tied for second in receiving touchdowns — behind only Indiana receiver Ty Fryfogle in both categories.
The 5-foot-11, 182-pound Nazareth native has posted three games this season of 100-plus receiving yards. Before his game against the Hawkeyes, Dotson broke the 100-yard mark against Ohio State (144 receiving yards on eight catches) and Maryland (123 receiving yards on nine catches).
Heading into this season, Penn State’s biggest question mark offensively was with its receivers. Now, Dotson has helped to ensure that the unit is one of the few the Nittany Lions can consistently rely on for production.
Against Michigan this Saturday, Dotson should be due for another big game. The Wolverines are ranked 103rd in the country in passing yards allowed, giving up 274 per game.
Even in its triple-overtime victory over Rutgers last Saturday, Michigan allowed two Scarlet Knights receivers to eclipse 100 yards receiving — receiver Shameen Jones had 127 yards on seven catches, while receiver Bo Melton added 109 yards and a touchdown on seven catches.
Penn State’s priority on offense on Saturday should be to get the ball in Dotson’s hands early and often. And if the Nittany Lions manage to do that, maybe the budding star can give them a chance to break out of their five-game skid.
PENN STATE’S RUNNING GAME
The lack of a consistent running game has been an issue for Penn State all season. With star redshirt junior running back Journey Brown forced to medically retire and standout sophomore running back Noah Cain out for the season with a foot injury he suffered against Indiana in Week 1, the Nittany Lions’ rushing attack has looked nonexistent at times.
In the absence of Brown and Cain, sophomore running back Devyn Ford and freshmen running backs Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee were left to carry the load. But the trio has combined for only 405 rushing yards through five games.
And after Ford left last Saturday’s game against Iowa with an injury suffered on Penn State’s first drive, his status is uncertain.
Holmes and Lee have had their moments — like their performances against Nebraska in Week 4. (Holmes had 50 yards on the ground against the Cornhuskers, while Lee added 49 yards and a touchdown.) But neither have been consistent.
Penn State has tried to rely on quarterback runs, using both Clifford and Levis. Clifford leads the team in rushing attempts with 64, but he’s only averaged 2.8 yards per rush for 182 yards so far this season. Levis — who is third on the team in carries with 35 — has 96 yards on the ground.
The Nittany Lions’ inability to run the ball effectively is even more glaring because of their poor quarterback play. Neither Clifford nor Levis have responded well to pressure, and Penn State’s running game not being a threat certainly hasn’t helped ease any of that off of the quarterbacks.
It’ll be interesting to see if Ford plays on Saturday, or if Franklin provides an update on his status before or after the contest. Regardless, keep an eye on which running back leads the way for Penn State against Iowa.
MICHIGAN QB CADE MCNAMARA
Like Penn State, Michigan also had issues with quarterback play — until the Wolverines made the switch from junior Joe Milton to sophomore Cade McNamara late in their Week 4 loss to Wisconsin.
McNamara finished the game against the Badgers 4-of-7 passing for 74 yards and a touchdown before being named the starter last week versus Rutgers. Against the Scarlet Knights, McNamara completed 27 of his 36 pass attempts for 260 yards and four touchdowns, while also adding a touchdown on the ground.
Though it’s a small sample size, McNamara seems to be the answer the Wolverines needed at quarterback. So far, he’s 31-of-46 passing (67.4 percent completion rate) for 334 yards and five touchdowns.
Through five games so far, Penn State has made even average quarterbacks look elite. The Nittany Lions’ secondary is allowing opposing quarterbacks to average a 66.2 percent completion rate per game — a mark that ranks 109th out of 127 FBS teams.
Quarterbacks who can throw it deep have especially given Penn State trouble. Against Ohio State in Week 2, Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields threw a 49-yard bomb to receiver Chris Olave that put the Nittany Lions in a 15-point hole midway through the third quarter. And against Maryland in Week 3, Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa ended the first half by launching a 34-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dontay Demus to give his team a 21-point advantage at the break.
Though only one of McNamara’s five passing touchdowns has come on a completion of over 30 yards, the sophomore has flashed his arm strength at times.
How Penn State’s defense fairs against McNamara will go a long way in determining Saturday’s outcome.
PSU’S FIRST-HALF ENERGY
Penn State has trailed by at least 10 points at the end of the first half through all of its first five games.
In the Nittany Lions last two games — against Nebraska in Week 4 and Iowa last Saturday — they found themselves down by over two scores at the break. The comeback effort by Penn State was strong in both second halves, but it just wasn’t enough.
Through five first halves so far this season, the Nittany Lions have been outscored 117-33.
Redshirt junior safety Jonathan Sutherland mentioned on Wednesday that the team made a change to its practice routine this week to work on starting faster in games.
“This past practice, we kinda switched up our schedule a little bit,” Sutherland told reporters on a Zoom call. “Typically, we’ve been following the same format for the past couple years now. But yesterday, we kinda switched up our Tuesday practice, and it allowed us to start a lot more faster. … Hopefully that will translate to the game.”
If the adjustment in preparation doesn’t prove to be effective, the Nittany Lions could be in for another long afternoon. And their contest against Michigan could be over before they can even give themselves a chance to grab win No. 1 of 2020.
