Penn State’s offense sputters in blowout loss to Michigan Wolverines on the road
The Penn State Nittany Lions lost their first game of the season Saturday afternoon. They lost to the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, 41-17.
Penn State struggled mightily early on in the game, with the Michigan offense walking down the field whether it was throwing or running. The Nittany Lion defense managed to stiffen up early in the game when the Wolverines got in close, holding them to two field goals on their first two drives.
They broke through on their third, marching down the field and punching the ball into the end zone to make it a 13-0 lead and put the Nittany Lions’ chances in serious doubt.
They found a response, however, with starting quarterback Sean Clifford breaking off a 62-yard run to get the Penn State offense near the goal line. Running back Kaytron Allen found the endzone four plays later to cut the Michigan lead to six.
That was when the defense made another impression on the game to give Penn State its first lead. Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a pass that was tipped by defensive end Chop Robinson, bounced off defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher’s head and fell into linebacker Curtis Jacobs’ arms. Jacobs took the interception all the way back for a touchdown and made it a 14-13 game.
The Wolverines once again scored, this time with another field goal just before the half to make it a 16-14 game.
That narrow lead existed despite Michigan’s dominance in total yardage (274-83) and time of possession (23:56-6:04) through the first 30 minutes of action.
The scoring flurry continued to start the second half with a Penn State field goal and a 67-yard touchdown run by MIchigan running back Donovan Edwards to give the Wolverines the lead right back.
It was all Michigan from there, with the Wolverines piling it on, beginning with a Blake Corum 61-yard touchdown to make it 31-17.
They added 10 from there to make it a 41-17 win for Michigan.
Player of the game
Michigan RB Blake Corum: Corum showed why he’s one of the best running backs in the country Saturday afternoon. He worked his way through the Penn State defense time after time, making it impossible for the Nittany Lions to get the ball back. Michigan’s offensive success exhausted the Penn State defense, allowing the Wolverines’ success to build upon itself. Things came to a head when Corum broke off his 61-yard run to make it a two score game. He finished the matchup with 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 28 attempts for Michigan.
What the loss means
The Nittany Lions are in dire need of a win next week to prevent the narrative of this season from drastically shifting. Yes, they were touchdown underdogs on the road against a top-five team, but this was still a game Penn State could have won with a competent offensive performance. The most difficult stretch of the season always seemed likely to end with Penn State going 1-2 through the three games but now one of the two more winnable games is officially a loss. Dropping next week’s matchup against Minnesota is a disaster scenario for a program trying to gain its way back to national relevance.
