Nittany Lions survive in overtime
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Amani Oruwariye intercepted a Zac Thomas pass in the end zone and No. 10 Penn State held on to beat Appalachian State 45-38 in overtime on Saturday, exactly 11 years after the Mountaineers stunned Michigan in one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
Miles Sanders rushed 19 times for 91 yards with two touchdowns including the go-ahead score in overtime for the Nittany Lions (1-0). But Penn State let a 31-17 lead evaporate when Appalachian State scored on three straight possessions over 5:53 in the fourth quarter and things were tense in Happy Valley.
Penn State QB Trace McSorley, who completed 21 of 36 passes for 230 yards and ran for two scores, led a game-tying drive that ended with a 15-yard TD pass to KJ Hamler with 42 seconds left.
Thomas, who returned from injury to lead his team’s comeback, completed 25 of 38 passes for 270 yards, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for Appalachian State (0-1). Jalin Moore ran 18 times for 88 yards and a touchdown and Malik Williams caught two touchdowns for the Mountaineers.
In 2007, it was No. 5. Michigan fighting for its life at home against a Division I-AA team and when Corey Lynch blocked Michigan’s field-goal attempt it sealed a 34-32 win. No Division I-AA team had ever beaten a team ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll between 1989 and 2006, and it’s unlikely it had ever happened before. Afterward, the AP changed the way it conducted its poll, allowing schools from all divisions to be eligible to receive votes.
Fast forward to 2018 and it was another storied Big Ten team on its heels against the Mountaineers, a Sun Belt Conference powerhouse that went 8-4 a year ago.