VOLUME 78 ISSUE 11 Penn State vs. Michigan November 23, 2015 The Letter The sky was blue and the fans wore white, but the Nittany Lions Follow us on were unable to provide a Twitter and storybook ending to the final game Check out the new in Beaver Stadium this year. Football Letter The warm sun, crisp air and bright Blog colors on a beautiful Happy Valley tailgating day (which contrasted with the weather in most Big Ten PSU 3 7 0 6 ­ 16 U of M 7 7 7 7 ­ 28 venues Saturday) may have meant that God is still a Penn State fan. But neither that nor the White Out crowd translated into a victory against a stronger, more effective and CONTENTS more motivated Michigan team that was focused on its goals in the The Letter conference and national battles. Notes from the Cuff New Wolverine coach Jim Harbaugh, a former All­American quarterback Other Sports beloved by Michigan fans, became the sixth former player to take the News of Note reins at his alma mater and has revitalized the program that leads the Game Photos nation in total gridiron victories. And the contingent of maize and blue Statistics supporters in the upper deck Saturday made the trek east to see this fall’s 8–2 resurgence continue for the 14th­ranked Wolverines. Even though the visitors came bearing gifts in the form of 13 penalties for 117 yards, an interception and a fumble by QB Jake Rudock, and a blocked punt, it still was not enough for the home team to pull out a win against one of the best defenses in the country. PAST ISSUES The visitors dominated the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively and traded field goals for touchdowns in the red zone, while View past issues constructing their 28–16 triumph over the Lions. FAN ZONE State’s leading rusher, Saquon Barkley, galloped 56 yards the first time he touched the Football Schedule ball. Saed Blacknall caught a 25­yard Team Roster touchdown pass from Christian Hackenberg in GoPSUSports.com the second quarter, and Chris Godwin caught a Radio/TV Listings pass across the middle that he carried 38 yards Big Ten Football TV Schedule to the MI-3 in the third frame. But except for Big Ten Standings those three chunk plays, the Penn State offense Big Ten Schedule and could muster only 14 yards on the ground and Results 74 through the air. And on each of three trips Penn Staters in the Pros inside the Michigan 20-yard line the Lions had to settle for field goals instead of TDs. For advertising info, Meanwhile, the steady and efficient Michigan offense tallied one touchdown contact: Angelo Scialfa in each quarter. Rudock marched his troops 89 yards for a first quarter TD 609­259­1910 and 70 yards for another in the last two minutes of the first half. After [email protected] halftime, the visitors capitalized on a Penn State fumble on its own nine­ yard line for a touchdown in three plays, plus a 55­yard kickoff return that led to a five­play, 40­yard touchdown with just 5:12 left in the game. The first TD drive took 3:21, the second only 1:06, the third just 1:21 and the fourth 2:41—a total of eight minutes and 29 seconds for 28 points. The last time the Lions saw Rudock he was playing for Iowa. But he graduated from there after last season and transferred to Michigan, where he has utilized his final year of eligibility to power the visitors’ greatly improved passing attack. The Hawkeye turned Wolverine completed 25 passes in 38 attempts for 256 yards—the most allowed by Penn State this season. Two of his throws resulted in the visitors’ first two scores—a 25­yard touchdown by tight end Jake Butt and an 11­yard TD by wide receiver Amara Darboh. The Penn State defense limited Michigan to just 87 net yards rushing on 30 attempts, but two of those were one­yard touchdown dives by fullback Sione Houma and tailback De’Veon Smith. Penn State students filled their section in the south end zone rather than going home on the first day of their Thanksgiving vacation and provided enthusiastic support for the Lions, who remained within one touchdown of victory until the last five minutes of the game. The Beaver Stadium faithful were thankful for Barkley’s first run of 56 yards to the MI­9, and for Tyler Davis’ 23­yard field goal for the first score of the contest. Again Penn State fans were thankful that the Lions regained the lead, when Blacknall hauled in Hackenberg’s pass in the end zone to conclude a 43­yard drive set up by Van Walker’s block of a Michigan punt in the second quarter. Lion supporters were thankful for Chris Godwin’s Herculean