Wolverines Blogging: Game I Don't Want To Do This Anymore (Penn State)

The line (for entertainment purposes only, of course) for UofM vs PSU is 23. In other words, the sports books think Penn State is going to win by scoring more points than Michigan, among the worst offenses in the nation, has averaged through 6 games. And they just might be right.

Today's game is going to be a bad one. I just know it.

The Wolverines have owned the Nittany Lions for the past decade. Beating them like a rented mule when they should. Pulling off the surprise upset when they weren't favored. Ruining so many promising seasons as they reminded PSU that, in the the Big Ten, it was really just the Big Two. And the other teams colors were scarlet and gray, while theirs were about to be black and blue.

Michigan has beaten Penn State an incredible nine times in a row ever since they came into the league with a promise to realign the power structure. Outside of those first few seasons, PSU has settled back into the middleground, not much better than the average Big Ten team. Certainly not a perennial national title contender.

Like with Wisconsin, the Wolverines have just had the Lions number for so long that you kind of take it for granted. Oh yeah, it's Penn State. Wonder how they're going to lose this year?

But, oh how things have changed. The PSU coach remains the legendary man-troll. But Carr is gone and, with him, perhaps a lot of that psychological edge. Because his replacement has been Rich Rod and the season, to date, has been anything but rich. While threaded through with exhilaration, it's been filled only with disappointment following disaster.

The Wolverines are bad this year.

And the Nittany Lions know it.

That 9 game winning streak isn't the only thing on the line today. In a very real sense, so is Michigan's unmatched 34 year long bowl streak. They're at 2-4 and another loss with yet more tough games remaining they're going to struggle to break even. At 6-6 even the Motor City bowl is a longshot.

Undefeated Penn State knows all of this.

And after so many years of being humiliated by the Michigan team, they're licking their chops. They're going to come to play today. And they're going to come to put yet another hurting on these Wolverines.

It's the late game so at least I'll have plenty of time to drink myself silly before it starts.