Penn State prepares for loaded No.14 Michigan

Before Saturday’s game, 100,000 sets of eyes will be on the field as 19 Penn State seniors are honored for their dedication to the program — many through tumultuous times. Many will be emotional; many of those eyes may brim full with memories of their favorite players in that group.

But once that ceremony is over, the industrious battle of X’s and O’s begins.

No. 14 Michigan (8-2) is coming to town, and with the Wolverines come a slew of weapons in all three phases of the game — and a head coach who has made quite a splash in his first year with the program.

Penn State (7-3) head coach James Franklin, not so far-removed from being the new guy in the conference himself, was asked after Wednesday’s practice what he thought of the “Harbaugh Mania” that has swept through Michigan as the program welcomed back “Mr. Michigan” himself: Jim Harbaugh, fresh and grinning intensely from the NFL, with all his quirks and transfer-luring, team-cobbling ability.

“Got a lot of respect for Michigan and everything they’ve done, their whole coaching staff, their players,” said Franklin, who admitted he hadn’t ever really even interacted with Harbaugh, and had little to say about him.

Franklin was adamant, however, in saying that as one coach, he wasn’t scouting the other to look for tendencies or tells. Instead, he was looking mostly at the bulk of Michigan’s last four games, especially those with a traditional run-pass scheme like Indiana’s or Minnesota’s; those teams that were able to take the Blue to the wire.

“We watched those two games, games with similar formations, similar philosophies and things like that that are valuable for our guys to see,” said Franklin. “The Minnesota game, the thing that stood out about that game, probably differently than Indiana, they made plays. That's what really jumped out about Minnesota. They won a bunch of those one-on-one situations and came down with the ball. Indiana was different because they kind of wore them down with the run game and the big backs. So two different types of games. We're probably going to have to do a combination of both.”

Three Keys to See

Offense

The health and performance of freshman running back Saquon Barkley will be key, as it has proven to be throughout Penn State’s season.

“At times, he’s been a major difference-maker for us,” said Franklin. “We want to try to give him opportunities to impact the game.”

Franklin said that last week’s bye was especially important for Barkley, who has been nursing an ankle injury that’s steadily been improving since he first went down in the first half against San Diego State.

The head coach said he believes Barkley is close to 100 percent, if not there already, in preparation for this week’s game; and while in many contests Barkley’s prodigious skill and athleticism has been the biggest factor, against Michigan, it’s only a part of the game.

The Wolverines have the No. 8 rush defense in the nation, with just 103.2 yards allowed per game and only seven rushing touchdowns. Opposing running backs notch an average of just 3.09 yards per carry; and a five-man front loads up the box to further assist in run-stuffing duties.

“They’re in a five-man front all the time,” said Franklin. “They’ll overload you in the box; they’ll play a lot of man coverage and press across the board, even more than usual.”

Just like Maryland did, said the head coach, Michigan will “dare” Penn State to move the ball in the air with tight press-man coverage.

And, they feel comfortable doing so because of the players they have in their secondary.

Michigan corner Jourdan Lewis is actually thought by Pro Football Focus to be the best in the nation at the position; and his stats back him up. Lewis has allowed 26 catches for 274 yards against him in 74 targets through the season, and has a school-record 20 pass breakups. Only once has a receiver put up 40 yards against him — none have produced more.

“There are no yards in the box looking at it in the run game, and there are no yards on the perimeter that they're giving you,” said Franklin. “You're going to have to earn all of it.”

Lewis will likely go against Chris Godwin, Penn State’s top receiver, who said this week he’s fully anticipating what will likely be his toughest test this season. Godwin will need to make those 50/50 catches he’s proved he can execute since the Maryland game; and quarterback Christian Hackenberg will need to spread out his targets to isolate other defensive backs.

Defense

It was thought that the reason Penn State had struggled so much when defending the run as of late was due to dual-threat opposing quarterbacks using their in the zone-read.

But when the Nittany Lions, who were prepared for Northwestern runner-gunner Clayton Thorson, instead got backup pocket passer Zack Oliver and his running back, they were gashed for 227 yards on the ground alone.

The problem has seemed to lie in subpar tackling in the second and third tiers of Penn State’s defense; and is a bit of a sore spot in discussions with coaches and players.

“If you look at a large percentage of our runs, we’ve played very good defense, but there’s been too many explosive runs,” said Franklin. “You're going to get a run against you for 8 yards or 12 yards. You can't have the runs for 35 and 45. Those kill you. They obviously swing field position, they swing momentum, and that's what we're not doing a great job of.”

When struggles are as such, a player like Jabrill Peppers can really hurt a team.

Peppers is Michigan’s Swiss Army Knife player who has split his duties between punt and kick returns, linebacker, receiver, safety, running back and even quarterback running out of wildcat. He’s up for the Paul Hornug Award, given to the nation’s most versatile player — and by himself, he adds dozens of “wrinkle” combinations to Harbaugh’s playbook.

“They're going to try to get his hands on the ball,” said Franklin. “Whether it's as a receiver or a running back, he's an explosive guy. You look at his 100-meter times in high school, he's obviously an explosive guy, and he's not built like a track guy. He's put together.”

Michigan’s tight end, Jake Butt, is far from the rear end of offensive playmakers.

Butt can run routes like a wideout and greatly affect the run game with his blocking ability. He’s been a huge factor in the development of the team’s offense, which initially struggled under transfer quarterback Jake Rudock.

“They’re playing with a lot more confidence right now,” said Franklin. “They’re much more explosive on offense...It’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”

Special Teams

Michigan punter Blake O’Neill is probably most well-known for his now-infamous bobble of a snap that led to a Michigan State scoop-and-score and final-second Spartans victory.

Less well-known is the fact that O’Neill is one of the best punters in the country. The Australian boots rugby-style, and, in the same game against Michigan State, punted an 80-yarder that rolled to a stop at the 2-yard-line.

On the other hand, despite Franklin’s citing of their consistency in practice, Penn State has not shown cohesion in its punting, kickoff and kicking this season. Tyler Davis recently replaced former starter Joey Julius at kicker, while Daniel Pasquariello took over punting duties from Chris Gulla.

Peppers, a prolific kick returner, could very well capitalize on that. He has averaged 18.5 yards per punt return and 27.88 yards per kickoff return this season.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Penn State prepares for loaded No.14 Michigan."