Photo by: Mike Miller/Fighting Irish Media
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Visit No. 16 Notre Dame in Final Series Before Winter Break
12/18/2020 9:49:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
After a two-week break from playing games, Michigan State is eager to get back at it this weekend, just before taking two more weeks off – or even longer.
Such is life in college hockey 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Spartans this season have played only six games and four in the Big Ten – the lowest numbers in the conference.
MSU (2-3-1 overall, 1-3-0-1-0-0 Big Ten) had its last series postponed – at home vs. Wisconsin, Dec. 9-10 – due to the Badgers' coronavirus issues.
But after a combination of practices, off-days and finals, the Spartans are set to face Notre Dame in a two-game, road series.
"I'm excited. It was a little bit of a bummer not to play Wisconsin because we were ready to go and were working hard to get in those six games within 12 days,'' Spartan sophomore forward Nico Müller said Thursday. "We've practiced very well the last couple of weeks and we're ready to go against Notre Dame.''
MSU and the Irish (4-4-0, 3-3) meet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday at Compton Family Arena at Notre Dame. Saturday's game will be televised by NBCSN.
"Obviously, there were no games for us last week and we were disappointed, as was Wisconsin, that we weren't able to get those games in,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "But that's the day-and-age we're in right now. We have to listen to the medical guys and that was what was best.
"With the time off, we'll have had eight practices (from last Wednesday to this Friday).''
Notre Dame has played eight games, six at home, and is coming off a home split against Ohio State last weekend. The Irish won the series opener, 3-0, but lost the second game, 3-2.
Cole said he watched both Notre Dame games and video of other Irish contests and doesn't see that the Irish have changed very much from the last few seasons.
"They're just a good hockey team. Everybody changes a little but, overall, they play the same way,'' he said. "They make it tough on you coming through the neutral zone and make it tough to establish a forecheck and getting pucks on net.
"For a battle plan, it's very similar to before. You want to make sure that you're doing a good job in the neutral zone. When there's nothing there, it's getting (the puck) behind them. And don't give them too many turnovers in transition.
"In your end, you have to figure out ways to move the puck quick. And funneling things to the net to give yourself a chance.''
With two weeks between games, the Spartans had a chance to break down their first six outings and work on specific areas in practice.
"You always look at breaking the puck out of our zone, coming through the neutral zone and (on Tuesday) we did some forecheck and defensive zone things,'' Cole said. "It's just kind of hitting on all the areas and mixing that in with some skill work.
"But everyday we've done power-play work as a whole and penalty-kill skills, or penalty kill as a whole and power-play skills. Those usually fit well together.
"That's just areas where we haven't got a lot of reps. It's different doing it in games than practice, but now with some games under our belt, we have a feel for the intensity and pace you have to play at both ends of the ice.''
Michigan State is looking to get a boost from its power play after scoring on only two goals in 25 chances with a man advantage for a 9.5% success rate in six games.
Notre Dame has similar issues. The Irish have converted on only two of 16 power plays (12.5%) in eight games.
In the Spartans' series against Minnesota, the Gophers scored three power-play goals. And in MSU's 4-2 loss at Ohio State on Nov. 29, the Buckeyes scored twice on the power play.
Michigan State ranks fourth in the Big Ten in penalty killing. It has skated off 80% percent of opponents' power plays – 20 of 25.
Notre Dame's penalty-killing stats are similar. The Irish have killed 20 of 26 power plays (76.9%).
THE MSU-ND RIVALRY: According to Michigan State's records, the Spartans hold a 64-51-14 edge in the series, which started on Jan. 18, 1922, with a 3-1 Notre Dame win in East Lansing. MSU lists three other Irish wins in the 1920s, before the teams stopped playing, resuming in 1970.
However, Notre Dame's records show the Spartans with a bigger edge at 68-45-14, and the Irish list only one win vs. MSU in the 1920s.
Meanwhile, Michigan State hasn't had much success against Notre Dame in the last several seasons. In their first two seasons in the Big Ten – starting in 2017-18 – the Irish went 8-1-1 vs. the Spartans, including two playoff wins in 2018-19.
