Michigan Football vs. Penn State Game Preview: How to Watch, Score Predictions and More

No. 12 Michigan (8-2, 5-1 B1G) travels to Happy Valley on Saturday afternoon for a showdown with Penn State (7-3, 4-2 B1G) with East Division implications on the line.

The game is the first of a Big Ten East showdown doubleheader with this game set for noon and Michigan State vs. Ohio State set for 3:30 p.m.

For Michigan, they must beat Penn State and have Ohio State beat the Spartans to set a showdown for the Big Ten East Division title in next week's edition of The Game.

The Wolverines come into this game having flipped the script of what we have known about them all season. For the better part of the year, the defense has been elite while they scored just enough on offense. Last week, Michigan's offense exploded and the defense was exposed. They'll be looking to balance that out on Saturday.

Penn State features one of the best front sevens in college football and a quarterback that, while frequently hit, has NFL scouts grading him as a first-round prospect in Christian Hackenberg.

Hackenberg has been up and down at times at Penn State, but a lot of that has to do with his offensive line, which has struggled mightily in the last two seasons.

Michigan's defensive line is likely licking their chops heading into this matchup, but they are a bit banged up and looked tired last week. Indiana's offensive tempo will do that to a lot of people, but the Wolverines did not exactly have the full load of bodies to rotate.

Penn State is not nearly as quick and athletic offensively, so that will help. Chris Wormley and Maurice Hurst could feast on Saturday afternoon.

On the flip side, Michigan's offensive line and run game needs to get back on track. They have taken a step back in the last few games. The flashy passing performances of Jake Rudock the last few weeks have been fun, but Michigan likely doesn't want to get into a situation where they have to attempt 40-plus passes.

Expect this to be a low-scoring, physical game. Penn State is tough at home, but the Wolverines have gotten their scares at Minnesota and Indiana. It will be tight, but I have Michigan winning this game 20-14.

Be sure to get YOUR score predictions in for this game using The Crowd's Line widget below.

Game Info

Teams: #12 Michigan (8-2) at Penn State (7-3)

Date: November 21st, 2015

Location: Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania (106,572)

Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET

Television: ABC/WatchESPN

Radio: Michigan/IMG Sports Network (for a list of affiliates, click here)

Spread: Michigan -3.5

Fun Facts

• Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard and Shannon Spake will be on the TV call.
• Michigan holds an 11-7 record over Penn State in the series' history and are 5-4 at Beaver Stadium.
• The Wolverines are 6-2 vs. PSU in games decided by seven points or less.
• U-M has lost three straight games on the road at Penn State.
• Tight end Jake Butt is 50 receiving yards away from 1,000 in his career. Has 38 receptions for 500 yards this season.

