Each week, AnnArbor.com will chat with a beat writer/radio personality from the team Michigan is facing.

This week, we welcome Tricia Lafferty of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Check out her Penn State coverage in the Philadelphia Daily News and the Tribune-Review along with at their Penn State site.

Michael Rothstein: What’s been going on with Evan Royster? Has he not had the season people thought?

Tricia Lafferty: “He hasn’t. He had his third 100-yard rushing game of the season this past weekend but considering the opponents they’ve been playing, he should have been a little bit better than that. He was very slow at the beginning of the season and he wasn’t consistent. Last year, he was putting up yards every single game and Penn State could rely on him. Paterno said it at his press conference after the last game that Royster is maybe finally getting his legs back because he was sick with the flu for a little bit and maybe he hadn’t fully recovered from that. Another thing is at first the offensive line was not where it needed to be. At all. They were all new guys, they had two starters back there but in different positions. So it’s a combination of maybe they are finally getting to full health and the offensive line is starting to jell.”

MR: What happened against Iowa? Were they just a lot better than Penn State? Did Penn State not play well?

TL: “The big answer there is turnovers. They had, I think, five turnovers and in the fourth quarter they had a blocked punt and Daryll Clark threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter, and that was huge. They had a few chances to score and they turned the ball over. Penn State, I think, they could have won the game if they didn’t turn the ball over so much.”

MR: What’s the biggest question with this team still, halfway through the season?

TL: “Hmmm. I would say whether they can have a balanced offensive attack every week. It’s been the running game has been really good and then the passing game hasn’t been on, like at Illinois, or it’s been vice versa. As teams are going try and shut down one or the other or both, they have to have both going. There were two games this season where they had both going, but they have to do that on a consistent basis.”

MR: When you look at this team’s defense, how much have they really missed Sean Lee?

TL: “More than anything, they miss him as a leader. If you ask anybody about Sean Lee, the first thing they talk about is what he brings to the huddle. He’s confident, he’s a fifth-year senior. He loves to be out there. And just the attitude that he brings when he’s on the field. But it seems like they haven’t missed him much. If he was in the Iowa game, he wouldn’t have made that much of a difference there because as I said, it was the turnovers, but later on in the season it’s going to be very important he’s in there. And Josh Hull, he made his presence known and he felt, they don’t feel the loss of Lee that much because Josh Hull has really stepped up and filled in.”

MR: What is it that Penn State needs to do to win this game and what is the disaster scenario for them?

TL: “They need to stop the run, which they haven’t been tested by a run offense as good as Michigan’s. I think that Lee, again, will have a big part of that and the linebackers. That’s going to be the biggest key to the game and the worst thing they could do is go down there and get down early. They are playing away from home, the second away game of the season. It’s the Big House, everyone talks about what a tough place it is to play in, and they say they aren’t thinking much about the luck they’ve had against Michigan and last year was the first time they won in 10 meetings, so all that might come back if they get down early. So I think it is important for them to score first and get up first.”

MR: Why is it Penn State always seems to struggle in Ann Arbor?

TL: “I’m not really sure. I don’t know if it’s a mentality that maybe if you go in there that it’s going to be awfully hard to win. I’m not sure why, because that’s the only place where Penn State has been dominated by the other team.”