Offensive surge snowed over, Spartans slide past Nittany Lions
A snowstorm that blanketed Spartan Stadium provided a unique tableau for the Penn StateMichigan State regular season finale Saturday. For the Nittany Lions, however, the result was familiar to too many others this season.
They blew a second-half lead for the fourth time, falling to the Spartans 30-27 and losing possession of the Land Grant Trophy.
Penn State (7-5 overall, 4-5 Big Ten) committed a pass interference penalty in the end zone, which led to the go-ahead touchdown for Michigan State (9-2, 7-2) late in the third quarter.
The Lions failed to pick up a first down on a fourth-and-1 run early in the fourth quarter and lost a fumble that the Spartans converted into the game-clinching TD on a fourthand-15 completion with five minutes left.
“Not being able to convert on fourth-and-one and giving up a fourth-and-15 against this type of opponent on the road is going to make it difficult to win,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “No. 1 (wide receiver Jaylen Reed) has made big plays all year long for them.”
With Michigan State leading 2320 and facing fourth-and-15 from the Penn State 20, quarterback Payton Thorne stood in the pocket with no pressure and threw to Reed in the corner of the end zone. Johnnie
Dixon had tight coverage, but Reed won the jump ball.
Sean Clifford threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Parker Washington with 43 seconds to go, but the Spartans recovered Jordan Stout’s onside kick.
Stout earlier missed a 27-yard field goal and a PAT, which cost Penn State four points.
After a 5-0 start and a No. 4 national ranking, the Lions lost five of their next seven games by 21 points. Four were by four points or less.
“It’s a bummer for sure,” Clifford said. “I think our team is way better than what our record is. We didn’t win, so it doesn’t really matter. All that matters are the wins and the losses.”
Clifford completed 23-of-34 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover. Wide receiver Jahan Dotson made eight catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns against the nation’s worst pass defense.
Running back Keyvone Lee, a Florida native who played a game in snow for the first time, was involved with two of the biggest plays of the fourth quarter.
He was stopped for no gain by linebacker Noah Harvey on fourthand-1 at the Michigan State 16 with 12:43 left. After a Michigan State punt, Lee ran for nine yards on first down and then gained nothing on second. On third-and-one, he lost a fumble that defensive end Drew Beesley recovered at the Penn State 48.
Seven plays later, Thorne connected with Reed on fourth down for the clincher.
“It’s kind of difficult,” Lee said of ball security in snowy conditions, “but at the same time you have to trust your training and pay attention to details.”
Lee ran effectively, gaining 79 yards on 15 carries. Franklin was asked why the Lions ran on six of seven downs early in the fourth quarter when Clifford and Dotson were enjoying so much success.
“We tried to mix in the run all day long, and try to help our offensive linemen with (pass) protection,” Franklin said, “but we obviously weren’t able to run the ball consistently.”
On the other side of the football, Penn State’s defense allowed four touchdowns in a game for the first time this season. Michigan State was very efficient on third down (9-for-18) and fourth down (3-for-4).
On their last two scoring drives, the Spartans converted a fourthand-three, a third-and-12, a thirdand-13 (on Joey Porter Jr.’s pass interference penalty), two third-andones and the fourth-and-15.
“We had execution breakdowns,” safety Ji’Ayir Brown said. “We had perfect calls against those plays. We just have to fit the right gaps and make the plays we normally make.
Today, for some reason, we didn’t make those plays.”
Kenneth Walker III carried 30 times for 138 yards and one touchdown, despite reports during the week that he was ailing with a sore ankle. Thorne was 19-for-30 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns.
“They’re so well-balanced,” Brown said. “You can’t really get a jump on whether they’re going to pass or run the ball. They have a very explosive back, one of the best backs in the country.”
The only mistake by the Michigan State offense came when Penn State nickel back Daequan Hardy intercepted Thorne’s pass and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown and a 20-17 lead early in the third quarter.
During the week, there were reports that the Spartans had several players unavailable or affected by the flu. They looked quite healthy against Penn State, which will wait until next weekend to find out its bowl destination.
“I mean, it’s the Big Ten,” Clifford said. “It’s hard to win games in the Big Ten. You can’t make a lot of mistakes. You have to be able to do some things, especially on third-and-short. We should be able to punch it in and get a first down.
“We just came up on the short end a bunch of times this year. It’s a bummer, but that’s how life goes.”