Know Thy Enemy: Updates On Michigan State, Ohio State And Penn State Football

Michigan is in a conference of 14, but three of its toughest opponents reside in the same division and are all considered rivals.

Here's a look back at what's happened with Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State football over the past week.

Michigan State

Not much of note has happened with the Spartans over the past week. Head coach Mel Tucker and his assistants took to Twitter to show how the program is running while everyone is adhering to social distancing. Each coach has a station set up at his house and several screens, which allows him to keep up with current players, recruits and fellow coaches.

It's obviously a collaborative effort and it's paying off at least in terms of recruiting efforts. At least 25 prospects from several classes have reportedly been offered by the Spartans over the last week. Tucker and his staff are already much more active than Dantonio and his staff were during this time of year and especially given the current circumstances.

Ohio State

Fox College Football recently tweeted out a graphic showing which college football programs have produced the most NFL talent since 2000 and unsurprisingly, Ohio State topped the list.

No program has gotten more players drafted this century than @OhioStateFB 🌰🙌 pic.twitter.com/X5WE6yObW4

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) March 22, 2020

It's not hard to figure out why Ohio State has been so much better than Michigan during that stretch of time. The Wolverines were not in the top ten. Ohio State even had 13 more players drafted than Alabama. The Buckeyes are a machine right now and have been for a while.

Because of that level of talent, the Buckeyes may just start out the 2020 season as the No. 1 team in the country and will be favored in every contest on the schedule. Ohio State essentially has a five-game season next year and the early lines are out for those matchups.

Ohio State	Opponent	Spread for Ohio State
Ohio State	at Oregon	-6
Ohio State	vs. Iowa	-14
Ohio State	at Penn State	-3
Ohio State	vs. Nebraska	-13.5
Ohio State	vs. Michigan	-7.5

Unsurprisingly, Ohio State is favored in every game, and likely will be even when November rolls around.

Ohio State is going to be favored against just about everyone in the country and that's going to continue because of the way they've been recruiting. Despite being on confined to their homes, the Ohio State coaches have procured four commitments over the last week.

St. Louis DeSmet four-star cornerback Jakailin Johnson, Cornelius (N.C.) William Amos four-star running back Evan Pryor, Cincinnati La Salle three-star cornerback Devonta Smith and Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth four-star safety Andre Turrentine all pledged to the Buckeyes over the last eight days. 

Ohio State now has 10 commits inside the top 106 players in the country. The rest of the country only has 31. 

And if Ohio State winning on the recruiting trail wasn't a big enough bummer for Michigan fans, it appears the Buckeyes are also winning in the world of the transfer portal. 

Former Oklahoma running back and big time recruit Trey Sermon announced that he'll be playing out his final year of eligibility in Columbus. Sermon is tore his ACL on November 9, but should be healthy by fall camp. He's a very capable back and was once one of the top recruits at his position.

Before getting hurt, Sermon was averaging 7.1 yards per carry as a junior, but really burst onto the scene with 744 yards as a freshman. Overall he scored 25 touchdowns while at Oklahoma and should bring a lot of experience and versatility to an Ohio State backfield.

Penn State

Nittany Lion wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer has decided to hang up the football cleats in favor of baseball spikes. The 5-11, 182-pounder played in all 12 games and started one as a true sophomore in 2018 but only saw the field in two contests last year. The writing was on the wall for the junior receiver having caught just seven passes for 103 yards and a score during his three-year career.

Hippenhammer is an outfielder for the Nittany Lions and batted a respectable .272 last year giving him the confidence to pursue baseball instead of football.

One player who will be back for the Nittany Lions — superstar linebacker Micah Parson. Mike Farrell of Rivals.com called Parsons the top defensive playmaker in all of college football and you probably won't find too many people to argue that point.

"The most dominant force on defense in college football is a linebacker who is a rare athlete," Farrell said of Parsons.

As a true sophomore last year, Parson had 109 tackles including 14 for loss and five sacks. He's a physical specimen at 6-3, 245 pounds and will definitely be a thorn in Michigan's side. Penn State fans need to enjoy him because this will be his last season in Happy Valley.

Finally, Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga five-star dual-threat quarterback Caleb Williams included the Nittany Lions in his top five along with Clemson, LSU, Maryland and Oklahoma. The 6-2, 209-pounder is dynamic with his arm and his legs and is currently pegged as an Oklahoma lean. Michigan fans should definitely be pulling for Clemson, LSU or Oklahoma in this one so they don't have to see this kid in the Big Ten.

Which development is the biggest deal to you? Do any of these affect Michigan in a noteworthy way? Comment below!!!