Penn State vs. Michigan State Volume 80, Issue 9 November 6, 2017 24 - 27

Letter

Just before noon in Spartan Stadium Saturday the video boards at each end of the arena featured a massive Spartan warrior leaping and slashing a Penn State flag with his sword, just as the 24th-ranked Michigan State team charged out of the tunnel.

It was a bad omen for the No. 7 Nittany Lions.

Just 22:02 into the game with Penn State leading, 14-7, another omen flashed across the sky, and the contest was halted because of “extreme weather conditions.”

For safety reasons the NCAA requires that play be halted, the game delayed and fans evacuated from the stadium, whenever there are lightning storms within a prescribed radius of the venue.

It had never before happened in 132 seasons of Penn State football.

Games had been postponed from the beginning to the end of a season by 9/11, or by a week after President Kennedy’s assassination or a heavy fall snowstorm in bygone eras. But never had a game been delayed, after it had already started. Nor is it common to have lightning storms in November in 47-degree weather.

But it happened in East Lansing Saturday and resulted in a three hour and 22 minute delay—the approximate time of a complete game. The Michigan State-Penn State contest, which started at noon, didn’t finish until 7:03 p.m.—the approximate ending time for a late afternoon contest that kicks off at 3:30 p.m.for the sake of television.

For the fans who had arisen early to attend the annual battle for the Land Grant Trophy, it was like attending a double-header. Except that they spent half of the double-header sitting in the Munn Ice Arena or nearby academic buildings or in their car in a parking lot. And, when the game that stopped at 1:15 p.m. just 7:02 into the second quarter was finally resumed at 4:38 p.m., 80 percent of the 71,605 announced attendance did not return. Most of the locals went home. And a lot of the visitors went to sports bars to watch on television rather than come back to the cold, wet aluminum bleachers and continue to sit through a damp drizzle -- even though that was not nearly as bad as the long, heavy downpour that left huge puddles and a lot of standing water on the playing field.

(It took stadium workers a long time to try to squeegee the water off the grass, before the players came back out to warm up all over again, after sitting around in locker rooms, trying to maintain their physical and mental readiness to pick up where they left off, while trying to stay hydrated and munching on Chick-Fil-A sandwiches eventually rustled up by staffers from a local establishment.)

Unfortunately, the home team seemed to have maintained that physical and mental readiness to continue better than the visitors.

Just four minutes after play resumed, the Spartans tied the game at 14-14, after marching 69 yards across the slippery soaked surface in five plays capped by a 33-yard pass from quarterback Brian Lewerke to Felton Davis.

Penn State, by contrast, had three rushes for a net of minus one yard, five incomplete passes, and an interception in the final 7:58 of the resumed second quarter till halftime.

In the first quarter, the Lions had outgained the home team, 191-111 in passing yardage, 195-123 in total offense and 14-7 on the scoreboard, as DaeSean Hamilton and Saeed Blacknall caught touchdown passes from QB Trace McSorley of 31 and 27 yards, respectively. In the second period, the Spartans outgained Penn State, 106-22 in passing yardage, 129-19 in total offense and 7-0 on the scoreboard.

Penn State didn’t score from the first quarter until the last five minutes of the third quarter—and that was just a 26-yard field goal by Tyler Davis, after a 71-yard drive had stalled out at the MS-8.

Meanwhile, Michigan State had taken the lead by driving 91 yards on 10 plays in 5:16 to post a 21-14 advantage on its second possession of the second half.

The Lions finally got the biggest chunk play of the game on the last play of the third quarter—a 70-yard touchdown pass from McSorley to DeAndre Thompkins—and regained a 24-21 lead in the contest.

But those would be the last points the Lions would score. Michigan State put together two long drives that each resulted in field goals in the final frame. The first covered 45 yards in 11 plays, after a personal foul penalty against Penn State gave the Spartans possession near midfield, following the Lions’ kickoff.

Without running the ball once in the drive, Lewerke completed six short passes to Felton Davis, Matt Dotson and Cody White to put the ball on the PS-14. Freshman placekicker Matt Couglin booted a 32-yard field goal to tie the contest at 24-24 with 10:56 remaining.

Penn State looked like it might jump back on top two minutes later, when McSorley launched a long pass against the wind toward a streaking Saeed Blacknall, who was a step behind free safety David Dowell.

But the ball was just a foot short of Blacknall’s hands, when Dowell snared his second interception of the game and returned it 12 yards to the MS-33, before Blacknall caught him from behind to make the tackle.

Six plays later cornerback Amani Oruwariye got the ball back for the Lions with a spectacular interception of a tipped ball by making a pirouette move to get his feet down just inches inside the out-of-bounds line at the PS-7 with 7:28 remaining.

