Michigan
Penn State
Michigan Monday: Game 7 at Penn State
10/14/2019 12:03:00 PM | Football
#16/#16 Michigan (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten) at #7 Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten)
Beaver Stadium • State College, Pa.
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 • 7:30 p.m. EDT
Television: ABC
Radio: Michigan/IMG Sports Network
Monday, Oct. 14
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Coach Harbaugh Weekly Press Conference | Watch
Inside Michigan Football Radio Show (7 p.m.) | Listen
• Michigan holds a 14-8 edge in the all-time series with Penn State.
• The trip to No. 7 Penn State will be Michigan's third top-15 matchup of the Big Ten season thus far.
• U-M has registered 25 tackles for loss and 14 sacks in the past two games.
• Ronnie Bell has led the team in receiving four times and has accumulated 80 yards or better in four of the past five games. He has 20 catches for 361 yards.
• Shea Patterson has accounted for 13 touchdowns (nine passing and four rushing).
• Since the Wisconsin game, the defense has allowed 111 rushing yards on 102 carries (1.09 avg.).
Wolverines and Nittany Lions
• This will be the 23rd meeting between Michigan and Penn State. The Wolverines lead the all-time series, 14-8, and have claimed victory in three of the four games under coach Jim Harbaugh's leadership.
• This will be the 12th game played between the two schools at Beaver Stadium. The Wolverines have compiled a 6-5 record against the Nittany Lions at the venue, which includes a four-game road winning streak (1997, '99, 2001 and '06). Harbaugh has a 1-1 record in State College, with a 28-16 win in 2015 and a 42-13 loss during the 2017 season.
• Michigan ended a three-game losing streak at Beaver Stadium with a 28-16 win in 2015, Harbaugh's first season. The Wolverines won five of the first six games played at the venue.
• Michigan has a 6-2 series advantage in games decided by seven points or less and owns a 2-1 mark in games decided by three or fewer points.
Series vs. Penn State: U-M leads 14-8
Series Streak: U-M won 1
Last Meeting: 2018 (Michigan, 42-7)
Last Michigan Win: 2018 (42-7)
Television Coverage
ABC will broadcast the game to a national audience. Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color) and Maria Taylor (sideline) will call the game.
In the Polls
• Michigan enters the matchup with No. 7 Penn State ranked in the top 20 of the national polls following its 42-25 victory at Illinois. U-M is No. 16 in the Amway Coaches Poll and No. 16 in the Associated Press rankings.
• The Wolverines have compiled a 6-4 record against the Nittany Lions when both teams enter the game ranked in the AP poll.
• The Wolverines have been ranked in the national polls for 20 straight games dating back to the start of the 2018 season.
• Michigan has faced two ranked opponents through six games -- No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 14 Iowa -- and has three top-10 teams on the remaining schedule: No. 4 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State and No. 8 Notre Dame.
• U-M has been ranked for all but eight contests during coach Jim Harbaugh's tenure (58 games). The Wolverines were not ranked the first four games in 2015 and four games in 2017.
• U-M has been ranked in the AP poll for 16 of the 22 matchups with Penn State, including the first 10 games of the series.
• Michigan is 11-5 all-time against Penn State when listed in the top 25 of the polls.
• U-M has been ranked in the polls for all but two of the 12 games played at Beaver Stadium (including this year's game). Michigan was unranked for losses during the 2008 and 2010 seasons.
Game Notes Nuggets
• Four players on Michigan's roster are from the state of Pennsylvania: sophomore offensive lineman Kraig Correll (Easton), senior viper Khaleke Hudson (McKeesport), junior defensive lineman Donovan Jeter (Beaver Falls) and junior wide receiver Jack Young (Pittsburgh).
• Michigan's defense is playing at a high level right now, with just 28 points surrendered in the last 13 quarters, including a 10-quarter stretch with no touchdowns allowed.
• Since the loss to Wisconsin, Michigan's defense has surrendered 111 yards rushing on 102 carries (1.09 yards per carry). Rutgers rushed for 46 yards on 29 carries, Iowa rushed for 1 yard on 30 carries, and Illinois rushed for 64 yards on 43 carries.
• The Wolverines have totaled 25.0 tackles for loss as a defense across the last two weeks, totaling 159 yards in lost yardage for opponents. Kwity Paye leads the Big Ten in TFLs (7.0) and sacks (4.0) in league play. Josh Uche (3.5) is tied for second in sacks.
