James Franklin provides his scouting report of Michigan
Penn State is bracing for one of its toughest games of the year this week with Michigan, ranked no. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings and no. 2 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, visiting Happy Valley this week. The game carries significant weight in the Big Ten East Division race, and thus the Big Ten championship picture, but also in the College Football Playoff hunt. Penn State needs this game in order to keep any playoff hopes alive, and a loss would knock Penn State out of the Big Ten championship picture for good.
Head coach James Franklin spent some time on Monday during his regularly scheduled press conference to break down what he and his coaching staff are watching on film of their upcoming opponent. Michigan has been beating up everybody in its path this season, so Franklin knows his team has a big challenge on its hands this week.
Here is a look at some of what Franklin said about the Michigan Wolverines in his Monday press conference.
James Franklin on Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy
Their quarterback has been a differentiator for them, completing almost 76% of his balls. Also has the ability to make plays with his feet either running for first downs or extending plays.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is one of three 2,000-yard passers in the Big Ten this season with 2,134 passing yards and 18 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions. McCarthy has been extremely accurate with his passes with a 75.7% completion percentage which is 10.6 percentage points higher than the next best in the Big Ten, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa completed his first 17 pass attempts against Penn State last week before the Nittany Lions defense got to him a bit. If McCarthy starts off 17-for-17, Penn State could be in a much more dangerous spot than they were against Maryland.
James Franklin on what makes J.J. McCarthy such a difference-maker
I think he’s just a more experienced player. Always been able to make plays with his feet. He’s just improved, kind of well-rounded. He’s throwing for a higher completion percentage. Going a great job protecting the football.
He can extend the plays and make big time throws. The biggest thing with them is they really have not been challenged. They’ve had really good game control on offense and defense. They’re usually ahead on the scoreboard for the most part and they’re usually ahead of the sticks, on offense and defense.
And when you’re able to do that, then you’re putting your quarterback or your guys in a very advantageous position as well. So that game control will be an important part of this game.
There is something to be said about being the Big Ten’s most experienced quarterback coming into the 2023 season. McCarthy gained confidence pretty quickly last year once he established himself as Michigan’s quarterback for good, and he has given no reason to doubt he can handle whatever task is put in front of him.
James Franklin on Michigan's other offensive stars
We all know about Blake Corum. Roman Wilson is having a great year, who we also have a bunch of respect for. And then their offensive line has won the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in college football the last two years. So a lot of respect for that unit.
Michigan running back Blake Corum was a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate last season before having his season derailed a bit by a late-season injury. Corum is fourth in the Big Ten in rushing yards this season but has been an absolute touchdown machine with a Big Ten-leading 16 rushing touchdowns this season. That is twice as many as the next leading running back, Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen. Penn State’s Nick Singleton leads Penn State with 7 rushing touchdowns this season.
Wide receiver Roman Wilson is tied for the Big Ten lead with 10 receiving touchdowns (tied with Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State). He is coming off his first 100-yard game of the season last week with 143 receiving yards against Purdue.
James Franklin on what makes Michigan's running game so successful
I think they do a really good job getting a hat on a hat. So, a really good job of ID’ing the front, being able to get their six blockers on our six most dangerous defenders, and I think Corum has the ability to have tremendous vision and balance and behind the line, because they are able to get a hat on a hat. He’s patient.
Once he does decide to go, he has the ability to burst through the hole. Even though he’s an undersized guy, he’s a powerful guy and he is always falling forward. And then obviously they’ve got a change of pace back as well who’s made some huge plays in the passing game and is explosive in Donovan Edwards.
Penn State found out first-hand just how good this Michigan running game can be with Blake Corum running the show. Corum rushed for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns against Penn State in a 41-17 blowout in Ann Arbor in 2022. Corum averaged 5.93 rushing yards per attempt in that performance.
And Ohio State found out just how strong Donovan Edwards is when Corum is not available. Edwards rushed for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns in Michigan’s division-clinching blowout of the Buckeyes last year, and then he went on to rush for 185 yards in the Big Ten championship game against Purdue and 119 yards in the College Football Playoff semifinal against TCU.
James Franklin on the importance of gap accountability
Sometimes you feel like you’ve been in your gap long enough and now you want to go make a play on the ball, and their backs have been patient enough and their line and tight ends have done a good job of getting a hat on a hat and being inside outs and prying a crease.
You know, Corum has shown he doesn’t need a whole lot of space, a whole lot of room to get the job done. So, I think we’re better positioned for that. I think we’re bigger, more experienced at linebacker.
Staying on the same subject, James Franklin stressed the importance of being patient when defending against the run. With Michigan’s offensive stars able to take off in the blink of an eye and expose any cracks left open for them, the defense staying patient and not making any rushed decisions is critical.
Last year, Franklin felt the inexperience at linebacker hurt them with their gap discipline. That may not be the case this time around, and Penn State’s defense may be better prepared and equipped to handle the Michigan offense.
Who stands out on defense?
We’re impressed with their nickel, No. 0, Mr. [Mike] Sainristil, linebacker, No. 23, [Michael] Barrett, linebacker No. 25, Junior Colson, defensive end, No. 17, Braiden McGregor, defensive tackle, No. 55, Mason Graham, defensive end, No. 32 Jaylen Harrell, and then cornerback, No. 2, Will Johnson. Guys we have a lot of respect for.
To be honest, there are a ton of players to be impressed by on Michigan’s defense. The Wolverines own the nation’s top-ranked defense by allowing just 231.4 yards per game this season, roughly 3 fewer yards per game than Penn State is allowing with the second-best total defense in the nation. For as good as Penn State’s defense has been, Michigan’s has been having a similar season.
Michigan has not allowed more than 13 points in a single game this season and the Wolverines have held 7 of its 9 opponents to fewer than 10 points. This should be a low-scoring defensive battle.
