Penn State Preview

After a couple weeks of very bad football the Michigan Wolverines got a much needed bye week last week. This bye week was huge for a struggling team to get back on track and have some players get rested up. The three best players on the team all left the Iowa game early due to injury so they got all of last week off. Denard should be back and ready to lead the offense at close to full strength. David Molk will be back at the Center spot letting Michigan get back to normal and solidifying the line and Mike Martin should be back after his ankle was tweaked to position himself at the Defensive Tackle spot putting pressure on Penn State. These guys have to be healthy for a winning season this year.

            This week in practice Rich Rod jacked up the intensity and had the teams working hard getting prepared for a Penn State team on the ropes wanting to be knocked out. He made a change that really got some of the fans talking moving Big Will Campbell to the offensive side of the ball and Quentin Washington to the defensive tackle position to try to get both lines a jump start. Will has had a hard time finding the ball after the snap and a lot of people have blamed that on a coaching staff, not understanding the kid should have redshirted but he thought he was a sure lock NFL star, then got a rude awakening ever since on campus. The coaches also moved around some of the freshman safeties to the spur position to give them the chance of playing two positions and getting more playing time the rest of the season. The last couple weeks also really helped Terrance Talbott who was sidelined the first three weeks due to clearinghouse issues and started his second week he was eligible, the more reps this kid gets the better. Hopefully they will be a little more comfortable on the field now.

The last couple of weeks also were a good time to find out what side of the fence people were on regarding this team. The many closet Rich Rod haters got to come out and talk about how he doesn’t care about rivalries and big games. It also got the pro Tate Forcier supporters talking about a quarterback change that is needed. These fans are the embarrassing scum of the earth that just drive me crazy. You are telling me that you can’t even support a player who is being heralded as a Heisman contender. That is just ridiculous. These people need to find something better to do with the air they breathe. If you’re not 100 percent ALL IN FOR MICHIGAN, then get out!! Luckily this team isn’t last years team as many of the current players have said. It is ridiculous these youngsters have to be reminded about last year’s team. I think this team is a way different team made up of better leaders and players.

            Now to the Penn State game. It will be a white out at night like usual when the Wolverines play Penn State this year. This game is going to be huge for the rest of the season, I almost think it is the biggest game yet. Penn State is a team on the ropes with about as many injuries as the Wolverines have been dealing with this year. Being on the ropes could also be said about this Michigan team who people are just waiting to go 5-2 and not win again like they did last year. This game is going to be very interesting how the guys do; many of them there first big night game on national television. It wont help them prepare any that they will have no clue what quarterback will be playing for Penn State, with Bolden injured, Newsome struggling, and a walk on who played his first game last week. Bolden grew up in the state of Michigan and wasn’t heavily recruited by the Michigan staff and Newsome was supposed to be a Michigan man two years ago until he decommited at the end of the year. That could mean both of those guys are going to want to go show off against Michigan. Lucky for whoever it is they always have Royster to give the ball off to against a bad defense should help take the weight off.

            The Michigan offense should once again determine by themselves how many points they score. That is not being said cocky one bit, this offense has determined when they stop and don’t score most of the time. If Iowa can’t hold them under 500 yards I really don’t see Penn State doing it. The offense has to limit themselves to 1 turnover or less to make this game comfortable. It would be really nice to see the special teams show up and maybe make a field goal and kick the ball off in bounds. Either way I still think this week that the Wolverines take a huge step forward and get bowl eligible and beat Penn State 38-28. GO BLUE!!