effort in carrying three Wolverine defenders as extra baggage for the last 15 yards of his 38­yard pass reception that set up Davis’ 24­yard three­ pointer at the outset of the fourth quarter. And for Davis’ 18­yard boot that pulled State within five points of the visitors late in the fourth quarter. But their final thanks will have to be held until Turkey Day on Thursday, because the Lions could not deliver victory in the final five minutes. Just as happened at Northwestern two weeks ago, the Lions could not sufficiently capitalize on opportunities to pull an upset over a ranked team. Thus, each loss this season has come to one of the top 25 teams in the country. Ohio State (10–1) is ranked eighth, Michigan (9–2) 12th, Northwestern (9–2) 17th and Temple (9–2) 25th. Saturday’s loss was the first this year in Beaver Stadium, where Penn State had won 79.2 percent of its 342 contests—a figure that ranked seventh among all 128 FBS teams. It also ruined Senior Day for the Lions, who honored 19 senior players and their families before the opening kickoff. Several of those 19 were fifth­year players, who stayed rather than transfer when the NCAA levied sanctions against Penn State in 2012. One of those seniors, Carl Nassib, the national leader in sacks and tackles for loss who is a finalist or semifinalist for several national awards, was unable to play Saturday, after being injured late in the contest at Northwestern two weeks ago. Another was safety Jordan Lucas, who had started more games for Penn State than any current player except Hackenberg but was declared lost for the remainder of the season, after his latest injury in Evanston. Junior Malik Golden started in his place and wore Lucas’ No. 9 in his honor. Offensive tackle Andrew Nelson, who returned from injury to play sparingly at Northwestern, started and played the full game Saturday. But tight ends Mike Gesicki and Brent Wilkerson were wearing wraps around their shoulders after the contest. The Lions averaged 3.2 yards per carry, which was better than Michigan’s 2.9 because the Wolverines’ longest run was only 20 yards on an end­ around by wide receiver Jehu Chesson, compared to Barkley’s 56­yard romp. State’s average yards per pass completion of 10.5 was also better than Michigan’s average of 10.2. But the Wolverine defense allowed Hackenberg to complete only 13 of 31 attempts for 137 yards—barely more than half of Rudock’s numbers. Penn State’s challenging finish to the regular season continues Saturday in East Lansing, where the Lions face 6th­ ranked Michigan State, which brought a dramatic last­minute end to the 23­game winning streak of defending national champion Ohio State in Columbus Saturday and took over the top spot in the Eastern Division of the Big Ten. The Spartans will be playing for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis on Dec. 5. Saturday’s contest will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN. For the Glory, VOLUME 78 ISSUE 11 Penn State vs. Michigan November 23, 2015 Notes from the Cuff Having snapped its three­game losing streak in Beaver Stadium, Follow us on Michigan now leads the series with Twitter and Penn State, 12–7. The series has Check out the new been one of streaks. Penn State Football Letter won three games in a row from Blog 1994 through 1996; Michigan captured nine in a row between PSU 3 7 0 6 ­ 16 1997 and 2007; and Penn State U of M 7 7 7 7 ­ 28 won four in a row between 2008 and 2013. Michigan has now taken the last two … CONTENTS The Lions were seeking their first unbeaten season in Beaver Stadium since 2008 … The Letter Notes from the Cuff Michigan was the fifth opponent this season held to less than 100 rushing Other Sports yards by the Penn State defense … News of Note Penn State had not allowed more than 300 yards in total offense to its Game Photos last 10 home opponents until Saturday … Statistics The Lions have recorded at least one quarterback sack in 33 consecutive games—their longest streak since sacks became an official statistic in 2000 … The Lions forced their 18th fumble of the year—the most of any squad since 1991 … PAST ISSUES The pass interception and 25­yard return by linebacker Brandon Bell was the second of his career and his first since the 2014 game at Rutgers. View past issues Bell’s strip­sack of Jake Rudock was the fourth fumble that he has forced in his career and the first that he recovered … FAN ZONE Safety Marcus Allen led the Lions in tackles Saturday with 12—a career­ Football Schedule high for him.