Here’s 3 takeaways from Penn State football’s 27-17 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor
Penn State football has finally earned a win in 2020. The Nittany Lions took down the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, 27-17, improving to 1-5 on the season and avoiding the program’s first-ever 0-6 start in the process.
Here are three takeaways from the victory.
1. Wide receiver shouldn’t be a concern for a few years
The Nittany Lions came into this season with a huge question mark at wide receiver and plenty of mystery surrounding the position. Through six games, those questions have been answered at the team’s talent is no longer a conundrum. Penn State is set at wide receiver for a few seasons thanks to several key weapons on the outside.
Junior Jahan Dotson has shown all season that he can be a top talent at the position, but Saturday afternoon it was a true freshman who stepped up. Parker Washington finished the game with a career high 93 receiving yards on nine receptions to set the pace. Those two — if Dotson doesn’t enter the NFL Draft — have plenty of talent to carry the position into the future.
2. Keyvone Lee has earned playing time next season
When Noah Cain and Devyn Ford are fully healthy next season for the NIttany Lions, they shouldn’t be the only running backs getting touches. Freshman running back Keyvone Lee has proven he can play at a high level this season and should be a big part of the rotation when the unit is fully healthy. He’s decisive at the line of scrimmage and has the size/speed combo to be an NFL-caliber running back in the future and finished with 134 rushing yards on 22 carries on Saturday.
Given what he’s accomplished without a full traditional offseason — and without time to fully acclimate to college football in the team’s strength and conditioning program — there’s plenty of reason to believe Lee has a bright future at Penn State.
3. Penn State’s defense showed up for the first time in weeks
The Nittany Lions needed their defense to play well Saturday to earn the victory over Michigan and — for the first time this season — it did. The unit struggled to stop the Michigan rushing attack, but played as well as it has all year against the pass.
The Wolverines were limited to 112 passing yards in the game with the Nittany Lions making several key stops in the passing game. The defensive backfield was once again without senior cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields in the game, but the team’s young corners — namely Marquis Wilson, Keaton Ellis and Joey Porter Jr. — all played well enough to get the job done. That group will be important to the future of the program and its defensive success next season.
