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Despite taking on a winless Penn State team, Michigan football came out flat and couldn’t figure out what to do in the 27-17 loss to the Nittany Lions. Michigan saw its new quarterback, Cade McNamara, start his first career game, but the change at the position wasn’t enough to start a winning streak for the Wolverines. McNamara was injured early on in the game, and while he did return, he wasn’t the same and eventually was pulled for backup Joe Milton.
The offense wasn’t the only group with struggles as the defense led by defensive coordinator Don Brown was dominated all game long. Penn State came in with only two running backs, that didn’t slow them down as the starter Keyvone Lee finished with 22 carries for 134 yards and a touchdown. While Michigan had its own quarterback issues, Penn State seemed to have figured it out as the Nittany Lions stuck with Sean Clifford and that it proved to be a smart move as he finished the game going 17-for-28 for 163 yards, along with nine carries for 73 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Once Penn State grabbed hold of the early 7-0 lead in the first quarter, it never let go. Michigan couldn’t find an answer on either side of the football, the offense couldn’t often score despite the change at quarterback, and the defense made some stops, but the stops it made weren’t enough to help keep the Nittany Lions out of the end zone and off the scoreboard. With the loss, what are the five biggest takeaways from the loss?