But that changed last season as Michigan State held the upper hand with a 2-0-2 record against Notre Dame. In both ties, the Irish scored late to snatch a victory away from MSU and send the game into overtime.
"That was kind of a hump we had to get over. There a lot of games where (we lost) 1-0, 2-1. There were some close games,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "They have a good understanding of – we call it nickel-and-diming – figuring out how to win games. That's a compliment. Good teams do that. And defending well and keeping you off the board.
"Last year, one thing we were able to do was continue to understand not to lose patience and making sure we do a clean job coming through the neutral zone, getting pucks in their zone and spending as much time in the offensive zone as you can.''
And, of course, responsible defense leads to success.
"At the other end, it's make sure you're defending well because Notre Dame has a lot of dangerous forwards. You make a mistake and they can break you down.''
SCOUTING THE IRISH: Notre Dame got off to a tough start by getting swept at home by Wisconsin, 2-0 and 5-3, in its first series in mid-November. But the Irish then went on the road and stunned then-No. 4 Michigan, 3-2 and 2-1.
The last two series have been splits at home. Notre Dame lost a non-conference series opener against Arizona State, 6-3, but rebounded for a 5-4 win on a goal with five seconds left in the second game.
Last week, the Irish blanked visiting Ohio State, 3-0, before suffering a 3-2 loss in the series finale. Notre Dame led 2-0 late in the second period but gave up a power-play goal with 27 seconds left in the period to make it 2-1.
The Buckeyes then capitalized on an early 5-minute major penalty for hitting from behind on the Irish and scored two goals within 45 seconds to take a 3-2 lead. OSU held on for the victory.
Notre Dame lost a few key players from last year but there's plenty of veterans back with five seniors and nine juniors in key roles.
Five of the Irish's top six scorers are juniors – forwards Alex Steeves (4-4-8) and Graham Slaggert (2-4-6), defensemen Nick Leivermann (2-4-6) and Nate Clurman (3-2-5) and forward Michael Graham (1-3-4).
Senior forward Colin Theisen (1-3) and sophomore forward Max Ellis (0-4) also have four points.
Other key forwards include junior Jake Pivonka, sophomore Trevor Janicke and freshman Landon Slaggert, who will miss the MSU series due to his selection to the U.S. Junior National Team that will compete at the World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Dec. 25-Jan. 5.
In addition to Leivermann and Clurman, the Irish defense includes senior Matt Hellickson, juniors Spencer Stastney and Charlie Raith and freshman Zach Plucinski.
In the last three seasons, the only Notre Dame goaltender to play against the Spartans was Cole Morris, who was the Big Ten's Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2017-18. He also won the Mike Richter Award as the best Division I goaltender and was a Hobey Baker finalist that season.
Morris had an 8-3-3 record against the Spartans.
The last time MSU played Notre Dame with a goalie other than Morris was on Jan. 12, 2013, when Steven Summerhays was in net for the Irish in a 4-1 Spartans' victory at Munn Arena.
MSU and Notre Dame did not play for four seasons – 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 and 2016-17 – when the Spartans left the CCHA to join the Big Ten and the Irish left the CCHA for Hockey East. Notre Dame joined the Big Ten in hockey in 2017-18.
With the Cole Morris era over, the Irish are turning to Dylan St. Cyr, a senior with junior eligibility, who has played in six games this season, and sophomore Ryan Bischel, who has played in four.
St. Cyr, a 5-foot-9, 170-pounder from Northville, Michigan, has started the last three games. He has a 2-3 record with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .887 saves percentage.
Bischel, a 6-1, 180-pounder from Medina, Minnesota, is 2-1-0 with a 2.72 GAA and a .907 saves percentage. Bischel was in goal for both games during Notre Dame's sweep at Michigan.
"Notre Dame always has strong teams and they play that system that is hard to play against, but as Coach Cole always says 'We're also a tough team to play against,''' said sophomore forward Nico Müller. "It'll be a good matchup. And about the goalie situation, they have some good goalies now.''
Jeff Jackson, 65, is in his 16th season as Irish coach and has a 22-year career record of 520-262-89. He's 338-210-64 at Notre Dame.
