Penn State football beats Michigan, 27-17, to win its first game of the 2020 season
It took five weeks, but the Penn State Nittany Lions won their first game of 2020 when they defeated the Michigan Wolverines 27-17 Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
Penn State led at halftime, 17-7, marking its first halftime lead this season. The Nittany Lions also scored double digits in points in a first half for the first time since their Week 1 matchup against Indiana. Led by redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford — who started again after being benched last week — and freshman running back Keyvone Lee, Penn State started to pull away toward the end of the third quarter to put the contest away.
Clifford finished 17-of-28 passing for 163 yards, while adding 73 yards and a touchdown on the ground on nine carries.
Penn State is now 1-5, while Michigan falls to 2-4.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
QB Sean Clifford and RB Keyvone Lee: After being benched early in the second quarter of Penn State’s Week 4 loss to Nebraska and then not getting the start against Iowa last week, Clifford was back as the starter Saturday against Michigan. And he played well through most of the contest.
The 6-foot-2, 217-pound Ohio native made smart decisions with the football — not turning the ball over in a game for the first time all season. He especially looked good using his legs. With 3:32 left in the first half, Clifford rolled left and looked downfield before taking off and beating a couple Michigan defensive backs on his way to the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown run that put Penn State up 14-7.
Vital to Clifford’s success was a breakout game from Lee. The 6-foot, 230-pound freshman helped ease pressure off of Clifford by running for a career-high 134 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Clifford’s 28-yard TD run: For as much as Penn State has tried to get its running game going with Clifford this season, the quarterback has struggled on the ground. Clifford had averaged just 2.8 yards per rush for one touchdown (in Week 1 versus Indiana) for the season before Saturday against Michigan.
But with about three and a half minutes left in the first half, Clifford ran for a 28-yard touchdown.
The play gave the Nittany Lions momentum — eventually allowing them to close out the second half with a 10-point lead — and it looked as if it allowed Clifford to get his swagger back.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
WR Jahan Dotson’s quiet outing: Junior receiver Jahan Dotson came into Saturday’s matchup with Michigan second in the Big Ten in receiving yards and tied for second in receiving touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 182-pound Nazareth native has posted three games of 100-plus receiving yards this season.
But against the Wolverines, Dotson only caught three balls for 30 yards.
He didn’t catch his first pass — a 9-yard grab — until there was only about one minute left in the opening half. And his other two grabs didn’t come until the fourth quarter.
Penn State’s passing game didn’t suffer because of Dotson’s quiet night, thanks to Washington’s production. Still, it was odd to not see more of an effort from the Nittany Lions to get their budding star involved.
UP NEXT
At Rutgers: After finally picking up its first win of the season, Penn State will now travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on Rutgers next Saturday.
With the Scarlet Knights sitting at 1-4 this season, the contest should give the Nittany Lions a chance to pick up their second win of 2020 to attempt to finish the season strong.
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 3:30 PM.