Brace yourself because what I’m about to predict is the most lukewarm take you’ll see all week, and maybe even all year.

Are you ready for it? Ok, here it is.

I think Saquon Barkley goes OFF on Saturday night.

How bland of a prediction is that? After all, Barkley is currently the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. The only bet that looks safer than Barkley having a big game is that Jim Harbaugh will rock khakis on the Beaver Stadium sidelines.

Let’s revise that bland Barkley prediction to give it a little more context. Instead of just forecasting a monster game, let’s do one better.

I think Barkley has his Heisman Trophy moment on Saturday night.

Maybe it comes in the form of another USC-like touchdown. Perhaps we see him hurdle a defender, get hit in midair and still keep his balance like he did against Iowa. Who knows? He could hurdle a handful of Michigan defenders like he did against Illinois his freshman season.

All I know is, when the lights come on, all eyes will be on Barkley to make a statement.

That’s usually when he’s at his absolute Barkley-est.

Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, I realize that Barkley is facing an elite Michigan defense. The Wolverines haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher all year and they rank No. 6 in FBS against the run. Don Brown is, as James Franklin said, one of the best defensive coordinators in America.

Some might even point to last year when Barkley gained just 59 yards on the ground against Michigan. What they might forget is that Barkley still picked up 136 yards from scrimmage and that he looked like the only player that deserved to be on the field with Brown’s defense.

Since that Michigan game in 2016, Penn State is 15-1 with an average of 40.5 points per contest. It’s safe to say the Lions offense under Joe Moorhead looks a whole lot different than it did last year in Ann Arbor.

Michigan could contain Barkley in the running game, but doing that at night (especially in Beaver Stadium), will be a different ballgame.

In his Penn State career, Barkley played in nine games that started at 5 p.m. or later. Here’s what those numbers look like:

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Ironically enough, the one night game that Barkley didn’t eclipse 100 yards from scrimmage was Ohio State in 2016.

We all know how that one turned out.

The difference this year is that everyone expects Barkley and the No. 2 Lions to take care of business in prime time. Lord knows Barkley’s signature moments have come in big-time games.

Plenty of people were willing to hand Barkley the Heisman when he went off in Iowa City a few weeks ago. The Rose Bowl dominance launched his way-too-early 2018 draft hype. Shoot, go back to that 2015 game against Ohio State in Columbus and you saw a guy who rose to the occasion when his number was called.

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Barkley will have a prime opportunity to do that again on Saturday night while Bryce Love plays another game that won’t finish until after midnight on the East Coast. College GameDay will be at Penn State for the first time in the post-Joe Paterno era. The atmosphere figures to resemble the one that Beaver Stadium had for the Ohio State stunner last year. It’s the game of the weekend in college football.

For Penn State, it’s another chance to show the college football world how far it’s come since the last time they took on Michigan. For Barkley, it’s a chance to light up another traditional program and show why he’s college football’s best player.

If there was ever a chance for a Heisman moment, this is it.

And you’re crazy if you think that doesn’t mean something to Penn State, which had one Heisman winner all the way back in 1973. There’s a reason Barkley’s official Penn State bio page is a Heisman campaign. Everybody knows why Barkley stayed in games after they were already put away. It wasn’t a coincidence that Barkley registered a passing touchdown, either.

The Lions obviously want to pick up a key victory to improve to 7-0, but they also want their star to shine brightest on the big stage once again.

Fortunately for them, that looks like a solid bet.