Jackson, who earned degrees at Michigan State in 1978 and 1979, was a junior hockey coach in Detroit in the 1980s. Two of his players during that time were MSU head coach Danton Cole and assistant coach Chris Luongo.
Jackson won three NCAA championships at Lake Superior State – one as an assistant in 1988 and two as the Lakers' head coach in 1992 and 1994. He's led Notre Dame to four trips to the Frozen Four, finishing runner-up in 2008 and 2018.
COMFORTABLE AT CENTER: Two weeks ago against Minnesota, MSU's Nico Müller found himself on a new forward line and at a different position – center.
The 6-foot, 182-pound sophomore from Arisdorf, Switzerland, moved from right wing on a line with freshman center Kristof Papp and left wing Mitchell Lewandowski to centering freshman Kyle Haskins on left wing, with Lewandowski moving to the right side.
Coach Danton Cole liked Müller's play in the middle and Müller was happy to be at center.
"I feel comfortable because I've played my whole junior career at center so it's not like it's something new,'' he said. "But coach just wanted to try some things and I was ready to do that.''
In this weekend's series at Notre Dame, Müller is expected to be on a line with Lewandowski and Papp on the wings.
"I like it a lot. I played with Lewie a little last season. He makes plays and it's fun to play with him,'' Müller said. "With Kristof and Haskins, they have tremendous skill sets. It's a joy to be able to play with them.''
In six games, Müller has one goal and two assists. His goal was a big one. He scored off a rush from the left circle, beating Ohio State goalie Tommy Nappier with 1:24 left in overtime to give the Spartans a 3-2 victory in Columbus on Nov. 28.
"I think we're a really competitive team. We have good practices and it's fun that we can play games,'' he said. "That's really positive. The series against Notre Dame is really important. We need those wins.''
Müller said he has not been in Europe in four months, but that will change next week. He's heading to Sweden, where he played junior hockey, for a quick three-four day visit with his girlfriend in a town about 6 ½ hours north of Stockholm by car.
"Sweden's the only country in Europe which doesn't have any quarantine rules,'' Müller said. "The town is COVID-free. I'm excited to go there and get a little break before the second part of the season.''
CHRISTMAS BREAK: After Sunday's game at Notre Dame, Michigan State's players will be able to leave campus for the Christmas break. Most will return Dec. 27 and some may return earlier.
"Most of the guys are taking off on Monday but we might have a couple that will leave right from the game,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "They'll have a week off. There are some guys who have to get back a little earlier because of travel.
"Everyone will have to test positive three times before they can practice. Some guys have to be back in town for seven days before they can practice, depending how far away they're going. Most guys that (live) far away aren't heading that way.
"Most are back on Dec. 27 and will test Dec. 28-30 and then we'll start practice. That could change depending on the schedule.''
The second phase of the Big Ten's schedule could be released on Friday or sometime next week. The Spartans could be playing the weekend of Jan. 1-3 or early the next week with mid-week games.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 1/1 Minnesota, No. 6/6 Michigan, No. 14/14 Wisconsin and Penn State have finished the first phase of their schedules. They're off until 2021.
MSU, Notre Dame and Ohio State are the only conference teams playing this week.
The Buckeyes opened their non-conference series against Arizona State with a 4-4 tie on Thursday in Columbus. OSU built a 3-0 lead in the first period but the Sun Devils answered with four-straight goals – two in the second and two early in the third period to take a 4-3 lead.
But the Buckeyes' Tate Singleton tied it at 11:14, and the rest of the third period and the 5-minute, 3-on-3 overtime was scoreless. The teams wrap up the series on Friday.
After Sunday, five teams will have played eight Big Ten games – Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame. Penn State and MSU will have played six conference games.
The Gophers (8-0-0 overall, 8-0-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) are in first place with a commanding lead with 24 points, eight more than second-place Wisconsin (5-5-0, 5-3-0-0-1-0), which has 16.
Ohio State (3-5-1, 3-5-0-0-1-0) is in third place with 10 points, followed by fourth-place Notre Dame (4-4-0, 3-3-0-0-0-0) with 9.
