Penn State Football: causes for concern against the Michigan State Spartans

Unfortunately, the regular season is coming to a close, and for Penn State Football, their final test will come against the Michigan State Spartans.

The Nittany Lions are looking to reach double digit wins for the first time since 2019, while the Spartans are fighting to extend their season and earn themselves a bowl bid.

In some ways, this game is a bit of a reflection of last year’s matchup in snowy East Lansing. At that time, Michigan State was sitting at nine wins and looking to earn themselves a New Year’s Six Bowl bid, while the Nittany Lions were sitting at 7-4, but were certainly better than their record had shown.

For what it’s worth, Michigan State is probably about as good of a 5-6 team as you will find, and they’ll look to play spoiler on Penn State’s senior day.

These are three causes for concern for Penn State Football as they wrap up their 2022 regular season slate against Michigan State.

Michigan State’s pass protection

Although they’ve attempted the fifth most passes in the conference, Michigan State is tied (with Penn State) for the fourth fewest sacks allowed. They’ve allowed just 15 through 11 games.

For the Spartans, that matches up well against the Nittany Lions’ pass rush, which leads the Big Ten with 34 sacks on the year.

On the back end, the Penn State secondary should be able to shut down Michigan State’s receiving corps, but if their pass protection holds up just long enough, someone could sneak open.

One of the staples of Manny Diaz’s defense this season has been his willingness to be aggressive and dial up pressure, but if they’re not as effective at getting to the quarterback this week as they have been in previous weeks, can the Spartan offense have some success?