College Football TV Schedule 2019: Where to Watch Michigan vs. Penn State, TV Channel, Live Stream and Odds

A Big Ten rivalry takes center stage on Saturday as Penn State hosts Michigan in a matchup that, statistically at least, is the biggest game of Week 8.

The Nittany Lions arrive into the weekend as the No. 7 ranked team in the nation after moving up three spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on the back of a 17-12 road win over Iowa, who saw the Hawkeyes slip from 17th to 24th.

Penn State improved to 6-0 with the win over Iowa last weekend as is firmly knocking on the door of the College Football Playoff, while Michigan moved to 5-1 after beating Illinois on the road 46-25.

The Wolverines, who have also beat Iowa this season, have won three games in a row and a road win against their Big Ten East rivals would vault them back into playoff contention.

Michigan has lost in four of its last visits to State College, Pennsylvania, but has won four of the last five meetings against Penn State.

The last two of those wins were blowouts, with Michigan winning 42-7 at home last season and 49-10 also on home field two years earlier. Penn State dished out a thrashing of its own, defeating the Wolverines 42-13 when they last visited State College in 2018.

It's unlikely Saturday will see a repeat of such lopsided scorelines, with points expected to be at a premium instead.

Penn State ranks second and fourth in the country in terms of points and yards allowed per game with 8.8 and 259.7 respectively, while Michigan ranks in the top-15 in both categories.

Worryingly for the Wolverines, however, they have scored just 24 points combined in their two games against ranked opponents this season—Wisconsin and Iowa.

Michigan averages 30.4 points per game this season, while Penn State puts up an average of 42 points per season.

Penn State coach James Franklin believes his team's offense has reached a "critical stage" in its development after relying heavily on the run against Iowa last week.

"I think that's the first time we've done that against that type of opponent in my six years since I've been here," Franklin was quoted as saying by Penn State newspaper Centre Daily Times.

"I think that is a critical, critical moment in our six years on the offensive side of the football."

Michigan's offense also looked slick against Illinois last weekend, until a series of sloppy plays saw the Wolverines' four-touchdown lead shrink to just a three-point gap.

Coach Jim Harbaugh, however, was eager to focus on the positives.

"We scored 42 points. We were tested and we put in some hard work," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "They made some good adjustments and we just kept fighting. We didn't flinch."

The Wolverines lost the ball twice on fumbles against Illinois, taking their total for the season to nine turnovers on 17 fumbles and will need to be much sharper if they are to test Penn State this weekend.

Here's all you need to know ahead of Saturday.

When and where is the game?

The Penn State Nittany Lions host the Michigan Wolverines at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, October 19.

Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

TV coverage

The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.

Live stream

A live stream will be available via ABC's digital platforms.

Series record

Michigan leads the all-time series 14-8 and has won four of the last five meetings against the Nittany Lions, including a 42-7 win at home last year. The Wolverines, however, lost their last visit to State College 42-13.

Odds

According to Oddschecker, Penn State is a nine-point favorite and is 91/100 to win and cover the spread, while Michigan is a 13/5 underdog. The over/under bar in terms of points scored is set at 40.