Michigan (5-5-0, 3-5-0-1-0-1) is fifth with 8 points. Penn State (3-5-0, 1-5-0-0-0-0) has 3 points, one ahead of the MSU, which enters the weekend with two games in hand on the Nittany Lions.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
After a two-week break from playing games, Michigan State is eager to get back at it this weekend, just before taking two more weeks off – or even longer.
Such is life in college hockey 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Spartans this season have played only six games and four in the Big Ten – the lowest numbers in the conference.
MSU (2-3-1 overall, 1-3-0-1-0-0 Big Ten) had its last series postponed – at home vs. Wisconsin, Dec. 9-10 – due to the Badgers' coronavirus issues.
But after a combination of practices, off-days and finals, the Spartans are set to face Notre Dame in a two-game, road series.
"I'm excited. It was a little bit of a bummer not to play Wisconsin because we were ready to go and were working hard to get in those six games within 12 days,'' Spartan sophomore forward Nico Müller said Thursday. "We've practiced very well the last couple of weeks and we're ready to go against Notre Dame.''
MSU and the Irish (4-4-0, 3-3) meet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday at Compton Family Arena at Notre Dame. Saturday's game will be televised by NBCSN.
"Obviously, there were no games for us last week and we were disappointed, as was Wisconsin, that we weren't able to get those games in,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "But that's the day-and-age we're in right now. We have to listen to the medical guys and that was what was best.
"With the time off, we'll have had eight practices (from last Wednesday to this Friday).''
Notre Dame has played eight games, six at home, and is coming off a home split against Ohio State last weekend. The Irish won the series opener, 3-0, but lost the second game, 3-2.
Cole said he watched both Notre Dame games and video of other Irish contests and doesn't see that the Irish have changed very much from the last few seasons.
"They're just a good hockey team. Everybody changes a little but, overall, they play the same way,'' he said. "They make it tough on you coming through the neutral zone and make it tough to establish a forecheck and getting pucks on net.
"For a battle plan, it's very similar to before. You want to make sure that you're doing a good job in the neutral zone. When there's nothing there, it's getting (the puck) behind them. And don't give them too many turnovers in transition.
"In your end, you have to figure out ways to move the puck quick. And funneling things to the net to give yourself a chance.''
With two weeks between games, the Spartans had a chance to break down their first six outings and work on specific areas in practice.
"You always look at breaking the puck out of our zone, coming through the neutral zone and (on Tuesday) we did some forecheck and defensive zone things,'' Cole said. "It's just kind of hitting on all the areas and mixing that in with some skill work.
"But everyday we've done power-play work as a whole and penalty-kill skills, or penalty kill as a whole and power-play skills. Those usually fit well together.
"That's just areas where we haven't got a lot of reps. It's different doing it in games than practice, but now with some games under our belt, we have a feel for the intensity and pace you have to play at both ends of the ice.''
Michigan State is looking to get a boost from its power play after scoring on only two goals in 25 chances with a man advantage for a 9.5% success rate in six games.
Notre Dame has similar issues. The Irish have converted on only two of 16 power plays (12.5%) in eight games.
In the Spartans' series against Minnesota, the Gophers scored three power-play goals. And in MSU's 4-2 loss at Ohio State on Nov. 29, the Buckeyes scored twice on the power play.
Michigan State ranks fourth in the Big Ten in penalty killing. It has skated off 80% percent of opponents' power plays – 20 of 25.
Notre Dame's penalty-killing stats are similar. The Irish have killed 20 of 26 power plays (76.9%).
THE MSU-ND RIVALRY: According to Michigan State's records, the Spartans hold a 64-51-14 edge in the series, which started on Jan. 18, 1922, with a 3-1 Notre Dame win in East Lansing. MSU lists three other Irish wins in the 1920s, before the teams stopped playing, resuming in 1970.
However, Notre Dame's records show the Spartans with a bigger edge at 68-45-14, and the Irish list only one win vs. MSU in the 1920s.
Meanwhile, Michigan State hasn't had much success against Notre Dame in the last several seasons. In their first two seasons in the Big Ten – starting in 2017-18 – the Irish went 8-1-1 vs. the Spartans, including two playoff wins in 2018-19.
But that changed last season as Michigan State held the upper hand with a 2-0-2 record against Notre Dame. In both ties, the Irish scored late to snatch a victory away from MSU and send the game into overtime.