• Linebacker, co-captain and Pennsylvania native Khaleke Hudson is third in the Big Ten and 24th nationally in tackles per game (9.7). He has led the Wolverines in tackles in five of six games this year and has three double-digit tackle efforts.
• Illinois native Jordan Glasgow had a career day in his only trip to Illinois' Memorial Stadium last weekend, totaling 11 tackles with a career-high eight solos. Glasgow blocked a punt -- the first in the career of a special teams ace -- and added a fumble recovery and a pass breakup in a standout effort.
The Illinois punter got his original punt blocked, then picked it up and tried to punt again. ??@UMichFootball is up big in downstate IL: pic.twitter.com/IEQGsGbo5O
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 12, 2019
• Sophomore linebacker Cameron McGrone matched Glasgow with 11 tackles (eight solo) and added two for loss. He set career bests in tackles, solos and TFLs, and his most impactful moment came when he forced a fumble at 8:50 in the fourth quarter (recovered by Glasgow), halting an Illinois comeback effort in its tracks.
• McGrone has made 24 total tackles this season including 18 (13 solo) across three starts with 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble in those games.
• Quarterback Shea Patterson was at his sharpest when it mattered most on Saturday, directing a 10-play, 79-yard drive to take a 10-point lead with less than nine minutes remaining. On the drive Patterson was 3-of-4 passing for 35 yards, rushed for 20 yards, and accounted for five total first downs. Patterson capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones, who went over 1,000 career receiving yards in the game.
• Patterson led U-M to a season-high 489 yards of offense, the third time U-M has gone over 450 yards of offense this year. He was responsible for a career-high four touchdowns and passed for three for the second time this year, each to a different receiver. Patterson has connected with at least five different pass-catchers in every game this year.
• Wide receiver Ronnie Bell led the Wolverines in receiving for the fourth time this season with three receptions for a career-high 98 yards. Bell has 80 yards or better in four of the last five contests -- something the Maize and Blue's top pass-catcher has done five times this year.
• Bell's long receptions are the two longest plays from scrimmage by any Wolverine this year (career-long 71 yards at Illinois, 68 yards at Wisconsin). Bell has averaged 18.1 yards per catch in both seasons at U-M. With 361 yards and no touchdowns on 20 receptions this year, perhaps Bell is paying for his first two career catches both being touchdowns in 2018.
• Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet had his second 100-yard game as a Wolverine last weekend, joining Chris Evans, Sam McGuffie, Jamie Morris and Anthony Thomas on the list of U-M true freshmen with two such games. Ricky Powers (4) is next on the list of rookie 100-yard rushers, with Mike Hart (6) as the all-time single-season leader.
• Michigan and Penn State this weekend is a matchup of the only two programs in the Big Ten with true freshmen who have recorded 100-yard rushing performances. Charbonnet (freshman league-high 116 yards, 100 yards) and Penn State's Noah Cain (105 yards, 102 yards) each have two. PSU's Devyn Ford (107 yards) also has one.
• As always, the battle in the trenches will be a pivotal one: the Nittany Lions (5.33 sacks per game) and Wolverines (3.75 per game) rank first and third in the Big Ten in conference play in bringing down the quarterback. But Michigan is stingier in sacks surrendered, allowing 1.25 per game (second) to Penn State's 1.33.
• The road trip to No. 7 Penn State will mark U-M's third top-15 matchup of the Big Ten season so far and its highest-ranked opponent overall. Iowa (No. 17) is PSU's lone top-20 matchup of the season so far.
• With two stout defenses in play, the punting game figures to play an important role. The Nittany Lions have returned only four punts all season to U-M's 11. The Wolverines lead the Big Ten in punt return average in league play at a clip of 10.9 yards per return and own two other conference bests: a 36-yard long and 120 total return yards.
• On the other side of the equation, punter Will Hart ranks second in the Big Ten with a 47.1-yard average in conference play on 18 punts including seven over 50 yards. Penn State punter Blake Gillikin has punted 15 times with a 40.9-yard average and three over 50. Both have a long punt of over 60 yards this season.
Notre Dame Game Time, TV Announced
Michigan's home game against Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 26, has been announced as a 7:30 p.m. start. ABC will televise the game from Michigan Stadium.
