Michigan @ Penn State preview
Beaver Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 24, 2009 ) Penn State 35, Michigan 10
Denard Robinson used the first five weeks of the season to establish himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Rich Rodriguez hopes to use the next five weeks to establish himself as the head coach for years to come at Michigan.
Rodriguez and his Wolverines travel to Happy Valley for a prime-time contest Saturday night against Penn State and its legendary coach Joe Paterno.
Michigan (5-2, 1-2 Big Ten) jumped out to a 5-0 start behind the multi-talented Robinson, making an 8-16 record in Rodriguez’s first two years a little less painful. His eight conference home losses have matched career the totals for Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr, who had eight losses each in a combined 34 years.
Robinson completed 70 percent of his passes for 1,008 yards and ran for 905 more in the five wins, scoring eight times rushing and seven times passing as the Wolverines seemed to score at will. But the Heisman hopeful came back down to earth and the defense’s glaring deficiencies were exposed as conference play began.
Michigan State gutted the Wolverines for 536 yards and Robinson threw three interceptions in a 34-17 loss on Oct. 11. The defense couldn’t contain Iowa running back Adam Robinson or quarterback Ricky Stanzi in a 48-38 defeat the following week, a game that Robinson left with an injury.
Robinson used the bye week to rest his sore knee and shoulder and said he’s ready to go against the Nittany Lions (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten).
Michigan needs one more win to become bowl eligible for the first time under Rodriguez, and that seems likely with Illinois and Purdue on the horizon before showdowns with Wisconsin and hated rival Ohio State.
Rodriguez has suffered through trying times because of an NCAA investigation and the high expectations of coaching at one of the nation’s elite football schools. The 83-year-old Paterno knows all about living up to expectations — his own.
However, the 45th year at the helm has been a trying one for the Hall of Famer. Penn State has been beaten soundly by Alabama, Iowa and Illinois, and its four wins have come against mediocre-at-best schools. The offense hasn’t moved the ball and the defense has been giving up uncustomarily large chunks of yards, so stopping Robinson will be a real challenge.
JoePa and the Lions got a reprieve from the boo-birds last week with a 33-21 road victory against a struggling Minnesota program.
Freshman quarterback Rob Bolden was in the midst of his best game, completing 11 of 13 passes for 130 yards before leaving in the second quarter with an apparent head injury. If he can’t play Saturday, sophomores Matt McGloin and Kevin Newsome, who once committed to Michigan, will likely rotate.
It has been a forgettable season for senior running back Evan Royster, who has been held to 450 yards. However he needs just 31 yards Saturday to overtake Curt Warner’s school record of 3,398 yards.
The Lions still need two wins to become bowl eligible and give Paterno his 400th career victory. This game and Indiana a few weeks down the road are their best shots.
Michigan leads the all-time series 10-5 and is 5-2 at Beaver Stadium. The Wolverines had won nine straight until Rodriguez showed up and lost the last two, including a 35-10 whipping last season.