Oct. 29, 2010
Click Here for Drew Astorino's Video Scouting Report of the Michigan Offense
Click Here for Quinn Barham's Video Scouting Report of the Michigan Defense
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; -
Penn State will open a two-game homestand on Saturday when it welcomes No. 25 Michigan to Beaver Stadium for a primetime clash of national powers. The critical Big Ten showdown, which is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. kickoff, will air on ESPN, the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State students have declared a student whiteout for the contest and their "Project 7" initiative is encouraging Penn State's 21,000-strong student section to be in their seats by 7:00 p.m.
Penn State has won the last two meetings with the Wolverines, but Michigan leads the series, 10-5. The Nittany Lions won, 35-10, last year in Ann Arbor, and 46-17, in 2008 in Beaver Stadium. The teams will be in opposite Big Ten divisions starting in 2011 and are not scheduled to meet the next two years.
Both teams will be looking to even their Big Ten record at 2-2. Penn State will be seeking to end a three-game losing streak in night games.
Michigan will be the Nittany Lions' fourth ranked opponent of the season, bringing the No. 25 ranking in the USA Today Coaches' poll to Happy Valley.
Penn State (815) and Michigan (882) are among the top 10 in all-time victories and winning percentage and are two of only seven Football Bowl Subdivision programs with at least 800 all-time wins.
Penn State senior tailback Evan Royster passed Tony Hunt for second place on the school career rushing yardage list, and scored a touchdown, in the win at Minnesota, gaining 62 yards on just 10 carries. Royster has 3,368 yards and stands just 31 yards shy of breaking Curt Warner's school record of 3,398 yards.
The Nittany Lions improved to 13-2 in the game following a loss since the start of the 2005 season and 14-5 in game after a bye week since 1994 with their 33-21 victory at Minnesota last week.
In the win at Minnesota, true freshman quarterback Rob Bolden completed his first nine passes and led Penn State on two scoring drives before being forced from the game in the second quarter with an injury. He finished the day completing 11-of-13 passes for 130 yards with one touchdown, a 21-yard strike to Brett Brackett, and no interceptions. On Penn State's first play after cornerback D'Anton Lynn returned an end zone interception 58 yards, redshirt sophomore quarterback Matt McGloin tossed his first career completion, hitting Derek Moye on a 42-yard scoring connection and a 21-7 lead. McGloin also threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Moye in an effective outing in the most significant playing time of his career.
Bolden, McGloin and sophomore Kevin Newsome have all practiced this week. On Thursday's "Penn State Football Show," Joe Paterno told the radio audience that McGloin was the leading candidate to get the start against Michigan. Should McGloin start, he would become the 16th Nittany Lion to earn his first career start this season.
The Wolverines have been idle since a 38-28 loss to Iowa on Oct. 16. Michigan will be playing its second Big Ten road contest. The Wolverines have dropped two straight overall, falling to nationally ranked Michigan State and Iowa, after reeling off five straight wins to begin the season.
Guiding the Big Ten's top ranked offense, which averages 532.0 yards per games, is the nation's No. 2 rusher, quarterback Denard Robinson. The dual-threat sophomore signal caller has run for 1,096 yards and nine touchdowns but also thrown for 1,319 yards and nine scores, completing 67.8 percent of his passes. Redshirt sophomore Roy Roundtree has emerged as Robinson's favorite target, catching 33 balls for 395 yards and two touchdowns. Running backs Vincent Smith (328 yards, 4 TDs) and Michael Shaw (291 yards, 5 TDs) have also been key contributors to the Wolverines' ground game.
The Michigan defense is powered by linebacker Jonas Mouton, who leads the team and ranks third in the Big Ten in tackles with 63 (36 solos). Redshirt sophomore defensive backs Jordan Kovacs (61 tackles, 6.5 TFLs) and J.T. Floyd (39 solo tackles) headline the Wolverines' secondary. Defensive tackles Mike Martin (5.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks) and Greg Banks (5.0 TFLs, 3.0 sacks) anchor the UM front.
Following the Michigan game, Penn State will host Northwestern in Beaver Stadium on Nov. 6. The kick time and television coverage will be announced by Monday. A limited number of tickets for the conference clash are available at www.GoPSUsports.com or by calling 814-865-5555 (10 a.m.-6 p.m.).
The Nittany Lions have a 10-3 series advantage against the Wildcats, winning 34-13 last year in Evanston. Northwestern is 5-2 and travels to Indiana on Saturday (12 p.m., Big Ten Network) looking to snap a two-game losing skid.