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<p>In Columbus, students are donning shirts that spell out &#8220;WE ARE PENN STATE.&#8221;</p><p>Seriously.</p><p>Buckeyes linebacker Darron Lee, walking from his car to class at Ohio State, actually found a Penn State sticker on the sidewalk.</p><p>Lee couldn&#8217;t help but take out his phone and snap a picture of the Nittany Lions logo and post it to Twitter.</p><p>&#8220;One can dream right?&#8221; he wrote.</p><p>It seems the Lions have some new fans this week.</p><p>There&#8217;s a similar sentiment in Ann Arbor as well. That&#8217;s because the winner of Saturday&#8217;s Ohio State-Michigan tilt at noon needs Penn State to spring the upset of Michigan State at 3:30 to get into the Big Ten title game.</p><p>The stakes are even higher for the one-loss Buckeyes, who still would have a shot at reaching the College Football Playoff to defend their national title if they can win the Big Ten.</p><p>Sparty isn&#8217;t going to go down easily.</p><p>Michigan State is in prime position to reach the Playoff after knocking off Ohio State last week. A win over Penn State this week and Iowa next in the conference championship would certainly be enough to earn one of the four spots. The Spartans are fifth in the selection committee&#8217;s latest rankings and would play No. 4 Iowa if they win the Big Ten East.</p><p>Michigan State has the momentum and the motivation. Can Penn State spoil the party? It might depend on who&#8217;s under center for the home team.<hr/><table style="width: 100%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/mich-state-10-_zpsdcff6795.gif" height="113" width="150"/></td><td style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"></p><p><strong>No. 5 MICHIGAN STATE (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten)</strong></p><p><strong>vs. PENN STATE (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten)</strong></p><p>3:30 p.m., Saturday, ESPN</td><td><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>QUARTERBACK</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/mich-state-10-_zpsdcff6795.gif" height="113" width="150"/>This is obviously dependent on whether Connor Cook can give it a go for the Spartans, who are keeping his availability a secret. Cook has been practicing in some capacity, but the injury to his throwing shoulder was serious enough that he couldn&#8217;t play against Ohio State. That suggests he wasn&#8217;t even close to 100 percent a week ago. So there&#8217;s a decent chance it will be Tyler O&#8217;Connor and Damion Terry splitting reps again. Cook is a potential first-round draft pick while opinions on Christian Hackenberg are much more divided these days. <strong>EDGE: MSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>RUNNING BACK</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/mich-state-10-_zpsdcff6795.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Saquon Barkley may have the most natural talent, but even he can&#8217;t do much against defensive linemen a yard deep in the backfield right after the snap. That&#8217;s how Barkley started with a 56-yard gain against Michigan and only finished with a net of 68 at the end of the day. Ouch. Michigan State may not have a Le&#8217;Veon Bell or even a back equal to the very underrated Jeremy Langford this year. But the Spartans have three or four very capable runners with Gerald Holmes and L.J. Scott leading what was a 200-yard effort vs. the Buckeyes. <strong>EDGE: MSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>RECEIVER</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/mich-state-10-_zpsdcff6795.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Aaron Burbridge and Chris Godwin aren&#8217;t exactly household names. But they rank one-two in the Big Ten in receiving yards with Burbridge over the 1,000-yard mark and Godwin needing 141 yards over his final two games to join him. If Penn State is going to win, the Lions need Godwin to beat press coverage and shake free quickly before the pass rush can get to Christian Hackenberg. Once again, the Lions&#8217; opponent has a big edge at tight end where Paul Lang is solid and Josiah Price is a serious red zone threat who has five touchdown catches. <strong>EDGE: MSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>OFFENSIVE LINE</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/mich-state-10-_zpsdcff6795.gif" height="113" width="150"/>This is about as lopsided as it gets. Michigan State has a terrific veteran unit led by future NFLers Jack Conklin at left tackle and Jack Allen at center. Penn State, meanwhile, benched its left tackle as last week&#8217;s game wound down and already moved its senior center over to left guard. The Lions were badly, badly overwhelmed last week by Michigan in the trenches, particularly in the red zone. It wasn&#8217;t pretty and there&#8217;s not much reason to believe it will improve against another tough defensive front. It&#8217;s the single biggest reason for the Lions&#8217; woes. <strong>EDGE: MSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>DEFENSIVE LINE</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>This is another one that&#8217;s injury dependent because of the health of Carl Nassib, who still somehow leads the country in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles despite missing all but two plays last week against Michigan. Nassib wasn&#8217;t in great shape leading up to that game and he should be considered very questionable to play regular snaps again now. Regardless, two of the country&#8217;s best linemen will still be on the field in Penn State tackle Austin Johnson and Michigan State end Shilique Calhoun. Both have great motors. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>LINEBACKER</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/mich-state-10-_zpsdcff6795.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Both sides suffered season-ending knee injuries here with Michigan State losing Ed Davis and Penn State losing Nyeem Wartman-White. Davis was the more productive player, but the Spartans have done a better job of filling the hole. Sophomore Jon Reschke has slid into the starting lineup and had his best game yet a week ago, earning national defensive player of the week honors for his efforts against Ohio State. Despite the bye week, Penn State missed a ton of tackles last week. Brandon Bell, however, continues to make big plays. <strong>EDGE: MSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>SECONDARY</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Talent-wise, Michigan State has the better unit. It hasn&#8217;t played out that way statistically. The Spartans have been inconsistent and rank 70th against the pass, giving up big yardage to some of the weaker teams in the Big Ten. Penn State has been solid in that area but the Lions were exposed last week by poor tackling on Michigan&#8217;s receiver screens. That&#8217;s a big concern this week even if Connor Cook isn&#8217;t able to go &#8212; the backups would be more likely to utilize screens with confidence if the first defender to the ball is never able to make the play. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>SPECIAL TEAMS</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/mich-state-10-_zpsdcff6795.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Just when Penn State&#8217;s &#8220;Nekton Era&#8221; produced its first significant play last week &#8212; Von Walker blocked a punt to set up a Lions&#8217; score &#8212; the unit gave those points right back when DeAndre Thompkins simply dropped a punt on a fair catch. Then after cutting the deficit to five points midway through the fourth, PSU gave up a 55-yard kickoff return that helped seal the game for Michigan. Tyler Davis hasn&#8217;t missed yet on a field goal, but there aren&#8217;t any other positives here. MSU&#8217;s Michael Geiger just had the clutch kick to beat Ohio State. <strong>EDGE: MSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>PREDICTION</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"></p><p><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/mich-state-10-_zpsdcff6795.gif" height="113" width="150"/>The score here could vary wildly depending on Cook&#8217;s health. But obviously if Michigan State can piece together a win in Columbus without him, the Spartans can do it against an inconsistent Penn State side with their national title hopes firmly renewed. Mark Dantonio deserves a great deal of credit. In the last three years, the MSU boss has beaten Ohio State in the Horseshoe and Indianapolis, Stanford in California, Baylor in Texas and Oregon at home in Spartan Stadium. Penn State won&#8217;t be able to block well enough to win. <strong>MICHIGAN STATE 24, PENN STATE 14.</strong></td></tr></tbody></table></p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Prediction time: Penn State-Michigan State breakdown