After injecting a bit of positive energy in the offense a week ago in a blowout win at Maryland, Penn State’s offense was given a dose of reality on Saturday afternoon in a defensive battle with the Michigan Wolverines. If your offense can’t throw the football, you simply are not going to beat Michigan. Penn State lost to Micigan, 24-15, in front of the second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history and was effectively eliminated from contention for the Big Ten East Division championship.
Michigan played the game without head coach Jim Harbaugh able to attend the game. Harbaugh was suspended by the Big Ten for the remainder of the regular season for an alleged sign-stealing investigation tied to a former staffer. Despite a legal effort by the university, Harbaugh was unable to coach the game. But it ultimately did not matter as the Wolverines were too tough and too well-prepared for the matchup.
As for Penn State, the narrative of [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] in big games once again took over with untimely penalties on special teams, a lack of any real offensive development against a good defense, and another loss to Michigan and a top-10 team going against him.
What was expected to be a strong defensive game lived up to the hype. Both Penn State’s and Michigan’s defense did their part, but Michigan’s was just slightly better. The Michigan running game took control of the football game in the second quarter after Penn State owned a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards got some big and key runs in the second quarter to help dictate the game behind an offensive line bringing in extra linemen to create a push up front against Penn State’s defense. Corum and Edwards each rushed for a touchdown, essentially giving the Wolverines the win.
Michigan rushed for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Nittany Lions. Corum rushed for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 44-yard touchdown run to pretty much put the game out of reach for good after a Penn State turnover on downs in the fourth quarter.
Penn State’s running back duo of [autotag]Kaytorn Allen[/autotag] (72 yards on 12 carries) and [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] (43 yards on 13 carries) were each held out of the end zone by the Michigan defense. And the Penn State receivers combined for just 5 catches for a total of 29 yards. Tifght end [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] had 2 catches for 25 yards and [autotag]Theo Johnson[/autotag] had 2 catches for 10 yards and a late touchdown.
Penn State’s defense did as much as it could against the strong Michigan offense, and it came up with some key stops in the fourth quarter to give the Nittany Lions chances. But Penn State’s lack of any offensive threats was the downfall for the home team, just as it was a few weeks back in Penn State’s only other loss at Ohio State.
[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] had just 51 passing yards midway through the fourth quarter, but he did have the team’s only touchdown of the game. Unfortunately, Allar also lost a fumble on the opening possession of the second half, with Penn State trailing 14-9 at the time. Michigan cashed in on the turnover after settling for a field goal, but not before running just over eight minutes off the game clock. Allar’s fumble was the only turnover of the game. He ended the game with just 70 passing yards
Penn State’s decision to go for a two-point conversion in the first half after a touchdown cut the Michigan lead to 14-9 ultimately came back to haunt a little bit late in the game. If Penn State had kicked the extra point at that time, Penn State’s late fourth-quart touchdown could have cut the Michigan lead to 7 with another extra point. Instead, Penn State was down by 9 points after failed two-point conversion attempts instead of a one-score game.
Penn State will look to close out the home schedule on a winning note next week when they host Rutgers. Kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 18 is set for 12:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast info for the game has not yet been confirmed.
Michigan will travel to Maryland for one final game before their big rivalry game against Ohio State at the end of the regular season. But for now, the focus will be on the status of Harbaugh.
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