Penn State lost 30-27 to Michigan State on Nov. 27, 2021 in a snowy Spartan Stadium. Photo by Paul Burdick | For StateCollege.com
Penn State football will look to make it another 10-win season on Friday evening with a Thanksgiving weekend clash against Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit for a rare weather-free meeting against the Spartans. No weather delay expected for this one as the Nittany Lions try to end the regular season on a high note. The Spartans aren’t very good, but that alone won’t simply give Penn State the win. Here are five storylines that should.
No Easy Points: Michigan State enters the game on Friday with one of the worst scoring offenses in the the nation coming in at No. 128 while averaging 17.4 points per contest. It’s safe to say that Penn State’s defense – the fourth best scoring defense in America – shouldn’t have any obvious issues with Michigan State’s plan of attack but everything is easier said than done. If the Nittany Lions can put the clamps down on the Spartans early and get some points on the board that should help turn Friday into a fairly stress-free affair. No sense in making this game more complicated than it needs to be and that starts with keeping Michigan State off the board early and often.
Get In Rhythm: To be frank, Michigan State’s defense is not very good at anything but the Spartans are technically a worse passing defense than rushing so if there was ever a chance for one last [regular season] game to get Drew Allar back on track – assuming he is healthy enough to throw the ball – it’s this one. That being said it stands to reason Penn State’s rush-first approach to offensive play this year isn’t going to change in the final week of the season, especially if Allar isn’t 100%. But if Allar is good to go and good to throw, this could be a great chance to get him some pre-bowl game confidence. The Spartans have given up 21 passing touchdowns this year, 106th-worst in the nation.
Free Mistakes: Sticking with the trend of Michigan State not being very good, the Spartans are 117th in the nation in terms of penalty yardage per game, committing an average of 7.1 penalties per outing. For its part Penn State is 31st in that area, continuing a trend that has generally spanned the length of the James Franklin era of reasonably penalty-free football. You can’t really force another team to commit penalties, but if Penn State can continue to be on the right side of the flags it could certainly help an offense that can occasionally use all the help it can get.
Move The Chains: Penn State has struggled at times against teams to convert on third down with a 41% success rate while Michigan State has actually done a decent job with teams on third down, holding opponents to an almost 35% success rate. If there’s an area that the Spartans can hope to hang around in this game it’s on third down when Penn State’s offense is on the field. Penn State has converted on third down at a rate about 44% twice in the last three games. Check back later to see if the penalty department made an impact here.
Good Taste In The Mouth: Aside from picking up a loss on Friday, Penn State appears pretty well poised to make a New Years Six bowl yet again this year with one final chance to head into the new Big Ten with positive momentum. So while Friday won’t be the Nittany Lions’ last chance to give fans something good to take into the offseason, putting more solid performances on the board will help dull the sting from Ohio State and Michigan defeats earlier in the year. Fans might not be happy about those big game performances, but nothing helps a Thanksgiving weekend like your team taking home a win while you eat some leftovers. Better to make sure fans are reaching for a celebratory beverage rather than heartburn medication with some primetime football.
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November 24, 2023 at 01:44AM
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5 Storylines to Follow as Penn State Takes on Michigan State - Statecollege.com
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