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Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt previews Penn State-Michigan matchup

Cole Thompson

By Cole Thompson

Published:

Do you think Michigan fans are tired of Joel Klatt? They’ll have to deal with him for 1 more week before perhaps FOX heads elsewhere for its Big Noon Kickoff.

Klatt will call Saturday’s game from Ann Arbor as No. 10 Penn State travels to No. 5 Michigan for a must-see event. On his podcast, Klatt previewed the matchup, calling this a game with “plenty of great storylines” that could impact the remainder of the season.

“This is just dripping with great storylines. It’s strength against strength,” Klatt said. “Both of these teams are wondering how good they actually are.”

Both teams enter Saturday undefeated looking for a program-defining win. Penn State is coming off a bye week and recently struggled to find balance play against Northwestern. Michigan might be 6-0, but its best win is against a 4-2 Maryland squad that recently lost to Purdue.

Klatt said this game could come down to the play of Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Despite leading the nation in completion percentage (78.3%), the sophomore has yet to face off against a top-25 defense this season.

“You can throw it 35 times, but only 10 of 11 of those better be dropback passes in obvious passing down situations,” Klatt said. “Can Michigan run the football? That’s where I’m watching early in this game, middle of this game.”

Penn State has lost 13 consecutive road games against top-5 teams since 1994. Kickoff is set for Noon E.T. Michigan enters Saturday as a 6.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel.

Cole Thompson

Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Tradition who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.