Penn State Scores 39 Unanswered in 46-17 Win Over Michigan

By Sean · Sunday, October 19, 2008 · 4:30 PM |  Share | Leave a Comment 

It was expected that Michigan would be blown out by Penn State on Saturday, but very few could have guessed that the blowout would actually happen after a first half that favored the Wolverines. Michigan jumped out to a lead and had one of its best quarters of the entire season before we all got a reality check.

This was basically the Illinois game all over again. The offense started the game with a few great drives and pretty much went to sleep after they got to 17 points. First downs and positive gains were rare, and it didn’t help that the defense started to play poorly. Even with a pretty rough second quarter, though, Michigan led at halftime. Nick Sheridan came in during the third quarter for Steven Threet, who was apparently too injured to play effectively, and everything fell apart. Sheridan got sacked in the end zone for a safety, and Penn State simply took over. They went on to score 39 unanswered points in all and ended up winning 46-17.

1st Quarter

• Penn State opened the game with a fumbled snap. The ball went right over Daryll Clark’s head and resulted in a loss of 16 yards. PSU did manage to get most of the lost yardage back on the next play, but an incomplete pass on third down would force them to punt.
• Michigan had one of its best drives of the entire season when they got the ball. Both Steven Threet and Brandon Minor ran the ball successfully on a consistent basis. Threet only threw two passes on this drive, and one of them went to Kevin Koger for a gain of 16. Michigan was having such an easy time moving the ball that they only had two third downs on this entire possession. One of them they didn’t convert, but on fourth down Minor picked up just enough to move the chains after being initially being hit by a pair of defenders for a loss. He managed to break the tackle to keep the drive alive.

  The second third down came on the 5-yard line. Michigan needed a yard to move the chains and again gave the ball to Minor. He ran through a hole on the left side and picked up a big block from Mark Moundros to score the touchdown. The run put Michigan up 7-0 and capped off a 14 play-drive that lasted six and a half minutes.

• Evan Royster ran for 20 yards to start the Nittany Lions’ second drive of the game, and Clark ran for 10 more a couple plays later. However, when Clark picked up the 10th yard of his run, he was met by John Thompson, who laid a big enough hit to force a fumble. Brandon Harrison quickly fell on the ball, giving the Michigan offense great field position.
• Brandon Minor continued to punish defenders that tried to tackle him. He got through a hole and broke a couple tackles to pick up 36 yards. On the last part of the run he actually carried a defender with him, showing just how powerful he can be. Michigan’s drive stalled after the big run, but a penalty on Penn State made it 4th and 1 rather than 4th and 6. Even though Michigan needed only a yard to move the chains, Rich Rodriguez decided to play it safe by kicking a field goal. K.C. Lopata nailed the kick from 27 yards out to put Michigan on top 10-0.
• The defense’s dominance quickly came to an end when Penn State got the ball back. After a big return, Evan Royster got the ball on the second play of the drive and ran for 44 yards and a touchdown. He managed to avoid being tackled at the line of scrimmage and was gone after Stevie Brown and another defender missed tackles. Royster had nothing but green in front of him and got the Nittany Lions on the board.
• Michigan avoided disaster on the ensuing kickoff, as Sam McGuffie recovered his own fumble. He managed to fall on the ball after getting decked, causing it to hit the turf. It looked like a couple Penn State players had a shot at recovering the fumble, but McGuffie got the ball back.
• Michigan finished the first quarter by moving the ball down the field thanks to the passing game for a change. Threet first hit James Rogers for a gain of 21 before finding Martavious Odoms near the sideline for 28 yards.

2nd Quarter

• Michigan faced 3rd and 3 as the second quarter got underway, and Steven Threet ran for 14 yards. He took the snap with no one else in the backfield and was able to get down the field thanks to great blocking both by the offensive line and receivers. The big run set up an eventual Minor touchdown that came from 1 yard out on 3rd and goal. Another stellar drive by the Wolverines put them ahead 17-7 and had Michigan fans very excited.
• At this point in the game, the apparent switch that controls the offense’s success was turned off. Michigan got back to its usual ways after a Penn State three and out by doing the same thing as the Nittany Lions. Zoltan Mesko had to punt for the first time in this game and would be a busy man throughout the rest of the day.
• Penn State’s offense finally started to move the ball on a consistent basis, but once its drive stalled, the usually reliable Kevin Kelly had to come in and attempt a 45-yard field goal. The kick looked like it was going to be good initially, but it hooked at the last second and bounced off the upright. This was yet another break that went in Michigan’s favor, which is something that rarely seems to happen to this team.
• The two teams traded three and outs before Penn State got the ball back with around two minutes left in the first half. The Nittany Lions started at their own 41 thanks to a personal foul by Andre Criswell on a Michigan punt. Criswell was running down the field and laid out Derrick Williams, even though the ball was about to be downed nowhere near where the hit happened. I only saw one replay of the hit, so I don’t know if it was accidental or not, but it was still a penalty no matter what the intent was.
• There were about two minutes left on the clock when Penn State started its drive, and they didn’t even need all of that to score. Daryll Clark completed a pass to Deon Butler for 17 yards, and then Evan Royster ran for gains of 10 and 14 yards. Michigan was expecting a pass on both runs, which led to the solid gains.

