Penn State must take risks to have chance at defeating Michigan

Penn State has a tough task on Saturday as it looks to upset a Michigan team that is playing well and appears to be complete.

Sean Fitz of Blue White Illustrated joined On3’s Andy Staples recently to discuss what it will take for the Nittany Lions to come out on top.

Fitz believes Penn State needs to be aggressive and take some chances if it’s going to pull off the upset.

“You can’t beat Michigan without taking risks, and you can’t beat Ohio State without taking risks. And they saw that firsthand,” Fitz said. “Did not do that thing when they went to Columbus. You would like to think that that’s where the mindset is, everybody’s a little bit more settled, more comfortable.”

Penn State managed only 240 yards of offense against the Buckeyes, while falling 20-12. Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar struggled against Ohio State, as did the running game.

On paper, Penn State has an elite offense. The Nittany Lions are averaging 40.2 points per game, which ranks No. 6 nationally. But against the best defense it faced this year in Ohio State, Penn State really struggled on the that side of the ball.

“The points are kind of irrelevant here, because Penn State was averaging 41 going into Ohio State. And there were still clearly issues on the offensive side of the ball,” Fitz said. “Now, if you loosen up a little bit, you get [offensive coordinator] Mike Yurcich to be comfortable with those calls, you get Drew Allar to be comfortable with those throws, you get those guys who are actually making plays on the outside, you’ve got something there.”

If Penn State is aggressive and takes and connects on some shots down field, Fitz believes the Nittany Lions have a chance to pull off the upset. If not, it could be a long afternoon.

Fitz also pointed out that the spread for the game is currently at Michigan minus 5.5, after being as high as 7.

“I think that that’s really, if you’re a Penn State fan looking at this game, gives you some confidence. You see that line continues to shrink. I don’t know, man. Michigan’s a heck of a football team. There’s no getting around how good Michigan… put all that other stuff aside right now, Michigan’s a damn good football team,” Fitz said. “So you’ve got so much you like about that, but how do you go about attacking that, how do you go about finding the soft spots in that defense, which there aren’t many? I don’t know.”