After being dominated up front against Illinois, Penn State is aiming to be more prepared for heavy sets against Michigan.
Quantifying what senior captain PJ Mustipher meant to Penn State's defensive line is difficult to do.
The McDonough (Md.) product was both a physical and vocal leader on the defense before suffering a season-ending injury in Penn State's loss to Iowa. The loss of Mustipher was exemplified two weeks later when the Nittany Lions allowed 357 yards on the ground in a shocking loss to lowly Illinois.
"You don't replace a PJ Mustipher, but what you do is get guys to step up and do their 1/11th as we say," defensive line coach John Scott Jr. said on Thursday. "...Just having that got around, it speaks volumes. He's got the utmost respect (from his teammates."
The Illini repeatedly ran offensive sets with six or even seven offensive lineman involved, and Penn State repeatedly had no answer. Since the loss, Penn State has practiced extensively against the heavy offensive sets and head coach James Franklin is hoping that doing so will help his team against a Michigan offense that ranks seventh in the country at 234.1 yards per game on the ground.
“I think we're also going to get some of the heavy sets. And obviously we've worked on that the last couple of weeks to make sure that we have a plan for that and have got enough reps working on it in practice, because I really expected to see that the last two weeks,” he said. And so, we've been working on it the last two weeks and we're working on it again this week as well."
Penn State was able to contain Ohio State star freshman TreVeyon Henderson for most the game in Columbus two weeks ago and held Maryland to just 18 yards per carry a week ago, but the Wolverines present an entirely new test, even with the possibility that sophomore Blake Corum, the team's second-leading rush, could miss the game due to an injury suffered in Michigan 29-7 win over Indiana last weekend.
"Michigan's got a really, really good rushing attack. they are committed to running the football so we know it's going to be a tough test for our guys," Scott said of the Wolverines' ground game.
When asked specifically about facing the heavy sets, Scott said that the team's preparation in recent weeks is expected to go a long way toward an improved performance compared to the one against Illinois.
"They already have that component in their offense where they bring in the extra offensive line or they play 13 personnel with the tight ends," Scott said when asked if he expected to see the sets from Michigan. " And we've looked at that and the kids have looked at that and prepared accordingly. It would be no surprise at all and they won't be caught off guard if that's what they try to do with those extra linemen and extra tight ends."
Whatever looks the Nittany Lions get from the Wolverines, slowing down the run game will be integral if they want to pull off the upset. Penn State has won the last two games in Happy Valley against the Wolverines and three of the last four overall. But if Corum and fellow running back Hassan Haskins get going, the potential is there for the Michigan to run away with this one.
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