The Lions had one more opportunity, as they marched 62 yards on nine plays, before stalling out with just four minutes left. McSorley ignited the drive by completing a 13-yard pass to tight end Mike Gesicki on a 3rd-and-8 situation. He hit wide receiver Juwan Johnson with a 20-yard pass, and Penn State got 15 more on a roughing the passer call on the Spartans’ leading tackler Khari Willis.

Willis redeemed himself to the home crowd two plays later by sacking McSorley for a nine-yard loss and forcing him to commit an intentional grounding infraction.

Facing a third down with 19 yards to go the Lion QB completed a 16-yard aerial to Gesicki, and on 4th-and-three he threw a quick slant pass toward Thompkins. But the man who had 11 minutes earlier hauled in a 70-yard TD toss, could not hang on to the short one. And Penn State turned the ball over with just 4:05 left.

Even so, it looked like the game might go into overtime at 24-24, as the clock ticked down while the Spartans methodically moved the ball downfield, until Lewerke threw an incompletion on 3rd-and-4 at the PS-37.

Unfortunately, Marcus Allen was called for a roughing the passer penalty, which gave the home team a first down at the PS-22 with less than a minute left. From there the Spartans just milked the clock by running two plays six yards and forcing Penn State to use its last two timeouts. With just four seconds left, Michigan State called its own timeout and rested its fate in the foot of its freshman placekicker.

Coughlin drilled a 34-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired, giving the Spartans the three-point upset victory and sending their few thousand fans, who had stuck it out after the long extreme weather delay, rushing the field in delirium.

The Nittany Lions, who had risen to No. 2 in the nation by winning their first seven games, have now lost two straight on the road to Top 25 teams by a total of four points.

This season’s results have been the reverse of last year, when Penn State lost two games early then went on an improbable nine-game win streak to capture the Big Ten championship. This fall the Lions had a perfect record until losing two during the toughest three-game stretch on their schedule.

Penn State dropped to No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches poll and to No. 16 in the AP poll.

The two oldest land grant universities’ football teams were as close in yardage gained as in the score Saturday. MSU had 474 yards of total offense to 466 for PSU, and led in rushing, 74-65, but the Lions led in passing 401 to 400.

Barkley had one completion in one attempt for 20 yards, so Lewerke’s 33 completions on 56 attempts with one interception and two touchdowns led McSorley in yardage 400 to 381. Lewerke’s total followed closely on the heels of his school record 445 yards on 39 completions in last week’s three- overtime loss at Northwestern. McSorley’s yardage total was just three short of his career-high against Wisconsin in last year’s Big Ten title game. Saturday he completed 26 of 47 attempts with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Perhaps Lewerke’s biggest accomplishment was that eight times out of 14 he turned third-down completions into first downs, including 12 yards on a 3rd and 11; 20 yards on a 3rd and 19; 25 yards on a 3rd and 10; 15 yards on a 3rd and three; 36 yards on a 3rd and 18; 26 yards on a 3rd and 11; 14 yards on a 3rd and 6; and five yards on a 3rd and four.

McSorley on the other hand had more long completions of 70, 31, 27, 22, 20 and 20, while Lewerke completed chunk throws of 36, 26, 25 and 20.

Felton Davis led the Spartan receivers with 12 catches for 181 yards and one touchdown. He was followed by Darrell Stewart with five receptions for 65 yards and one TD.

Penn State had two 100-yard receivers in the same game for the first time since Saeed Blacknall and DaeSean Hamilton against Wisconsin in the conference championship contest last December. Hamilton had seven receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown Saturday, while DeAndre Thompkins had the first century game of his career with four catches for 102 yards, including a 70-yard TD. Coach James Franklin pointed out that Michigan State won the critical battles of turnovers (3-1) and field position (average starting spot of MS-32 to PS-19).

He said the Penn State defense is not getting to the quarterback often enough, and the offense has got to get the running game going.

Franklin was also concerned about “noise” on social media, the internet, television and phone..

“When things are going well, there’s a lot of positivity, a lot of patting on the back. And then when you lose a game, it’s the complete opposite. It couldn’t be more negative.”

He said, “We’re not mature enough to handle that.” He said the team has to eliminate the noise and handle the business it can control.

Franklin declared that the team will get back to the formula of respecting your opponent and focusing on winning the week one game at a time.

Linebacker Koa Farmer said, “We’re going to win the next three games. We’re not going to look at things we can’t control.”

Receiver Hamilton said, “We need to get back to our roots.”

He said, “What’s at stake is guys playing with heart and with dignity. That will put us in position for a good bowl game at the end of the year.”

The Nittany Lions can start anew with the Homecoming game against Rutgers at noon next Saturday.

