Michigan Wolverines Facing a Critical Match on Saturday
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Let's get to the game on Saturday,
00:04 which is a big doing here,
00:05 because Michigan now knows they're on the hot seat.
00:08 Penn State and James Franklin know,
00:10 hey, we're gonna change our signs
00:12 coming up for this football game.
00:13 How about this, a five and a half point favorite here
00:15 for Michigan in Happy Valley,
00:17 and a low total, Ben, 44 and a half.
00:20 Kickoff 12 noon.
00:21 Does Michigan go down?
00:23 Does Michigan prevail?
00:24 And what type of tempo are we looking at
00:25 in this football game?
00:27 So DRS, I was always of the belief
00:30 that if Penn State was going to win
00:31 the Big Ten Conference this year,
00:32 as I predicted entering the season,
00:35 they would not win in Columbus,
00:37 but they would win at home in Happy Valley against Michigan.
00:40 And then with some help, potentially,
00:42 or based on tiebreakers,
00:44 it would be James Franklin's Nittany Lions
00:46 representing the Big Ten East
00:47 in that Big Ten Championship game.
00:49 It comes down to this Saturday.
00:51 And really, Penn State could have the backing
00:53 of many in the Big Ten or around the country
00:54 in college football that are not happy
00:56 with the Wolverines or this sign-stealing scandal
01:00 if Penn State just wins this football game
01:03 and puts a big dot on Michigan's resume.
01:06 Now, the line early, Donnie,
01:08 the early look ahead line before last weekend
01:11 was seven points.
01:12 Penn State hammers Maryland, Michigan for the first time,
01:15 and Big Ten play does not cover on the number.
01:19 Is that a coincidence?
01:21 We'll see.
01:21 Purdue scored the most points, 13.
01:23 Michigan has allowed this year.
01:25 The Wolverines are the best scoring defense in the country
01:28 in college football, allowing less than seven points
01:31 per game.
01:32 So to score 13 is maybe really not that big of a deal.
01:36 It comes down to the defense, Donnie,
01:37 and it comes down to where this game is played.
01:41 In the last 11 meetings between these two sides,
01:44 going back to 2010, home teams are eight and three.
01:47 That shouldn't really be all that much of a surprise,
01:50 but home teams, Donnie, are eight and three
01:52 with an average margin of victory of 19 points per game.
01:56 Only four games were decided by single digits
01:59 in those last 11.
02:00 So you think Michigan is going to cover,
02:02 you should have no issue laying that number.
02:05 If you believe Penn State is going to win,
02:07 just take them on the money line and with the five and a half
02:11 because if Penn State does, Donnie,
02:13 they're going to win this game outright.
02:15 I already bet Penn State at six and a half
02:17 earlier this week.
02:18 The line continues to work down now to five and a hook.
02:22 Again, I'm invested in Penn State to win the Big 10.
02:25 If Penn State is going to do that,
02:26 it is a necessity for them to win this game
02:28 at home in Happy Valley against Michigan on Saturday.
02:33 - We talk about money in the Big 10
02:34 and also television contracts coming in.
02:36 The shame of this whole thing is,
02:38 one of the best atmospheres in college football,
02:40 which it will be, Penn State is electric on game day.
02:42 This was supposed to be the white out at night
02:44 to take on Michigan in an unbelievable atmosphere.
02:47 But again, the dollars say you're going to play at noon.
02:49 You're going to say, okay, where's the dollars at?
02:51 And yes, we will play noon football here,
02:53 but it'll be exciting to watch it play out overall.
02:55 And for me, finally getting Michigan to see
02:58 maybe some adversity in this game.
03:00 But by the way, Ben, for me,
03:01 this game technically could go two ways.
03:03 Like if Penn State wins,
03:04 that's going to throw a wrench in the Big 10.
03:05 It'll be so much fun to watch it play out
03:07 over the final weeks of the season.
03:09 But what happens if Michigan does show up on Saturday
03:11 and just lays a beating to Penn State
03:12 by double digits or more in this game?
03:14 And then we say, okay, it's Michigan versus the world.
03:17 You thought we were stealing signs.
03:18 Now we're beating teams fair and square.
03:20 It'll be fun to see it play out.
03:22 (upbeat music)
03:24 [MUSIC]