Saturday night’s showdown between Michigan and Penn State will be one of the biggest games the B1G has had to this point in the season. And of course, everyone wants as much inside information as they can get.

Wednesday morning, ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit hopped on with Mike and Mike to talk about this weekend’s game, as College GameDay prepares to head to Happy Valley this weekend.

Before diving into the actual game, Herbstreit praised Penn State for the success they’ve had this early in the season. He also talked about the next three weeks and the incredibly difficult stretch the Nittany Lions will face.

“If they survive that gauntlet of Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State, they will have earned anything and everything that they receive,” Herbstreit said.

Sports Betting in Big Ten Country

There is big news coming to the upcoming 2022-23 Big Ten football season (and NFL season). Ohio online sports betting and Maryland sports betting are on the way.

21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

After that Herbstreit went knee deep into breaking down Saturday’s matchup between Penn State and Michigan.

“The matchup, to me, it’s a rivalry game, big stage. This is typically where Jim Harbaugh has a card or two up his sleeve, offensively.,” he said. “Just when it looks like John O’Korn can’t complete a pass, they’re not running the ball the way they should, there’s no chance they can go to Happy Valley, that’s when you need to be…head on a swivel.

“It would not surprise me at all to see him come up with a game plan or approach that’s a little bit different — not crazy different, but just enough to give them some success.

Michigan’s offense has been particularly awful through the first seven weeks of the season, while Penn State has been a juggernaut under the direction of Joe Moorhead.

Herbstreit also talked about what he believed would be the matchup of the night and what could determine the outcome of Saturday’s game.

“I think the challenge of the weekend is going to be Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley and all those weapons at receiver and the tight end (Mike) Gesicki, against Don Brown’s defense,” Herbstreit said. “When they come off the bus, they’re blitzing. It’s going to be fun to watch the firepower of that offense against the scheme and the athletes of the Michigan defense.”

There were several great points brought up be Herbstreit during his time on Mike and Mike, but really, it just got us all a little more pumped up for Saturday’s game at Beaver Stadium.

Michigan and Penn State are scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. and the game will air on ABC.