Penn State is heading to the Big House this weekend to face the Michigan Wolverines. Both Penn State and Michigan have been working through offensive woes under their new head coaches, Matt Campbell and Kyle Whittingham, respectively. Thile this game may not play a significant factor in the Big Ten racae as some may have expected at the start of the season, the value of a win this week is still high. Penn State is still searching for its first win in Big Ten play after suffering through a 3-game losing streak once conference play began. Michigan is also looking to snap a small losing streak after back-to-back losses to Iowa and Minnesota before getting a bye week to recover last week.
Here are our final score and player of the game predictions
for Penn State's Week 7 game against Michigan, along with some brief thoughts on the matchup.
Kevin McGuire, Lead Writer
This is not a game that will be one for the highlight reels, and fans of both teams will simply be looking to just get through it. Neither offense is positioned to light up the scoreboard, which makes for a somewhat low scoring matchup. This is especially the case wiht Michigan's defense being so well rounded. Penn State's defense has not looked great the past couple of weeks, but they will not be tested as much by Michigan the way they were against USC. I think Rocco Becht and Chase Sowell started to get more in sync with each other last week and I expect that to continue for some big moments this week as Penn State attempts to find some burst without Koby Howard on the field. I don't have a ton of confidence in this pick, but I think Penn State finally picks up an ugly Big Ten win.
Final score prediction: Penn State 20, Michigan 17
Player of the game pick: Rocco Becht, Penn State quarterback
Paul White, Contributor
I expect this game to go a lot like Michigan and Iowa a few weeks ago. Penn State’s defense didn’t do half-bad at slowing down USC’s offense, so they should have much more success against a struggling Michigan unit. I think we’ll have just enough on offense to pull out a win.
Final score prediction: Penn State 17, Michigan 10
Player of the game pick: JJ Buchanan, Michigan wide receiver
Christopher Sheppard, Contributor
This one could be an ugly low scoring affair where the Nittany Lions will come back down to earth after a slight rebound against USC. Michigan’s defense is perhaps the best in the Big Ten and they will make their presence felt early and often. Should star edge rusher John Henry Daley start for the Wolverines, the Nittany Lions will have a long day.
Final score prediction: Michigan 17, Penn State 10
Player of the game pick: John Henry Daley, Michigan defensive end
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Final score predictions for Penn State's Week 7 game vs. Michigan
