East Lansing, MI (My Sportsbook) - The regular season concludes on Saturday for the Penn State Nittany Lions and Michigan State Spartans, as the clubs collide in East Lansing.
Penn State is 9-2 overall and owns a 5-2 Big Ten Conference record, somewhat disappointing for a team that figured to contend for the league crown. Last weekend, the Nittany Lions bounced back from a loss to Ohio State with a 31-20 victory over Indiana. They have won all three of their road games so far this season, so there is reason for confidence heading into Saturday's affair.
As for Michigan State, it enters this game with a 6-5 record, and while the team is already eligible for a bowl game, a victory over Penn State would certainly strengthen the postseason prospects of the Spartans. They have won their last two outings, including a 40-37 decision over Purdue last Saturday. Michigan State is 4-3 in Big Ten play and owns a 4-2 record at home this season.
Penn State took a 13-12-1 series lead over Michigan State with a 49-18 romp over the Spartans last season.
The Nittany Lions are generating 28.5 ppg this season to go along with 403.5 total ypg, solid numbers for an offense that has been good overall, expect for the two games that Joe Paterno's team lost. The fact that Penn State has scored 19 rushing touchdowns and 19 passing touchdowns suggests balance. Daryll Clark has completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 2,477 yards and 19 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, and his top receiver is Derek Moye, who has made 41 grabs for 676 yards and five touchdowns. As for the ground attack, Evan Royster leads the charge with 990 yards and six scores.
Opponents are scoring a mere 11.6 ppg against Penn State, which is allowing 272.0 total ypg. The Nittany Lions have been tough against the run, limiting foes to 93.9 ypg at a clip of 2.9 yards per carry. They have only allowed 12 total touchdowns to opposing offenses, five of which have come on the ground. Josh Hull has been tremendous, as he has posted a team-high 103 total tackles for PSU, including 8.5 TFLs. Navorro Bowman has 12 TFLs to his credit, and Jared Odrick has posted six sacks.
Penn State earned 22 first downs and 375 total yards against Indiana last week, and three offensive touchdowns were scored. Two of those scores were registered by Royster, who rushed for 95 yards and hauled in four receptions for 39 yards. Clark threw a pair of interceptions, and he finished with 194 yards and one score.
"It's a feeling I will never forget," said Clark, reflecting on his final game at Beaver Stadium. "I wish I would have never played that bad in the first quarter. We still won though...All of it started to hit me, the whole season, last season, the whole Penn State career. It really caught me a little bit. I was lucky to hold it together."
The Nittany Lions limited Indiana to 346 yards and two offensive touchdowns last weekend, so while the defense wasn't dominant, it was certainly solid. Penn State was particularly strong against the run, holding the Hoosiers to 48 yards on 24 carries.
"It's a tough place to play," said Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, looking ahead to this weekend's clash in East Lansing. "It's a great venue up there. It's always been a real physical and emotional game. It's a big game for them; it's their senior game too. They'll be wound up. We beat them last year and I'm sure they want to get back at us."
Michigan State is scoring 31.0 ppg this season to go along with 413.8 ppg, and there is enough firepower in place to challenge the tough Penn State defense. Kirk Cousins has taken the majority of snaps for the Spartans, and he has completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 2,305 yards and 17 touchdowns against only five interceptions. Blair White is the top receiver on the team, as he has made 61 catches for 854 yards and eight touchdowns. As for the ground attack, Larry Caper is tops with 411 yards and six scores.
Opponents are scoring 23.5 ppg against Michigan State, which is allowing 350.9 total ypg. The Spartans are tough against the run, limiting foes to 105.9 total ypg and an average of 3.2 yards per carry. Unfortunately, MSU has been horrendous against the pass, as opposing quarterback have torched the club for 245.0 ypg and 24 touchdowns against only five interceptions. Greg Jones leads the defense with 126 total tackles, 47 more than his closest teammate, and he has posted 11 TFLs, including 7.5 sacks.
In the victory over Purdue last weekend, Michigan State amassed 362 total yards and scored 40 points, surprising considering the fact that the team finished the game with only 12 first downs. The Spartans gained 6.4 yards per rushing attempt and 18.9 yards per pass completion, so there were quite a few big plays made. Cousins only completed 11-of-25 passes, but he finished with 208 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions.
"Our plan for today was to attack and pull out all the stops," said Cousins. "We didn't hold anything back this afternoon."
Purdue racked up 28 first downs and 524 total yards against Michigan State last weekend. The defense yielded just 4.1 yards per rushing attempt and 9.6 yards per pass completion, averages that are surprising low considering the yardage output. It is obvious that the reason for the perplexing numbers was that Purdue ran 92 offensive plays, 43 more than Michigan State. The Spartans allowed too many long drives, something that can't happen this weekend.
"It was tough," said linebacker Greg Jones after the contest. "After halftime, we wanted to come together more as a team. We started out slow out of halftime, but we finally came together at the end."
