3 Wolverines to Watch vs Penn State

Just like for Penn State, the passing game seems to be a determining factor for the Michigan Wolverines in their matchup on Saturday against the Nittany Lions.

Two teams that have top three scoring defenses in the country (Michigan at #1 and PSU at #3) will face off in a game where traditional run plays may become extremely difficult to manufacture yards with.

That means we should go over the top three Wolverines who will have the biggest impact on the outcome of the game for Michigan.

J.J. McCarthy is easily one of the top quarterbacks in the nation and has continued to play like it week in and week out. Although he really has not played much in the fourth quarter this season, he got his first extended minutes there against Purdue this past weekend.

McCarthy sits at third in the nation with a 75.7% completion percentage, narrowly behind Noah Fifita of Arizona and Bo Nix of Oregon. McCarthy is second in passing efficiency with a rating of 188.7 and is third in the nation in yards per attempt with 10.4.

His rushing numbers have been a different story. Michigan has not needed to use the QB nearly as much running the ball in 2023 as they did in 2022. The designed runs have been few and far between. That said, it is very possible that the Wolverines have been keeping those plays in their back pocket for this game and the OSU game.

If Michigan's traditional rushing attack struggles like many expects it to against the nations top rushing defense, we could see McCarthy getting several carries on designed runs.

Still, the place where Michigan will have to beat Penn State is through the air. This will be the first major test for McCarthy since the dreaded TCU game on New Years Eve.

Penn State has allowed the third least sacks in the conference (12), just behind Michigan (11), and Rutgers (eight).

If Michigan's pass rush struggles to get to QB Drew Allar, the matchup will be that much tougher on the Wolverines. In Allar's worst game of the season, where had a 49.2% completion percentage and averaged just 4.5 yards per attempt, the Buckeyes sacked him four different times.

Josaiah Stewart leads a four man Michigan rotation in sacks with 4.5 (all of which have come in the last five games) and could look to play a major part in stopping the Nittany Lions run game and passing attack.

Similar to Josh Uche in 2019, it seems that Stewart has progressively gotten better as the season goes on. Expect him to have had a huge impact in this game if it goes to the Wolverines' liking.

Roman Wilson has quietly put together a terrific season at wideout for Michigan. The senior from Honolulu, Hawaii has 10 touchdowns on 36 catches for 589 yards. Wilson's speed is obviously his best feature, but his connection with McCarthy has gone to the next level.

Wilson is coming off of the best game of his career., Versus Purdue he had nine grabs for 143 yards and several other plays where McCarthy just missed him on open routes. He has been terrific against man coverage and zone, which he should see looks of both against PSU.

Nittany Lions' defensive coordinator Manny Diaz likes to bring disguised pressure, so expect McCarthy to rely on his go-to receiver in situations where he needs it the most.

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