Michigan’s path to its first Big Ten win of the season runs through three clear areas, and none of them are flashy.
The Wolverines and Penn State arrive at Saturday’s matchup both still searching for a conference victory, which adds another layer of pressure to a game between two first-year coaches. Michigan is trying to clean up its offense after the bye week, while Penn State is staring at the possibility of dropping under .500 in conference play at The Big House. Aside from 2020, the Nittany Lions haven’t had a losing season since 2004.
For Michigan, the first step is the one this team has needed all season: run the ball.
That starts with a battered offensive line. Andrew Sprague remains out, and Andrew Babalola, Jake Guarnera and Brady Norton are listed as questionable, while Nathan Efobi is probable.
Even with those issues up front, the Wolverines need more from Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter. Marshall still hasn’t topped 60 rushing yards in a game, and Hiter has only averaged more than four yards per carry once this season.
The matchup makes the ground game even more important. Penn State ranks 105th in the country against the run, but its pass defense sits sixth nationally, which makes life difficult for Bryce Underwood if Michigan ends up leaning too heavily on the air attack.
The Wolverines don’t need Marshall and Hiter to both post 100-yard games. They do need the run game to create offense somewhere, because that’s the most realistic opening against this defense.
The second key is taking care of the football, an area that has hurt Michigan repeatedly.
The Wolverines’ only turnover win came against Oklahoma, and that takeaway mattered immediately. Jyaire Hill’s interception set up the game-winning touchdown just a few plays later.
Against Minnesota, though, the script flipped. Underwood threw two interceptions early in the second half, a sequence that swung the game by 10 points.
Michigan’s offense managed just seven points overall, with the other touchdown coming on a pick-six from Nathaniel Staehling.
That’s been the bigger season-long issue. Michigan has committed nine turnovers, which ranks 102nd nationally at 1.8 per game.
Penn State had only one turnover through its first four games before coughing it up three times over the last two. If the Wolverines can keep their defense creating opportunities and their offense from handing them back, they’ll give themselves a real shot.
The final piece is what Michigan has done best most of the year: defend the pass.
The Wolverines rank fifth nationally in pass defense, allowing 146.8 passing yards per game, and eighth in yards allowed per pass attempt at 5.7. Against Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey, they gave up only 136 passing yards, even though Lindsey had thrown for more than 200 in each of his other five games. Iowa quarterback Hank Brown is the only passer to reach 200 yards against Michigan this season, and 62 of those yards came on the final drive.
Penn State’s Rocco Becht has been far more productive through the air. The Iowa State transfer who followed head coach Matt Campbell to Happy Valley has thrown for more than 240 yards in four games and over 200 in five. The only time he fell short was a 114-yard outing against Wisconsin, a team that ranks eighth in pass defense and second in passing yards allowed per attempt.
If Michigan can slow Becht down and force a few mistakes, the defense could carry the day again. That’s the blueprint: run it better, protect the ball, and let the secondary keep doing its job.
In Other News...
Michigan Just Took A Tough Backcourt Recruiting Hit
Michigan had been in the mix for a major backcourt addition in Devin Cleveland, but the four-star guard chose Missouri instead, closing the door on what had looked like one of the Wolverines better recruiting battles. For a program that has already dealt with recent coaching turnover, with Mike Boynton Jr. taking over for Dusty May, losing out on a guard of Clevelands caliber stings a little more because of what he represented for the next wave of roster building.
The miss also leaves Michigan without an immediate impact backcourt piece in the 2027 class, which puts a little extra pressure on the staff as it keeps chasing perimeter help. There is still time for the Wolverines to reshape that group, but this was the kind of recruiting swing that can change the feel of a class, and for now it is Missouri that gets the benefit. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Got Called Out Before A Season Defining Penn State Game
Michigans uneven start has now drawn some pointed national attention, with Nick Saban singling out the Wolverines as the Big Tens biggest disappointment because of an offense that has not matched the caliber of their defense. A team that entered the year with real expectations is sitting 3-2 overall and still searching for its first conference win, which has turned an already important stretch into a far more urgent one.
Now comes a home date with Penn State, another team still winless in the Big Ten, in a matchup that suddenly feels like a reset point for both sides. Michigan needs more from Bryce Underwood and a more reliable attack to keep the season from drifting further off course, while Penn State arrives with its own offensive issues under first-year coach Matt Campbell, leaving both programs to sort out the same problem under a brighter spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Already Faces A Tough Kyle Whittingham Reality
Michigans coaching search ended with a big-name hire in Kyle Whittingham, a move that instantly shifted the conversation in Ann Arbor from crisis management to expectation. After firing Sherrone Moore amid misconduct allegations, Michigan landed a veteran with a long track record of stability and success, the kind of presence that can calm a program that has been thrown into disarray. It is the sort of reset that usually comes with optimism, but it also comes with a familiar warning attached to any coach arriving from a proven stop: the rsum travels, the context does not.
Penn States decision to move on from James Franklin and turn to Matt Campbell only sharpens that reality, because it shows how quickly even established coaches can be judged by the latest stretch of results. Both Whittingham and Campbell bring respect from their previous programs, but midway through the season their new teams are already living with the same blunt truth - reputation alone does not fix immediate problems. For Michigan, the early returns will matter fast, because the patience that comes with a fresh hire can disappear just as quickly if the transition does not take hold. [Read more 🡒]