Penn State won the war in 2016, clearly. The Nittany Lions somehow, some way, came out on top in the Big Ten Conference.
In one particular battle, though, the Nittany Lions looked like an MMA fighter after a battle in handcuffs and ankle irons. They hobbled into Michigan Stadium with a linebacking corps decimated by injuries. They crawled out shackled to a 49-10 loss.
The easiest $110,319 anyone could have ever earned would have involved betting every single individual exiting Michigan Stadium that afternoon — whether garbed in blue and white or maize and blue — one dollar that Penn State would become Big Ten champs a couple of months down the road.
No way. No chance. No how.
Back in Happy Valley, more than a few unhappy folks were insisting Penn State head coach James Franklin might be gone after the season. After the beatdown, his chances looked deader than Ben Franklin.
Don’t think for a second the Nittany Lions, and their fans, don’t remember. That could prove a problem come Saturday night, when the Wolverines slip hopefully into Beaver Stadium.
Like Doc Holliday once said in “Tombstone” — “Make no mistake. It’s not revenge he’s after. It’s a reckoning.”
Penn State fans aren’t exactly fond of Michigan anyway, which doesn’t make them unique. But the Joe Pa Loompas honed their revved-up revulsion for the Wolverines through an 0-9 streak a few years back, when they convinced themselves the league had it in for them.
Michigan always seemed to find a way, and the vanilla lids discovered a new level of disdain.
It’s different now. The Wolverines lost their aura of invincibility via their walk in the wilderness during the post-Lloyd Carr era. Penn State has been gaining momentum, after nearly falling off a cliff.
The Nittany Lions are defending Big Ten champs, double-digit favorites over the visitors, armed with two of the top offensive players in the league in quarterback Trace McSorley and tailback Saquon Barkley. They feature the No. 1 defense in the nation against the score.
In terms of settling scores, the Fighting Franklins appear overqualified.
“They’re going to come out a little bit extra intense,” observed fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. “I think they’re going to really bring it.
“That’s what makes this such an exciting game. They have a lot of motivation from last year. They won the Big Ten championship, but we got the better of them … I feel like they’re really going to come out ready to play.”
It’s not that Michigan won’t. After all, the Wolverines come in dragging a still-soaked loss to Michigan State, and one defeat away from encountering polite smiles and silence when they insist they’re not out of the league race.
They’ve got their own killer defense and a confident running back in junior Karan Higdon fresh off a 200-yard game at Indiana.
But they don’t have the home crowd, a consistent passing attack or much of a record versus ranked opponents in true road games lately. At No. 2, Penn State is about as ranked as they come.
“We’ve been pretty bad on the road since I’ve been here,” Hurst acknowledged, noting the importance of first steps at Purdue and Indiana. “Just to know you can go on the road and get those wins, grind out those tough games and come out on top, it really forms your identity as a team.”
Fifth-year senior quarterback John O’Korn’s mom works as a waitress in State College. It’s a safe bet she’s not going to get any tips from the locals on how to upend the Nittany Lions for a third straight season under Jim Harbaugh.
O’Korn thinks he knows part of the solution, anyway. He insists he has to get better, improving in conjunction with a host of young receivers.
“Our run game is rolling, our defense is rolling,” he said. “It’s on us as a unit, quarterbacks and receivers.”
The smart money whispers, don’t bet The Big House. The residents thereof insist, we’re showing up.
“I look at it as just another game we have to win,” sophomore linebacker Devin Bush Jr. offered. “We’re playing a good team in their environment. It’s no different to us.”
“I’m really excited,” O’Korn added. “I think everybody on our team will tell you the same thing. Everybody is fired up. Obviously, we’re an underdog in the game. Nobody’s really giving us a chance, so we’re excited for the opportunity.”
Nobody’s giving them a chance — just like they didn’t Penn State, on its way out of Ann Arbor a year ago.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt and @Balas_Wolverine
• Like us on Facebook