  Terrance Taylor jumped offside before the next play, giving the Nittany Lions more free yards. Penn State would eventually face 3rd and goal from the 3, and Clark threw a pass to Jordan Norwood for the touchdown. Norwood was wide open in the end zone, which pretty much tells you all you need to know about Michigan’s secondary.

• Michigan decided to take a knee to run out the clock, which was a great decision since they were up 17-14. That was a definite surprise, but deep down I knew that this lead wouldn’t last for very long.

3rd Quarter

• Michigan’s offense did show some signs of life at the start of the second half and the bounces were still going in the Wolverines’ favor. On the first play of the half Threet picked up a bad snap and actually fumbled the ball again. He managed to get the ball back a second time and ended up gaining 2 yards on the play. Brandon Minor then ran for 13 yards before Threet went for 13 himself after completing a pass to Darryl Stonum for 6. The drive unfortunately stalled after Threet’s 13-yard run, and Zoltan Mesko had to come back out to punt.
• Penn State again was able to move the ball with ease. Daryll Clark was running and passing to move the chains, but Michigan’s defense forced three straight incompletions. That meant that Kevin Kelly had to attempt another field goal, and this time he was able to make the kick that was from 42 yards out to tie the game at 17.
• With Michigan already looking like they were fading away in this game, any chance of winning they had was gone on the next drive. I say that because Nick Sheridan came into the game to replace Steven Threet, who apparently was too hurt to play at the time. As soon as Sheridan entered into the game, all fans knew Michigan had no chance of winning, and really we were just waiting for a dumb mistake to give Penn State the momentum needed to turn this into a blowout.
• The dumb mistake came after a holding penalty and a pair of runs by Sheridan that went for a loss of yards. Sheridan dropped back to pass and stood like a statue in the end zone, letting Penn State sack him for a safety. Sheridan did try to get rid of the ball by tossing it forward to a lineman, but the officials ruled that he was down. It looked like that may have been the wrong call, but Sheridan would have been flagged anyways for throwing it to an ineligible receiver.
• Zoltan Mesko’s free kick went out of bounds, allowing Penn State to start its drive at midfield. It took only four plays for the Nittany Lions to find the end zone, thanks mostly to a 25-yard pass to Deon Butler and a 21-yard run by Evan Royster. Daryll Clark ran in from the 1-yard line for the touchdown, putting Penn State on top 26-17 and essentially putting the nail on Michigan’s coffin. Yes, it was still the third quarter and Michigan only trailed by 9 points, but as long as Nick Sheridan was the quarterback, the Wolverines had no chance of scoring led alone winning.
• After Michigan went three and out, Zoltan Mesko’s rough day continued. He got his punt blocked thanks to poor blocking and taking too long to kick the ball. The punt ended up going 12 yards, meaning Penn State would take over at Michigan’s 37-yard line.

4th Quarter

• The Nittany Lions didn’t do much offensively, but Kevin Kelly did successfully kick another field goal, this time from 32 yards out. Penn State led 29-17, and things were only about to get worse.
• Steven Threet came back into the game since it was obvious that he was better than Nick Sheridan, injured or not. Threet didn’t get much of a chance to do anything, though, as a defender blitzed from his blindside and drilled him. The ball came loose and Penn State recovered, giving them a chance to truly put this game away for good.
• Penn State scored on a 15-yard pass to Jordan Norwood, but the play was reviewed and the call was overturned. Norwood was ruled down at the 1-yard line, but that really just delayed the inevitable. Two plays later Daryll Clark scored on a quarterback sneak, giving Penn State a 36-17 lead.
• Nick Sheridan returned to the game since Michigan had no chance of winning anyways, so there was no point to risk getting Threet hurt more than he already was. As you probably could have guessed, Michigan went three and out.
• The Nittany Lions took six minutes off the clock before Kevin Kelly kicked a 20-yard field goal. Penn State led 39-17 and started to put in its backups.
• Following another Michigan three and out, Penn State put an exclamation point on this win when Stephfon Green scored an 80-yard touchdown on a screen pass. As usual, defenders were out of position for Michigan, and even when Morgan Trent caught up to Green, he was unable to make the tackle. The TD gave Penn State a 46-17 lead, which is what the final score ended up being.

Michigan is now 2-5 this season and hosts Michigan State next Saturday. There is no game left on the schedule that is more important than the MSU one simply because of what effect it will have on recruiting and the overall perception of both programs. Even though Michigan won’t be going to a bowl game and will have a ton of streaks snapped this year, keeping the winning streak against MSU alive is very important. Although the Spartans got blown out by Ohio State yesterday, their program is going in the right direction. Mark Dantonio is recruiting well and has them eligible for a bowl game for the second straight season.

Michigan, on the other hand, is struggling and will lose many more games this season. That doesn’t necessarily mean things won’t get better in the future, but right now they’re probably still going to get worse. Even so, for one week Michigan can make us all forget about its 2-5 record with a win over the Spartans. Not only would a win give Michigan fans bragging rights, but it would give the team some confidence as the season winds down. Kickoff for the rivalry game is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.