Two questions are at the forefront of tonight’s match-up between No. 10 ranked Penn State and No. 5 ranked Michigan. Which Sean Clifford will show up in Ann Arbor? And which team will be able to establish the run game?

Let’s start with Clifford, who has solid numbers this season, having thrown for 1,030 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. A successful performance against the Wolverines for Clifford will be for him to mimic his performance against Auburn. Despite Auburn’s flaws this season, it still has talent and speed on its defensive line and Clifford handled the road environment and the pressure well on that day. In that game, Clifford finished 14-of-19 for 178 yards with no touchdowns, but also no interceptions. He did a good job managing the game and moving the chains.

The key to Clifford’s success on that day was that he played confident and was decisive because he received support from the Penn State rushing attack. The Nittany Lions rushed for 245 yards against Auburn with freshman running back Nick Singleton carrying it 10 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman running back Kaytron Allen also had a productive day against Auburn, rushing for 52 yards and two scores. The two freshmen are going to need play well tonight and so far this season they have done just that, as the Allen-Singleton duo is averaging 153.2 rushing yards per game.

Now, I know that Penn State is most likely not going to be able to rush for over 200 yards against a Michigan defense that is only allowing 81.7 rushing yards per game. But if the Nittany Lions can run for 150-175 yards against the Wolverines with a few explosive plays mixed in then I believe that will give Clifford the confidence he needs to play consistent. Consistency will be the word of the day for the sixth-year senior signal caller.

On the defensive side of the ball, the priority for the Penn State defense will be containing the Wolverines run game. Penn State has held four of its five opponents under 100 rushing yards, and it ranks fifth in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 79.6 yards per game.

However, it will be a tough task. Michigan running back Blake Corum is a special talent and he has proven that this season by rushing for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns. The goal on the day for the Nittany Lions defense will be to make the Wolverines one-dimensional on offense and to force sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy to have to throw the ball down the field under duress. McCarthy does lead the country in completion percentage at 78 percent, but he has not seen a pass rush as talented and as fast as Penn State’s pass rush yet this season.

In fact, Penn State is holding opposing quarterbacks to a 49.6 percent completion percentage, due to its pass rush forcing quarterbacks to get rid of the ball quicker than they would like and a secondary that is long, athletic and aggressive in coverage. The Nittany Lions defense leads the country with 41 pass deflections and has also forced five interceptions.

I think this is as even as a match-up as you’re going to see in the country this season. You have two teams that need to be successful in the run game in order to win, but also boast two defenses that have been good at stopping the run. Whoever is able to run the football effectively and consistently is going to win this game, but there are a few other factors to keep an eye that I think can give Penn State an edge if executed.

Keep an eye on Nittany Lions punter Barney Amor. He has landed 61 percent of his punts inside the 20 and 52 percent of his punts inside the 10, leading the country in both percentages. Early in the game, flipping field position could be extremely important and nobody has been better than Amor in that department.

In addition look for takeaways. Penn State has forced 11 turnovers in the last three games, its most in any three-game stretch since 1996. For the season, the Nittany Lions have forced 12 turnovers, including seven fumbles and five interceptions.

Coming into the game tonight, Penn State is a touchdown underdog. In my preseason schedule breakdown and prediction, I did pick the Nittany Lions to lose this game. But I did not know how much of an impact the freshmen running backs were going to have on the Penn State rushing attack. I also think the offensive line is finally finding a road grader mentality and is pushing people off the ball. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but I think the Nittany Lions pass rush coupled with the talent in their secondary will force a few turnovers and that will be the difference.

My pick is Penn State 24, Michigan 21.