"That was kind of a hump we had to get over. There a lot of games where (we lost) 1-0, 2-1. There were some close games,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "They have a good understanding of – we call it nickel-and-diming – figuring out how to win games. That's a compliment. Good teams do that. And defending well and keeping you off the board.
"Last year, one thing we were able to do was continue to understand not to lose patience and making sure we do a clean job coming through the neutral zone, getting pucks in their zone and spending as much time in the offensive zone as you can.''
And, of course, responsible defense leads to success.
"At the other end, it's make sure you're defending well because Notre Dame has a lot of dangerous forwards. You make a mistake and they can break you down.''
SCOUTING THE IRISH: Notre Dame got off to a tough start by getting swept at home by Wisconsin, 2-0 and 5-3, in its first series in mid-November. But the Irish then went on the road and stunned then-No. 4 Michigan, 3-2 and 2-1.
The last two series have been splits at home. Notre Dame lost a non-conference series opener against Arizona State, 6-3, but rebounded for a 5-4 win on a goal with five seconds left in the second game.
Last week, the Irish blanked visiting Ohio State, 3-0, before suffering a 3-2 loss in the series finale. Notre Dame led 2-0 late in the second period but gave up a power-play goal with 27 seconds left in the period to make it 2-1.
The Buckeyes then capitalized on an early 5-minute major penalty for hitting from behind on the Irish and scored two goals within 45 seconds to take a 3-2 lead. OSU held on for the victory.
Notre Dame lost a few key players from last year but there's plenty of veterans back with five seniors and nine juniors in key roles.
Five of the Irish's top six scorers are juniors – forwards Alex Steeves (4-4-8) and Graham Slaggert (2-4-6), defensemen Nick Leivermann (2-4-6) and Nate Clurman (3-2-5) and forward Michael Graham (1-3-4).
Senior forward Colin Theisen (1-3) and sophomore forward Max Ellis (0-4) also have four points.
Other key forwards include junior Jake Pivonka, sophomore Trevor Janicke and freshman Landon Slaggert, who will miss the MSU series due to his selection to the U.S. Junior National Team that will compete at the World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Dec. 25-Jan. 5.
In addition to Leivermann and Clurman, the Irish defense includes senior Matt Hellickson, juniors Spencer Stastney and Charlie Raith and freshman Zach Plucinski.
In the last three seasons, the only Notre Dame goaltender to play against the Spartans was Cole Morris, who was the Big Ten's Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2017-18. He also won the Mike Richter Award as the best Division I goaltender and was a Hobey Baker finalist that season.
Morris had an 8-3-3 record against the Spartans.
The last time MSU played Notre Dame with a goalie other than Morris was on Jan. 12, 2013, when Steven Summerhays was in net for the Irish in a 4-1 Spartans' victory at Munn Arena.
MSU and Notre Dame did not play for four seasons – 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 and 2016-17 – when the Spartans left the CCHA to join the Big Ten and the Irish left the CCHA for Hockey East. Notre Dame joined the Big Ten in hockey in 2017-18.
With the Cole Morris era over, the Irish are turning to Dylan St. Cyr, a senior with junior eligibility, who has played in six games this season, and sophomore Ryan Bischel, who has played in four.
St. Cyr, a 5-foot-9, 170-pounder from Northville, Michigan, has started the last three games. He has a 2-3 record with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .887 saves percentage.
Bischel, a 6-1, 180-pounder from Medina, Minnesota, is 2-1-0 with a 2.72 GAA and a .907 saves percentage. Bischel was in goal for both games during Notre Dame's sweep at Michigan.
"Notre Dame always has strong teams and they play that system that is hard to play against, but as Coach Cole always says 'We're also a tough team to play against,''' said sophomore forward Nico Müller. "It'll be a good matchup. And about the goalie situation, they have some good goalies now.''
Jeff Jackson, 65, is in his 16th season as Irish coach and has a 22-year career record of 520-262-89. He's 338-210-64 at Notre Dame.
Jackson, who earned degrees at Michigan State in 1978 and 1979, was a junior hockey coach in Detroit in the 1980s. Two of his players during that time were MSU head coach Danton Cole and assistant coach Chris Luongo.
