ANN ARBOR – Greetings from the Michigan Stadium press box. No. 10 Penn State (5-0, 2-0) and No. 5 Michigan (6-0, 3-0) are going through pregame warmups. It will be a typical fall day here, with plenty of wind and the temperature expected to be in the high 40s at kickoff.
Here are a few notes and observations.
Lambert-Smith dressed. Penn State coach James Franklin had been “hopeful” at mid-week that third-year wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith would be able to play.
Lambert-Smith, who has nine catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, left the Lions’ win over Northwestern two weeks ago with an undisclosed injury. He is dressed went through warmups.
PSU linebackers facing big test. The Lions’ No. 1 task on defense will be slowing Michigan star runner Blake Corum, who has run for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 5-8, 210-pound Corum has already carried 118 times and he has run for 100 or more yards in the Wolverines’ last three games.
It should be a challenging day for Penn State’s top two middle linebackers – Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King.
Lions defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was asked about King, a second-year player who is the brother of PSU corner Kalen King, on Thursday.
“I look at Kobe and I forget he’s a young guy, you know?” Diaz said of King, who has 12 tackles and a pass breakup.
“Because when he’s out there, he really flashes, he’s showing his athleticism, he’s a very physical guy.”
Little movement on the point spread. Michigan opened as a 7.5-point favorite at the start of the week and the line was at seven points at kickoff on most betting sites. The total, which opened at 50.5 points, is now at 48.5.
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