Big Ten football is full of teams built to play low-scoring, defensive games, and things should be no different this week for Penn State and Michigan. The two schools face each other for the first time in three years and neither one of them have an impressive offense.
However, Wolverines wide receiver JJ Buchanan has managed to shine despite his team’s struggles to move to the ball. The sophomore wideout has 448 yards and four touchdowns through five games and already has two separate 100-yard performances this year.
This feat becomes even more stunning when you consider that Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood is averaging less than 200 passing yards per game. Buchanan is currently seventh in the Big Ten in receiving yards and sixth in receiving touchdowns,
establishing himself as the driving force of the Wolverines’ offense.
His rapid development has been surprising given his status as a three-star recruiting entering college. He had 426 yards as a freshman with the Utah Utes, which he has already surpassed in five games with Michigan, and he had five touchdowns, which he is on pace to outperform this year.
Buchanan will present a tough challenge for a Nittany Lions defense that has experience going against a productive Big Ten receiver already. They managed to keep Northwestern wide receiver Griffin Wilde in check a couple weeks ago and will hope to do the same thing in The Big House.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State facing one big threat on low-scoring Michigan offense
