Tuesday Roundup: Penn State vs. Michigan
No. 7 Penn State welcomes No. 16 Michigan to Happy Valley for a conference matchup. Saturday's game marks the Penn State White Out where more than 110,800 people have witnessed the atmosphere inside Beaver Stadium over the past two years. Here's what we learned from Tuesday's press conference ahead Saturday's showdown with the Wolverines.
Penn State White Out
Following a win at Iowa, the Nittany Lions are 6-0 for the fourth time since 2000. As the Nittany Lions turn the page to Michigan, head coach James Franklin quickly recapped the electrifying road victory. "The coaches' players of the week from last week on offense were Michal Menetand Noah Cain, and defense was Robert Windsorand on special teams was Blake Gillikin, who had a huge game for us," head coach James Franklin stated. "That's that. We'll move on."
Move on we will.
Shifting attention towards Michigan, all eyes will be focused on Beaver Stadium this Saturday for the Penn State White Out. In what is arguably one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports, the Nittany Lions will play in front of a White Out crowd on primetime national television. A spectacle so large that during the last two years, more than 110,800 people have witnessed the atmosphere inside Beaver Stadium.
"It's college football at its finest. For some people, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," offensive lineman Steven Gonzalez stated during a Tuesday press conference. "I think it's one of those things where you can only experience it once. If you're able to experience it more, then that's awesome. But it's college football at its finest, to be honest."
College football at its finest and the ultimate test for first-year players. "It's going to be tough for people who haven't experienced it to describe it, but it's like a sea of white, just everybody is wearing white. Everybody is really loud," defensive tackle PJ Mustipher stated. "For me, that really helps. And for this defense, that really helps because you can't hear anybody next to you, in front of you or behind you. I would describe it like that."
Franklin added to the Penn State White Out conversation: "I tell people, literally, I'll have that eight seconds where I'm standing there in the tunnel and you see it and you hear it, but you literally feel it. You literally feel it. I'll enjoy it for that eight seconds and then you run out and you're so consumed doing your job from that point on, it's kind of hard. I want our guys to appreciate it. But our process doesn't change. I think it's pretty cool that, I think this is accurate, in the history of Penn State football, and we've played a lot of great football here for a long time, this is the first time ever that we've had Gameday on our campus three years in a row. I think that speaks volumes about how people perceive our program right now and what we're doing."
Michigan, Michigan, Michigan
Michigan holds a 5-1 record (3-1 Big Ten) and enters Saturday's game fresh off a road victory over Illinois. The Wolverines are led by fifth-year head coach Jim Harbaugh who is 43-15 during his time in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "Coach [Jim] Harbaugh coming in here, got so much respect for the University of Michigan, their history, their traditions, their program," Franklin stated during his weekly press conference. "Players that we've been impressed with are Ben Bredeson, a young man that we recruited out of Wisconsin, a senior offensive lineman for them doing a good job. Jon Runyan, who's a local guy, from New Jersey, but played high school in Philadelphia. Obviously comes from a football family. And then Ronnie Bell. There's a bunch of guys that we could list."
Michigan's rushing defense has been particularly stout since the Wisconsin game as the Wolverines have surrendered just 111 total rushing yards. Don Brown's unit has also registered 25 tackles for loss and 14 sacks over the last two games. "I think when it comes to Michigan this week and how they're going to try to attack us, all we can do is study the film that we've seen that they've put on tape," James Franklin said when asked about Michigan's defense. "The personnel packages, the plays that they run out of those personnel packages, the schemes, what they're trying to do. And then also our familiarity, obviously, with Josh [Gattis] and now Coach Harbaugh, and prepare for that."
Game Information
No. 7 Penn State will take on No. 16 Michigan at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday inside Beaver Stadium. If you're unable to make it to the game, be sure to watch the primetime matchup on ABC or listen on the Penn State Sports Network. Fans are encouraged to check Game Day Central on GoPSUsports.com for all your game day information.
