Penn State Nittany Lions (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten East) at Michigan Wolverines (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten East)
3:30 pm ET, September 24, 2016 - ABC
Michigan Stadium (Capacity: 109,901 / Ann Arbor, MI)
Difference
Difference >25 in National Rank =
Difference >50 in National Rank =
Difference >75 in National Rank =
Difference >100 in National Rank =
Note: The Redzone TD% and Redzone TD% Defense are calculated by me and not ranked by the NCAA. Determining who has the advantage in these categories is strictly my arbitrary judgment.
Quick thoughts:
Yes, it's way too early, but since it's Big Ten season, I figured I'd start too early.
I have to say, I was surprised there weren't more three- and four-Michigan logos here. The Wolverines are much better on offense in 2016 than they were headed into this matchup last season, but their defense isn't quite as good (it was a killer last season). That bodes not horribly.
Also, with how good (save last week's fluke) Penn State has been on special teams, I kind of expected more of a PSU swing in those categories--but those logos belie the earliness of this post. Penn State has had only four kickoffs returned--so that 122 ranking is a little inflated, since they've kicked off at least 14 more times than that. Similarly, punt return defense hasn't been something I track on here--I compare punt returns to punting itself instead--but PSU's punt return D has been stellar (when Blake Gillikin has allowed punts to be returned; only 3 have been returned, for an average of 1 yard) and they are 15th. Michigan, on the other hand, is 121st in punt return defense, but it's only because they've had 4 punt returns to defend, and they've averaged 17.5. Let's go, John Reid.
As for something else that stood out? Michigan's red zone defense. On paper, 33.33% is a great red zone defense number--but their opponents have only been in the red zone three times. They've allowed their opponents to score from outside the redzone, so that seems to be a key here.
What say you guys?