Michigan Football: Behind enemy lines with a Penn State expert
By Josh LaFond
We sat down with Nick and Alec from Victory Bell Rings to discuss the Michigan vs Penn State Game.
In this week’s edition of Behind Enemy Lines, we sat down with Nick Kreiser and Alec Whitaker from VictoryBellRings.com.
Nick and Alec provide excellent coverage there, discussing all things Nittany Lions, and have brought a great perspective on the game this week against Penn State.
It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) this matchup for Michigan football is the pendulum swing for the rest of this season.
Win this game, and you likely head into Columbus to face the Buckeyes 11-0, with a chance to make the college football playoff regardless of the outcome.
Lose?
Things might not spiral, but the post-season dreams for a magical year could be all but over. So what do Nick and Alec think about this game? And who do they think comes out on top?
Join us in this week’s edition of Behind Enemy Lines as we answer just that.
Has Penn State lived up to your expectations so far this season?
Alec Whitaker: I think Penn State is exactly where I expected them to be record-wise. The home slate was full of all winnable games and while the two road games were tough, Penn State was the more talented team in both. The Nittany Lions have exceeded my expectations in the run game and on defense. The freshmen running backs became factors by game two, which transformed the offense. On defense, there was plenty of skepticism around Manny Diaz, but the emphasis on turnovers and sacks has worked.
Nick Kreiser: In terms of record, I agree with Alec in the sense that I expected them to start 5-0. However, I think they’ve looked a little more impressive than I expected them to at this point. They started 5-0 last season, but they couldn’t run the ball. This year, they’re a much different 5-0 team with a far more balanced offensive attack. I also expected the defense to regress a little with so much turnover from a year ago, but the new faces have stepped up and played great so far and this defense looks just as good as last year, maybe even better.
What’s your opinion on Michigan football’s season thus far?
Alec: Coming off of the Big Ten title, I expected Michigan to look like a contender again this season, and so far they have. I was super high on the offense heading into the season, and they’ve looked great. The defense was where I was skeptical of Michigan, but so far it looks like they’ve used strength in numbers to overcome the losses of Hutchinson, Ojabo, Hill, and others.
Nick: It’s easy to look at some of Michigan’s early opponents and say they’re overrated, but they did exactly what you would expect a top-five team to do in those games: dominate. Blake Corum has exceeded my expectations for sure, and I think having some stability at quarterback with JJ McCarthy is beneficial as well, as opposed to bouncing between him and Cade McNamara. To me, a question mark was complacency after finally getting over the hump last season with a conference championship and playoff appearance, but it seems that isn’t an issue and they’re as hungry as ever to defend their title.