Hitting the Links: MnB's Michigan vs. Penn State Coverage

11-20 - MnB Roundtable Preview's Michigan vs. Penn State

11-19 - Behind Enemy Lines w/ Black Shoe Diaries

11-19 - Week 12 Vegas Lock: Potential Pummel in Pullman

11-19 - S&P+ Gives its Michigan vs. Penn State Prediction

11-19 - The Michigan Man Podcast Episode 282 w/ PSU Radio Voice Steve Jones

11-18 - Getting to Know the Penn State Nittany Lions

11-17 - Michigan Up to No. 12 in CFP Rankings

11-17 - The Michigan Man Podcast Episode 281 w/ Jon Jansen

11-17 - Big Ten Week 12 Odds: Expect Defense in Happy Valley

11-16 - Harbaugh: We've Got a Bounce in Our Step

11-16 - Freep Column: Michigan's Passing Game Peaking at Right Time

11-16 - Calculating Michigan's Odds to Win the Big Ten East

11-15 - Michigan Opens as a Favorite vs. Penn State

11-14 - Michigan vs. Penn State Set for Noon Kickoff

Week 12 College Football Television Schedule

Thu, Nov 19, 2015
7:30 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	East Carolina	at	UCF
9:30 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	Louisiana-Monroe	at	Texas State
Fri, Nov 20, 2015
8:00 PM ET CBSS	Cincinnati	at	South Florida
9:30 PM ET ESPN2WatchESPN	Air Force	at	Boise State
Sat, Nov 21, 2015
12:00 PM ET AMSN	North Texas	at	Middle Tennessee
12:00 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	(21) Memphis	at	Temple
12:00 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	Florida Atlantic	at	(8) Florida
12:00 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	The Citadel	at	South Carolina
12:00 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	(17) North Carolina	at	Virginia Tech
12:00 PM ET CBSS	Rutgers	at	Army
12:00 PM ET FSNFoxSportsGo	West Virginia	at	Kansas
12:00 PM ET FS1FoxSportsGo	Iowa State	at	Kansas State
12:00 PM ET ESPN2WatchESPN	Purdue	at	(5) Iowa
12:00 PM ET BTNBTN2Go	Indiana	at	Maryland
12:00 PM ET ESPNNWatchESPN	Illinois	at	Minnesota
12:00 PM ET ABC	(12) Michigan	at	Penn State
12:30 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Georgia Tech	at	Miami (FL)
12:30 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Syracuse	at	NC State
1:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Miami (OH)	at	Massachusetts
2:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	South Alabama	at	Georgia State
2:30 PM ET FCS	Western Kentucky	at	FIU
3:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Fresno State	at	BYU
3:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Chattanooga	at	(14) Florida State
3:30 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Nevada	at	Utah State
3:30 PM ET AMSN	Old Dominion	at	Southern Miss
3:30 PM ET FSNFoxSportsGo	Louisiana Tech	at	UTEP
3:30 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	(19) Houston	at	Connecticut
3:30 PM ET CBSS	Buffalo	at	Akron
3:30 PM ET CBSSEC Live	(15) LSU	at	(22) Mississippi
3:30 PM ET ESPN2 WatchESPN	Wake Forest	at	(1) Clemson
3:30 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Duke	at	Virginia
3:30 PM ET FS1FoxSportsGo	Arizona	at	Arizona State
3:30 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	(24) USC	at	(23) Oregon
3:30 PM ET FOXFoxSportsGo	UCLA	at	(13) Utah
3:30 PM ET BTNBTN2Go	(20) Northwestern	at	(25) Wisconsin
3:30 PM ET ABC	(9) Michigan State	at	(3) Ohio State
3:45 PM ET ESPNNWatchESPN	Louisville	at	Pittsburgh
4:00 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	Idaho	at	Auburn
4:00 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	Charleston Southern	at	(2) Alabama
5:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	New Mexico State	at	Louisiana-Lafayette
5:30 PM ET MWC	Colorado State	at	New Mexico
6:00 PM ET PAC12Pac-12 Live	Washington	at	Oregon State
7:00 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	Mississippi State	at	Arkansas
7:00 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	Georgia Southern	at	Georgia
7:00 PM ET CBSS	(16) Navy	at	Tulsa
7:00 PM ET AMSN	Rice	at	Texas-San Antonio
7:15 PM ET ESPN2WatchESPN	Tennessee	at	Missouri
7:30 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	Texas A&M	at	Vanderbilt
7:30 PM ET NBCNBC Sports Live Extra	Boston College	at	(4) Notre Dame
7:30 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	Charlotte	at	Kentucky
7:30 PM ET FOXFoxSportsGo	(10) Baylor	at	(6) Oklahoma State
8:00 PM ET ABC	(18) TCU	at	(7) Oklahoma
8:00 PM ET ESPNNWatchESPN	Tulane	at	SMU
10:30 PM ET CBSS	San Diego State	at	UNLV
10:30 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	Cal	at	(11) Stanford
10:45 PM ET ESPN2WatchESPN	Colorado	at	Washington State
11:00 PM ET MWC	San Jose State	at	Hawaii