PSU gets big lead, holds on
Nittany Lions forge 21-0 bulge in first half, but second belonged to Michigan
It seemed as if Penn State had gone and won the game.
Minutes into the fourth quarter, after converting a clutch third down, the Nittany Lions had the ball on their 47. Quarterback Sean Clifford dropped back, took the time he needed and threw a bomb, high and deep over the middle of the field. Wide receiver KJ Hamler utterly torched Michigan safety Josh Metellus.
It was as easy as a 53yard touchdown could look, giving No. 7-ranked Penn State a 14-point lead over the 16th-ranked Wolverines.
But then, Michigan pushed back, driving 75 yards on nine plays, punching it into the end zone with a 1-yard quarterback sneak from Shea Patterson to draw within 7.
The Nittany Lions gave the ball back on a threeand-out, and the Wolverines moved it down the field again, bringing the game down to a fourthand-goal. Patterson dropped back, scrambled to his right and fired into the end zone, where wide receiver Ronnie Bell had
his man beat. On what would have been the tying score, Bell dropped it, and the White Out, Beaver Stadium crowd went into a frenzy.
Penn State iced out the clock on its next drive, and the Nittany Lions, 7-0 overall, 4-0 in the Big Ten Conference, escaped with a narrow, 28-21 win.
The thing about it was that Penn State had every opportunity to put the game away early, as it ran out to a 21-0 lead.
Jahan Dotson, bringing the ball into the red zone. On the next play, Clifford floated one into the right corner of the end zone, where tight end Pat Freiermuth was waiting, and Penn State got out to an early 7-0 lead.
On the Nittany Lions’ next possession, they got another chunk play, this time from running back Ricky Slade, who ripped it up the middle for a 44-yard gain deep into Michigan territory. In the next handful of plays, the Wolverines were called for consecutive offsides penalties to move Penn State inside the 2. Clifford took it from there, punching it in to stretch the lead.
A little more than seven minutes later, the Nittany Lions did it again. This time, they got the ball back on an intereception by cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields, who jumped a screen pass. Moments later, Clifford lobbed a 25-yard pass over the top of Michigan’s defense, finding Hamler to make it a threepossession game halfway through the second quarter.
But even then, the Wolverines answered. Michigan running back Zach Charbonnet took a 12-yard carry around the right end with 2:55 left in the second quarter to draw the Wolverines within 14 at halftime.
Then, when Penn State couldn’t convert its offensive chances in the third quarter — it had just 16 yards the entire quarter — Michigan
struck again, and again it was a 12-yard run from Charbonnet.
That’s when Hamler took the top off the Wolverines defense for what was ultimately the game-winning score.
At the time, it felt like that would be the end of the dramatics, with the Nittany Lions finding the spark they so desperately needed in the second half.
As it turns out, Penn
State needed just a little bit more to put the game away. It didn’t seem like it would get it, but when it came time, Michigan blinked on fourth-and-goal. The pass that would have tied the score fell harmlessly to the turf, and the Nittany Lions went home happy.
Notes
• Hamler finished the game with six catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns, leading both teams in receiving yards.
• Penn State was actually outgained handily in the game. Michigan had 417 yards, while the Nittany Lions totaled just 283.
• The game was a tale of two halves in every way imaginable. Penn State gained 203 yards in the first half but just 80 in the second. The Wolverines, meanwhile, gained 187 yards in the first 30 minutes and 230 in the second.
• The Nittany Lions never got anything going on the ground, gaining just 101 rushing yards. Running back Ricky Slade led the way with 48 yards on three rushes, but 44 of that came on one run. Meanwhile, running back Noah Cain, who had consecutive 100-yard games entering Saturday, rushed the ball just five times for 19 yards.
• Linebacker Micah Parsons led the way on that side of the ball, finishing with 14 tackles.
• The attendance for the game was 110,669, which is the fourth-largest crowd in the history of Beaver Stadium.
• This is the Nittany Lions’ first 7-0 start since 2017, which is also the previous time they beat the Wolverines.