5 Storylines to Follow as Penn State Takes on Michigan State

Penn State takes the field Saturday afternoon for a 4 p.m. kick off against Michigan State. The Spartans are one win from becoming bowl eligible while the Nittany Lions are eyeing up a 10-win season and a chance to help springboard into their 2023 season and the probable start of the Drew Allar era at quarterback. While Saturday’s game has the potential to not be very interesting on the field, there are plenty of storylines to follow. Here are five of them.

No. 1: Penn State has spent the entire season leading the nation in passes broken up. This stat obviously has a limited utility but leading Illinois by seven passes defended puts at least a little drama in a stats race that maybe only I care about. The potential return of corner Joey Porter Jr should help in this department, especially against a team more likely to pass than run. Penn State’s defense is eight passes away from being one of 16 teams this season to have faced at least 400 passing attempts by an opponent.

Don’t Overcomplicate It: Michigan State isn’t really good at anything this season. The Spartans are in the midst of seven players facing charges related to the Michigan stadium tunnel brawl and head coach Mel Tucker is simply trying to right the ship with the Spartans just one win from becoming bowl eligible. All of those factors aside, Michigan State just isn’t very good at basic football things. The Spartans are 85th in scoring offense, 71st in scoring defense, 105th in rushing offense, 55th in passing offense, 86th in passing defense and 100th in passing defense. Michigan State’s opponents also convert on third down 42% of the time, 107th worst in the nation. Obviously each game is different and stats don’t play for teams, but Penn State is better at everything on paper than the Spartans. it doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

The Reception: Senior Day is always an emotional moment for players who have spent the last half decade [or more] in State College. For quarterback Sean Clifford it will be interesting to hear and see what his reception is on Saturday. Clifford is a polarizing quarterback but a genuinely nice, likable person. At the end of the day, being a nice guy doesn’t make you a good quarterback but after a million years of service it will be interesting to see if he still manages to get a reception that reflects time served rather than goals not quite met.

Get Out In One Piece: While Penn State managing to hit the 10-win mark certainly has its value, the Nittany Lions are mostly looking to get out of the game on Saturday in one piece. The fewer end-of-season injuries this team can accumulate the better off the table is set for a productive offseason. There’s not much you can do to prevent injuries in the long run, but player management if this game gets out of hand will play at least a small part in getting guys into the locker room as healthy as when they left it.

State Your Claim: Penn State has managed to elbow its way into one of the main conversations the College Football Playoff Committee is having right now- not as a playoff entrant but simply one of the few teams left having a great season but has no postseason home just yet. Penn State’s bowl destination is going to have to do a lot with all the things going on around it, but going out and beating Michigan State convincingly might help in the rankings if nothing else. In turn the better Penn State looks the better off Michigan and Ohio State look if you’re in the mood for two Big Ten teams making the playoffs and the Nittany Lions slotting into the Rose Bowl.