UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 10/10 Penn State travels to No. 5/4 Michigan on Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon in the Big House with a broadcast on FOX. The 2022 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State meets Michigan for the 25th time in program history. The Nittany Lions trail, 15-10, in the all-time series. Two of the last three contests have been decided by one-possession with Penn State winning 28-21 in 2019 and 27-17 in 2020, while Michigan won 21-17 in 2021. In last year's matchup, Sean Clifford threw for 205 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown to Tyler Warren and Jordan Stout connected on three field goals. Ellis Brooks led the PSU defense with 16 tackles, while Arnold Ebiketie had seven tackles, including two sacks, and a forced fumble.
STOPPING THE RUN: The Nittany Lions held Northwestern to 31 rushing yards on 28 carries. Twenty-nine of the Wildcats' 31 yards came on one rush. NU was held to 2 yards on the other 27 carries. Penn State has held four of its five opponents under 100 rushing yards. The Nittany Lions rank fifth in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 79.6 yards per game.
FORCING TAKEAWAYS: Penn State forced three takeaways in its win over Northwestern, including two fumbles and an interception. In the second quarter, Nick Tarburton had a hand in two takeaways, forcing a fumble on a strip-sack and recovering a fumble. Ji'Ayir Brown recorded his eighth career interception. Penn State has forced 11 takeaways in the last three games, its most in any three-game stretch since 1996. The Nittany Lions have forced 12 takeaways, including seven fumbles and five interceptions.
AMOR HONORED BY BIG TEN: Penn State redshirt senior Barney Amor was tabbed Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance against Northwestern. Amor landed four of his five punts inside the 20, including three inside the 10. On the season, Amor has placed 14 of his 23 punts inside the 20 (61 percent) and 12 of his 23 punts inside the 10 (52 percent). He leads the nation in both percentages and total punts inside the 10.
THE OPPOSITION: Michigan is 6-0 this season, following a 31-10 win at Indiana. Blake Corum rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown, while Ronnie Bell had 121 yards on 11 catches. J.J. McCarthy threw for 304 yards and three scores. The Wolverines held Iowa to 222 total yards, including 19 on the ground. Michigan tallied 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 153.2: The Kaytron Allen-Nicholas Singleton duo is averaging 153.2 rushing yards per game.
- 61/52: Barney Amor has landed 61 percent of his punts inside the 20 and 52 percent of his punts inside the 10 this season, leading the FBS in both percentages.
- 49.6: Penn State is holding opponents to a 49.6 completion percentage.
- 28.1: The Nittany Lions are forcing turnovers on 28.1 percent of opponent possessions.
SCOUTING REPORT
- Jim Harbaugh is in his eighth season as head coach at Michigan. In four of his seven seasons as the Michigan head coach, Harbaugh has guided the Wolverines to 10-win seasons.
- Michigan is 6-0 on the season, including 3-0 in Big Ten play.
- The Wolverines own Big Ten wins over Maryland (34-27), Iowa (27-14) and Indiana (31-10).
- Michigan ranks seventh in the nation in scoring offense (43.0 ppg) and 20th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 212.3 yards per game.
- The Wolverines also sit first in the country in completion percentage (.741).
- J.J. McCarthy has completed 94-of-120 passes for 1,152 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception.
- RB Blake Corum ranks third in the country in rushing yards (735), seventh in rushing yards per game (122.5) and holds second in the nation with 11 rushing touchdowns.
- The Wolverines hold fifth in the nation in scoring defense (11.3 ppg) and total defense (247.0), 11th in passing defense (165.3) and seventh in rushing defense (81.7).
- Edge Mike Morris leads Michigan with seven tackles for loss, five sacks and a forced fumble.
NORTHWESTERN NOTES
- Penn State is now 15-5 all-time against Northwestern.
- The Nittany Lions have won eight of the last 10 matchups against the Wildcats.
- Penn State had 37:28 of possession, the most for the Nittany Lions since having 40:22 in the 2020 season opener at Indiana.
- Penn State held Northwestern to just 31 yards rushing, the fewest rushing yards allowed since giving up (minus-19) yards to Purdue in 2019.
- Penn State held Northwestern without a first down in the first quarter. It was the first time Penn State held an opponent without a first down in a quarter since Michigan in 2021 (first quarter).
- Penn State forced a three-and-out on Northwestern's first five drives. The five three-and-outs to start the game are the most against a Big Ten foe since holding Illinois to six consecutive three-and-outs in 2011.
- The Nittany Lions forced three takeaways (one interception in the first quarter, two fumbles in the second quarter).
- Penn State has forced multiple turnovers 44 times since 2014, including three times in 2022.
- Penn State has forced 11 turnovers in the last three games, the most in any three-game stretch since forcing 13 in 1996 (five vs. Northwestern, five vs. Michigan, three vs. Michigan State).
- Penn State held Northwestern to zero or negative yards on 14 of the Wildcats' 28 rushes.
- DE Nick Tarburton recorded a sack, giving the Nittany Lions 10 players who have recorded at least one sack this season.
5-0 START
- Penn State is off to a 5-0 start for the 32nd time in program history.
- The Nittany Lions have notched a 5-0 start for the fourth time under James Franklin.
- The Nittany Lions are one of 15 unbeaten FBS teams.
- Of the 15 teams, Penn State is one of 13 with at least three wins over Power Five conference teams.
- Among undefeated teams, Penn State, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Ole Miss and USC are the only teams with multiple road wins over Power Five teams.