Grover C. Magnus 
Penn State and Michigan will kick off at noon at Beaver Stadium next weekend, the Big Ten reported on Saturday night. The game will be broadcast live on ABC ahead of the Ohio State-Purdue game, which begins at 3:30 p.m. The conference has exercised its six-day hold option for a number of Big Ten games on the No.13 roster.
The Wolverines will come to Happy Valley with an 8-1 record and a 5-1 rating in the Big Ten. The only flaw on the record this season was a 37-33 loss to Michigan State last weekend. Michigan placed No.7 in the initial college football playoff standings last week and sent Indiana 29-7 on Saturday night.
Penn State ended a three-game slide with a 31-14 victory over Maryland on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions are now eligible for bowling at 6-3, but were not made in the initial college football playoff standings last week.
Michigan leads the series all-time 14-10, but the Nittany Lions have won the last two, including a 27-17 victory at Ann Arbor last season. The Wolverines last won at Happy Valley in 2015, as Penn State won the last two games played between the two legendary programs at Beaver Stadium. Penn State took a 21-0 lead over Michigan in the 2019 contest and earned a 28-21 victory in Sean Clifford’s first start against the Wolverines. James franklin is 3-4 against Michigan and 3-3 head-to-head with Jim harbaugh.
Penn State’s status as a bowl-eligible team wasn’t secure until a late six-pick by safety Ji’Ayir Brown turned a tense fight with the Terps into a three-goal win. .
“I’m proud of our guys,” Franklin said after the game. “Obviously in the first half things weren’t as clear as we wanted them to be. We had several chances to put points on the board, we just missed a few missed shots. We were able to mix the scoring in the first half, but we just weren’t as effective as we needed to be offensive.
“Defensively tonight, as well as all year, they kept us in the games and they fought. They have played championship-level defense throughout the year. One of the things that was different tonight was that we didn’t hit the ball as well, so [Maryland] continued to get a very good position on the pitch. But then we were able to make some adjustments at half time, we made some of the shots that we missed in the first half, we were able to get some turnovers and we found a way to win.
“Obviously the big turnover at the end was huge. Getting the ball into Jahan Dotson’s hands obviously had a huge impact on the game; a school record of 242 yards. So I’m proud of our guys. The first half was not as pretty as we would like it to be, but then you wouldn’t have anything to say. So the second half we went out and I thought I played a lot better.
Penn State has two more home games on the schedule in Michigan (Nov. 13) and Rutgers (No.20) before hitting the road to close out the regular season at East Lansing against Michigan State on Nov. 27.
