Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

October 29, 2018 at 9:01 pm.

Michigan set for showdown against Penn State

Michigan had a bye last week, one that came at a perfect time for the fifth-ranked Wolverines to move past the emotions of their heated 21-7 win at in-state rival Michigan State and put the focus on an equally tough task: a visit from No. 14 Penn State.

But just because the Wolverines weren’t in action last weekend doesn’t mean they were idle. Far from it, coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday during his weekly press conference.

“We practiced, we had meetings, we had weight workouts during the bye week,” Harbaugh said.

“Can’t really say that (we) stopped. It’s been continuous. We strive for continuous improvement, so that fits in well.”

Michigan (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) has won seven consecutive games, its longest streak since a 10-game run in 2015-16 that included a 9-0 start to the 2016 season. The Wolverines are the only Big Ten team without a conference loss.

Penn State (6-2, 3-2) has struggled the past month, losing back-to-back home games to Ohio State and Michigan State at the beginning of October and then narrowly beating Indiana on the road before last week’s 30-24 home victory over No. 19 Iowa.

“Penn State is an excellent football team, they are once again this year,” Harbaugh said. “In all phases a very good football team.”

Penn State’s most dangerous player is senior quarterback Trace McSorley. He’s thrown for 1,628 yards and 12 touchdowns (against just four interceptions) and run for 617 yards and nine scores. McSorley ran for 76 yards and three TDs in a 42-13 win over Michigan last year.

“He’s running the ball a lot more this year, very effectively. He’s quite a quarterback,” Harbaugh said of McSorley. “He’s got that win-it factor, it shows up over and over. Big challenge for our team this week.”

The Nittany Lions also have a standout running back in junior Miles Sanders, who is second in the Big Ten with 834 rushing yards. Michigan held conference rushing leader Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin, who averages 131.9 rushing yards per game, to 101 a few weeks back.

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