Penn State at Michigan: CBS has the 3:30 p.m. kickoff as both teams look for a first Big Ten win

Penn State and Michigan meet Saturday at Michigan Stadium. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET and CBS has the national broadcast. Sportsnet Pittsburgh and The Sporting News both report that the game will also stream on Paramount+, Fubo and DIRECTV. The Sporting News adds that SiriusXM is carrying both radio calls, with Michigan's broadcast on channel 85 and Penn State's on 257.

The late-afternoon CBS slot fits a game with plenty riding on it, even though neither team is where it expected to be. Penn State is 3-3 and 0-3 in the Big Ten. Michigan is 3-2 and 0-2 in league play. The loser leaves Ann Arbor with no conference wins in mid-October. Both programs have first-year head coaches. Black Shoe Diaries notes that Matt Campbell runs Penn State and Kyle Whittingham runs Michigan, and that Michigan leads the all-time series 17-10. CBS has Brad Nessler on play-by-play, Charles Davis as analyst and Jenny Dell on the sideline.

Penn State has lost three straight. Last week it stayed with USC into the fourth quarter before losing 31-23. Quarterback Rocco Becht threw for 289 yards and a touchdown, and The Sporting News reports that a late turnover helped the Trojans close it out. Michigan comes off a bye after a 20-14 loss at Minnesota. The Wolverines led 14-7 at halftime, helped by Nathaniel Staehling's 79-yard interception return for a touchdown, but did not score again.

What it means Saturday

The season numbers point to a close, low-scoring game. Michigan's two losses came by a combined seven points: 20-19 to Iowa and 20-14 at Minnesota. Earlier it beat Oklahoma 17-10 and Western Michigan 13-12, so four of its five games were decided by one score. Outside a 52-17 win over UTEP, the Wolverines have not scored more than 19 points. Penn State scored 45 or more twice against Marshall and Buffalo, but it has averaged under 19 points across its three Big Ten losses. The worst of them was a 34-13 defeat at Northwestern.

The board sees it the same way. Michigan is favored, at -199 on the moneyline on Novig, one of 12 venues on this site's Penn State at Michigan page. Penn State is +194 on Novig, and the best price anywhere is +200 at Hard Rock Bet, so the venues are only a few cents apart on the underdog. The spread is Michigan -6.5, which Novig prices at +104, with Penn State +6.5 at -108. The total is 42.5 on Novig at -102 either way. BetRivers has the best under price, 43 at -114. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.7% to 6.8% across the books.

The winner gets no break. Michigan hosts Indiana on Oct. 24, and Penn State has a week off before it plays Purdue on Oct. 31. A fourth straight loss would leave the Nittany Lions needing to win most of what remains on their schedule.