Opportunity.

The definition is simple — a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

That set of circumstances happens to be a trip to the “Big House” for the Penn State Nittany Lions, making it possible — if they’re able to come away with a win — to jump back onto the national stage and shake up the Big Ten East Division Championship.

The past two seasons the match-up between Penn State (6-2, 3-2) and Michigan (7-1, 5-0) has been decided by an average of 34 points with the Wolverines destroying the Nittany Lions in Ann Arbor 49-10 and Penn State getting redemption last season at Beaver Stadium 42-13.

This is also the 10th time these two (3:45 p.m. ET, ESPN) will meet as ranked teams — and the first time as ranked teams in consecutive seasons since 1999. Needless to say, with the Wolverines ranked at No. 5 and the Nittany Lions at No. 14, there’s a ton on the line with definite College Football implications at stake for Michigan. So, it’s safe to say a 34-point victory for either side probably won’t be on the docket.

This week, I’m not going to focus much on last week’s game, because of the quality opponent in Michigan, but I’ll share just a few notes from the Iowa game. Once again, the Nittany Lions let things get a little dicey at the end with a lead, but Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley made a mistake by throwing an errant pass at the Penn State goal line. Nick Scott made a play, with his key interception, which ended up being the deciding moment in the football game.

The time management on the offensive side was better and the Nittany Lions closed out the ball game. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but the players made the plays down the stretch to win the game, which is an important improvement from their previous three games.

Lastly, Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley injured his knee against the Hawkeyes, but returned to help them get the win, even rushing for a 51-yard touchdown once he returned. Penn State head coach James Franklin has been mum on McSorley’s status entering this week’s game, but just from analyzing the senior’s past and toughness, I don’t think there’s a chance he misses this game — even if he’s a little banged up.

The key match-up in this game will be Penn State’s offense against the vaunted Michigan defense. The Wolverines “D” leads the country in total defense, giving up just 220 yards per game. They also lead the nation in passing defense, allowing just 122.9 passing yards per game.

In my opinion, that’s where this game will be won — not so much in the trenches running the football, but who can come up with the more explosive plays throughout the air. McSorley has been one of the more effective deep ball throwers in the league this season and will be looking to get the ball to his new favorite target this season in KJ Hamler (497 receiving yards, 5 TDs). Hamler has the speed to get behind any defense in the country.

Michigan is a historically press man coverage team on defense, so it will be key for Penn State’s talented bunch of wideouts to gain separation, which has been sort of an issue at times. With what is a fierce defensive front for the Wolverines, it would be an educated guess that McSorley won’t have all day to throw the football, so his receiver will need to get open.

If Penn State can get things going in the passing game early on, then it definitely has a chance to have success. The Lions have been running the football well, averaging 225.4 rushing yards per game, but it’s obvious running the football won’t be an easy task. It will be the success of Penn State’s passing game that will be the difference in this one.

The Nittany Lions are averaging 41 points per game and 459.9 yard per game offensively.

“They lead the nation in total defense and pass defense. They’ve held seven of their last eight opponents to the lowest yardage total of the season,” said Franklin. “They’re a man pressure defense. They’re going to try to overload you in the box and take every yard away. Most defensive coordinators will give you something while trying to take another thing away. Don Brown does not want to give up a yard in the game. He tries to take everything away from you.”

Getting pressure on Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson and getting the Wolverines offense off schedule on obvious passing downs will also be critical for the Nittany Lions. It’s no secret that Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh likes to run the football (72 percent of the time), but in situations when the Wolverines need to pass the football, the Penn State defense needs to make plays.

Nobody in the Big Ten has been better at getting pressure on the quarterback than Nittany Lions sophomore defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos over the past few weeks. Matos leads the Big Ten in tackles for loss with 1.6 per game and has made 19 tackles — six tackles for a loss and four sacks — in his last two games.

Getting pressure on Patterson and forcing turnovers will obviously go a long way in Penn State’s hope for a victory.

Las Vegas has Michigan as a 12.5-point favorite.

I think Penn State will battle in this game, and I actually think Michigan’s aggressive style of defense with its defensive backs gives the Nittany Lions the opportunity to make plays. I can see a breakout performance for the other Penn State wide receivers not named Hamler.

However, in the end, with the Nittany Lions struggles in the fourth quarter, I can’t realistically pick them to win this game against the nations’ top defense on the road.

My pick is Michigan 27, Penn State 24.