Michigan and Penn State walked into the season looking like conference heavyweights. The preseason AP Poll had Michigan at No. 16 and Penn State just two spots behind, which made this weekend’s meeting feel like it might carry College Football Playoff weight. Instead, both teams have stumbled out of the gate in Big Ten play, dropped from the AP Top 25, and now find themselves staring at a game that feels more urgent than glamorous.
Call it the Disappointment Bowl if you want. There’s still plenty on the line.
For Michigan, the biggest question starts with the run game, where the Wolverines have fallen far short of what they expected to be. Kyle Whittingham said after the loss to Minnesota that “everything’s in play” when it comes to offensive changes, and offensive coordinator Jason Beck echoed that on Wednesday.
“We’re looking at everything to tweak and adjust and fix and get better.” Michigan offensive coordinator Jason Beck said Wednesday.
“There’s definitely some things that we know and we’ve kind of gotten away from with just not having the personnel and the fit for different reasons. We’re absolutely looking at ways to tweak and adjust and be better, and we’re used to being a really dynamic rushing team, and want to get back to that.”
That’s the core issue: this isn’t Michigan football as fans know it. The offense has leaned on read-options and run-pass options, and that has kept the line from simply leaning on people at the point of attack.
Junior tackle Blake Frazier made the expectation plain on Oct. 6.
“This is Michigan football,” junior tackle Blake Frazier said Oct. 6.
“When you think Michigan football, you think downhill runs. I would love for that to get implemented a little bit more.”
The numbers back up the frustration. Michigan was supposed to be built around the ground game, but its rushing attack is only barely inside the nation’s top 100.
Against Penn State, the Wolverines may once again ask sophomore quarterback Byrce Underwood to carry a heavier load on the ground. He ran 18 times against Oklahoma and 14 times against No.
17 Iowa, and another double-digit rushing effort could be part of the plan.
Penn State has its own issues on the ground, which makes this matchup even stranger. The Nittany Lions have not established a clear identity running the ball through their first six games, leaving quarterback Rocco Becht in too many second- and third-and-long spots.
Michigan’s defense should be well positioned to squeeze that part of the game, too. The Wolverines are top 15 against the run and fifth in passing yards allowed.
Michigan defensive backs coach Jernaro Gilford pointed to Becht’s experience on Wednesday.
“From Penn State’s standpoint, you’ve got a quarterback that’s a veteran who’s started since his freshman year,” Michigan defensive backs coach Jernaro Gilford said Wednesday. “… This is his fourth year starting so he’s played a lot of football. He won’t get rattled.”
The pressure point for Michigan could be whether it can generate enough disruption up front. The Wolverines have done a solid job getting after quarterbacks this season, but junior defensive end Dom Nichols and senior defensive end John Henry are both listed as questionable. Even if they suit up, they may not be at full strength, which means the depth rushers will matter.
That’s where some younger players have started to surface. Freshman Tariq Boney has made an immediate impact, while sophomores Nate Marshall and Benny Patterson have contributed in rotation. Patterson talked this week like a player ready for more.
“I feel like we have a lot of guys who can play,” Patterson said Tuesday. “We definitely try to take pride in that. We have a room full of playmakers.”
If Michigan can shut down the run and force Becht into obvious passing downs, the front should have a chance to tilt the game. That’s the path to making Penn State uncomfortable.
Then there’s the other storyline hovering over the weekend: the quarterback situation. Byrce Underwood has been the focal point ever since he signed a deal to become the highest paid college player of all time, and the results have been uneven.
He’s had some real bright moments, especially on designed rollouts and in his growing connection with sophomore wide receiver JJ Buchanan. But the mistakes have piled up, too.
Underwood has turned it over six times in five games, including two interceptions against Minnesota, and he’s also had trouble with reads, accuracy and touch.
That has opened the door for true freshman Tommy Carr, at least in the minds of some fans. Whittingham, though, made it clear where things stand.
“Like I said, Bryce is our guy,” Whittingham said Wednesday. “If we think giving Tommy a series or two helps our chance to win, then you will see that.”
Whittingham also said Carr took half of the first-team reps in practice as part of a bye-week plan, not because Underwood has lost the job. Still, the reps matter, and they make it worth watching how short a leash Underwood really has if the offense bogs down again.
If Underwood settles in and plays to his best level, the conversation changes fast. If not, Carr may get a real look. Either way, both teams enter Saturday with the same problem: the record doesn’t match the name on the jersey.
For all the disappointment, this still feels like a compelling one.
In Other News...
Michigans Offensive Line Just Became A Real Penn State Concern
Michigans injury report entering the Penn State game adds another layer of uncertainty to a matchup already carrying plenty of weight. The Wolverines offensive line, in particular, looks like the area under the most pressure, with the list of players out, doubtful or questionable growing from what it had been earlier in the week. For a team that wants to control the line of scrimmage, that kind of turnover up front can change the feel of the entire offense before a snap is even taken.
Jake Guarnera and Brady Norton being listed as questionable is the part Penn State will be watching most closely, because it keeps Michigans protection and run-game plans from feeling settled. There is at least some precedent for those designations not ending in absences, since players such as Dom Nichols and John Henry Daley were questionable in prior games and still managed to play. Even so, the uncertainty leaves Michigan with real lineup decisions to sort through and gives Penn State reason to think the Wolverines front might not be at full strength. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Gets A Different Penn State Test Than Anyone Expected
Penn State came into the season with the kind of profile that usually makes for a difficult November opponent: a new coach in Matt Campbell, enough continuity in the program to think about the College Football Playoff, and a schedule that looked manageable on paper. Instead, the Nittany Lions have stumbled into a three-game losing streak, with the latest setback coming in a late loss to Wisconsin after a road trip to USC already deepened the concern around where this team is headed.
The most jarring result may have been the one at Northwestern, where Penn State could not answer a strong rushing attack and wound up in a multi-score defeat, something that has not been common for the program in recent seasons. For Michigan, that changes the texture of this matchup a bit. It is still a name opponent, but it is not quite the version of Penn State anyone expected when the schedule was made. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan's New Era Is Putting Kyle Whittingham Under Real Pressure
The first month of the Big Tens new coaching shuffle has already made the pressure feel real, and Michigan is right in the middle of it with Kyle Whittingham trying to settle into a program that expects almost immediate answers. He and Penn States Matt Campbell arrived as the leagues latest big-name imports, but both have spent the opening stretch dealing with the usual hard part of change: getting a team to look like a reflection of the coach while also learning the league at the same time.
Whittingham has leaned on familiar faces as he tries to steady the transition, bringing key players with him in the same way Campbell has at Penn State, where a former Iowa State core has helped ease the move. The challenge now is less about introductions and more about results, and neither coach has put a conference win on the board yet. In a league that rarely waits for anyone, the message inside both programs has been about accountability and growth, but the Big Ten tends to ask for proof before patience. [Read more 🡒]