Jackson won three NCAA championships at Lake Superior State – one as an assistant in 1988 and two as the Lakers' head coach in 1992 and 1994. He's led Notre Dame to four trips to the Frozen Four, finishing runner-up in 2008 and 2018.
COMFORTABLE AT CENTER: Two weeks ago against Minnesota, MSU's Nico Müller found himself on a new forward line and at a different position – center.
The 6-foot, 182-pound sophomore from Arisdorf, Switzerland, moved from right wing on a line with freshman center Kristof Papp and left wing Mitchell Lewandowski to centering freshman Kyle Haskins on left wing, with Lewandowski moving to the right side.
Coach Danton Cole liked Müller's play in the middle and Müller was happy to be at center.
"I feel comfortable because I've played my whole junior career at center so it's not like it's something new,'' he said. "But coach just wanted to try some things and I was ready to do that.''
In this weekend's series at Notre Dame, Müller is expected to be on a line with Lewandowski and Papp on the wings.
"I like it a lot. I played with Lewie a little last season. He makes plays and it's fun to play with him,'' Müller said. "With Kristof and Haskins, they have tremendous skill sets. It's a joy to be able to play with them.''
In six games, Müller has one goal and two assists. His goal was a big one. He scored off a rush from the left circle, beating Ohio State goalie Tommy Nappier with 1:24 left in overtime to give the Spartans a 3-2 victory in Columbus on Nov. 28.
"I think we're a really competitive team. We have good practices and it's fun that we can play games,'' he said. "That's really positive. The series against Notre Dame is really important. We need those wins.''
Müller said he has not been in Europe in four months, but that will change next week. He's heading to Sweden, where he played junior hockey, for a quick three-four day visit with his girlfriend in a town about 6 ½ hours north of Stockholm by car.
"Sweden's the only country in Europe which doesn't have any quarantine rules,'' Müller said. "The town is COVID-free. I'm excited to go there and get a little break before the second part of the season.''
CHRISTMAS BREAK: After Sunday's game at Notre Dame, Michigan State's players will be able to leave campus for the Christmas break. Most will return Dec. 27 and some may return earlier.
"Most of the guys are taking off on Monday but we might have a couple that will leave right from the game,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "They'll have a week off. There are some guys who have to get back a little earlier because of travel.
"Everyone will have to test positive three times before they can practice. Some guys have to be back in town for seven days before they can practice, depending how far away they're going. Most guys that (live) far away aren't heading that way.
"Most are back on Dec. 27 and will test Dec. 28-30 and then we'll start practice. That could change depending on the schedule.''
The second phase of the Big Ten's schedule could be released on Friday or sometime next week. The Spartans could be playing the weekend of Jan. 1-3 or early the next week with mid-week games.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 1/1 Minnesota, No. 6/6 Michigan, No. 14/14 Wisconsin and Penn State have finished the first phase of their schedules. They're off until 2021.
MSU, Notre Dame and Ohio State are the only conference teams playing this week.
The Buckeyes opened their non-conference series against Arizona State with a 4-4 tie on Thursday in Columbus. OSU built a 3-0 lead in the first period but the Sun Devils answered with four-straight goals – two in the second and two early in the third period to take a 4-3 lead.
But the Buckeyes' Tate Singleton tied it at 11:14, and the rest of the third period and the 5-minute, 3-on-3 overtime was scoreless. The teams wrap up the series on Friday.
After Sunday, five teams will have played eight Big Ten games – Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame. Penn State and MSU will have played six conference games.
The Gophers (8-0-0 overall, 8-0-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) are in first place with a commanding lead with 24 points, eight more than second-place Wisconsin (5-5-0, 5-3-0-0-1-0), which has 16.
Ohio State (3-5-1, 3-5-0-0-1-0) is in third place with 10 points, followed by fourth-place Notre Dame (4-4-0, 3-3-0-0-0-0) with 9.
Michigan (5-5-0, 3-5-0-1-0-1) is fifth with 8 points. Penn State (3-5-0, 1-5-0-0-0-0) has 3 points, one ahead of the MSU, which enters the weekend with two games in hand on the Nittany Lions.
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