Penn State vs. Michigan State prediction, what to look for and more

The pick: Michigan State: 30, Penn State: 10

What to look for: What will Penn State decide to do with this offensive line and will it even matter? The Lions pulled left tackle Paris Palmer last week in the third quarter and James Franklin was noncommittal when asked if Palmer will be back in the starting lineup this week. However, as has been the case for much of the last two seasons, replacing one player has left the door open for others to step in and give up a key play here and there. 

Center Wendy Laurent is coming off probably one of the worst games he’s played this season and while Penn State can continue to use Andrew Nelson at left tackle for Palmer the void at right tackle hasn’t been easy to fill with Brendan Mahon stepping in for Nelson. 

So, can one of the tackles slow down Michigan State’s Shilique Calhoun who has 8.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss this season? If not, that school sack record of 44 from a year ago that the Lions surrendered could be quickly approaching again this season. Penn State surrendered 37 sacks this season and with two games left who knows what happens up front?  

Getting all five rolling at once might see too far fetched at this point, but with little competition on their heels— remember these redshirt freshmen aren’t playing for a reason and they need more time to grow into their roles— the line needs to show some type of improvement after the way it played last week. 

Worth mentioning that: James Franklin said his team is as banged up as it’s ever been. Franklin mentioned this Tuesday during his weekly news conference and while he doesn’t discuss injuries and the Lions don’t release an injury report, Penn State needs DE Carl Nassib to be active to have a shot —even if it’s a slim one— at hanging in this game. Nassib played two plays last week before being held out the rest of the game with an undisclosed injury, presumably the same thing that kept him out of the end of the game against Northwestern a few weeks ago. 

Penn State’s tackling was shaky for much of the Michigan game and if players are banged up this means the tackling and the run defense could both be exploited if the Lions can’t play through some of these nagging injuries. 

On the other side of the ball, RB Saquon Barkley (904 rushing yards) is 98 yards shy of tying Penn State’s true freshman rushing record. D.J. Dozier leads the way with 1,002 yards and Barkley already passed Eric McCoo’s 822 yards, a record McCoo set in 1998. 

WR Chris Godwin (52 catches, 859 yards) also has a shot to go over 1,000 yards this season. The sophomore is averaging 78.1 yards per game and it’s hard to believe that last year at this time Godwin had just 19 catches for 198 yards and one touchdown. The last 1,000-yard receiver Penn State had was Allen Robinson in 2013. 

Christian Hackenberg in regular season finales has completed 42-of-75 passes for 534 yards with four touchdowns to one interception. One of Hackenberg’s best games of his career was the 2013 season finale against Wisconsin where he completed 21-of-30 passes for 339 yards and four touchdowns in the upset against Wisconsin. However, last year against the Spartans Hackenberg completed just 46 percent of his 45 pass attempts for 195 yards while firing an interception and absorbing three sacks. 

Don’t be surprised if: Penn State pulls out a few gadget plays they haven’t used yet this season. The Lions missed on a play last week where if I recall correctly it was Barkley who tossed the ball back to Hackenberg who just under threw a wide open Brandon Polk as some pressure got in No. 14’s face. It had a chance to be a big gain if they would’ve connected and I’d imagine they have something different or a few new variations to use this week. Plays like that and those wrinkles off the speed sweeps that we’ve seen PSU use this season can help to open things up a bit and why not take some of those shots in a game on the road where the Lions really have nothing to lose?

Miss any of the Post-Gazette’s Penn State coverage during the week? Get caught up here:

LB Brandon Bell living up to big play nickname for Penn State defense

5 takeaways from James Franklin’s weekly news conference

Notebook: James Franklin says Penn State o-line is improved this season, stresses patience 

Junior DT Austin Johnson mum on potential NFL future

Is Penn State better on special teams or along the o-line this season?

Penn State still searching for answers in all three phases

Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com and Twitter @audsnyder4.