For the Glory,

Notes from the Cuff

ESPN analylst and podcast commentator Kirk Herbstreit recently complimented Penn State players in a conversation with Saquon Barkley, saying he hoped his sons will grow up to be like Barkley or other Nittany Lions. The former Ohio State quarterback told Barkley, “As far back as I can go, when I met a Penn State player, former player or a current player, of all the schools out there that I have covered, the Penn State player is the most consistent.” Herbstreit said, “I have four boys. If they grow up to be like you or like a or a Todd Blackledge or Bobby Engram or Ki-Jana Carter, you go down the list – Curt Warner. Go to any decade you want to pick.”…

Michigan State took a 16-15-1 lead in the all-time series with Penn State, but the Lions have captured the Land Grant Trophy 14 times to the Spartans’ eight…

Penn State is now 78-68-2 in Top 25 games…

The Lions’ 92-yard drive to their first touchdown in the first quarter Saturday is the longest scoring drive since their 95-yarder at Rutgers last fall…

State had two 100-yard receivers — DaeSean Hamilton (112) and DeAndre Thompkins (102) — in the same game since Saeed Blacknall had 155 and Hamilton 118 against Wisconsin in the conference championship contest last December…

The Lions put up more than 400 passing yards (Trace McSorley 381 and Saquon Barkley 20) for the first time since threw for 454 yards against Central Florida in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin in 2014…

McSorley has replaced Hackenberg as State’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 51…

He jumped seven spots to 11th in season passing yardage at 2,452 and is also 11th with 190 completions this fall…

McSorley posted the eighth 300-yard passing game of his career to tie for second on Penn State’s charts. His seventh 200-yard passing performance this season ties him with Todd Blackledge, Michael Robinson and Anthony Morelli, and the 18th of his career ties him with Matt McGloin for second…

Saquon Barkley passed Curt Warner into second place in career rushing with 3,436 yards…

Mike Gesicki had a career-high eight catches for a career-high 89 yards and extended to 23 his streak of consecutive games with at least one catch…

DeAndre Thompkins had his first career 100-yard receiving game, while DaeSean Hamilton posted his third this fall and the eighth of his career… Safety Troy Apke and linebacker Koa Farmer tied their career-highs with eight tackles against Michigan State…

Cornerback Amani Oruwariye nabbed his fourth interception this year and fifth of his career…

With Iowa’s walloping of Ohio State and Michigan State’s win over Penn State, Wisconsin is apparently the only Big Ten team left in the run for the College Football Playoffs…

Quarterback Brian Wimbush, a former Penn State commit who flipped to Notre Dame, is driving the Irish in their climb up the rankings.

News of Note

Find your pride at Maryland (Nov. 25) and register for the Penn State Tailgate At each away game this football season, the Alumni Association will host the premier pregame party. Each one-stop experience will feature tailgate fare and beverages, the Pep Band, Penn State Cheerleaders, and Nittany Lion in a convenient location near the stadium. Space is limited, and advanced paid registration is required.

Inaugural ‘Football Friday’ Event Focuses on Facility Design Hosted by Penn State’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society, the inaugural “Football Friday” event is set for 4 p.m., Friday, Nov. 17, in the Sutlliff Auditorium in the Katz (Law) Building. Free and open to the public, the event features Scott Radecic, the founding senior principal at Populous, one of the leading architecture and design firms in the world with expertise in sports facility design and planning. The event will be a conversation between Radecic and Professor John Affleck, Knight Chair in Journalism at the Bellisario College of Communication, on “The Future of Sports Stadiums, How Changing Facilities Impact Communities, the Fan Experience, Participants, and Sports Themselves”. The 75-minute event will feature an opportunity for Q&A from the audience. Radecic received his bachelor’s in architectural engineering from Penn State, was an All- American linebacker on the 1982 national championship teams, and played 11 seasons in the NFL.

Huddle with the Faculty on Nov. 11 Alumni and friends can grab light refreshments at the popular free lecture series hosted by the Penn State Alumni Association each home football Saturday at The Nittany Lion Inn.

The next presentation in the series:

Field to Front—Nittany Lions at War: 1917–19, featuring Ken Hickman, director of the Penn State All-Sports Museum.

Huddle with the Faculty is presented by the Penn State Alumni Association and sponsored by The Village at Penn State and Penn State Health with support from The Nittany Lion Inn and Penn State University Press.

Football Letter podcast New this fall, check out the Football Letter Podcast on Soundcloud. Listen in each week as Alumni Association CEO Paul Clifford and Football Letter Blog editor Ryan Jones review the Nittany Lions’ last game and preview the upcoming opponent. We’ve also got mouthwatering tailgate ideas and a weekly interview with a Penn Stater letterman. You can find that on Soundcloud, or check TheFootballLetter.com for weekly updates. We hope you’ll join us.

Guard the Lion Shrine This year at Homecoming, the Alumni Association is expanding on Guard the Lion Shrine, one of Penn State’s great traditions at University Park. Visit our Facebook event to learn more, including details on live music, special guest appearances, and giveaways.

Attend an upcoming Alumni Association event Visit our events page for a full listing of upcoming opportunities to stay connected. Register for a networking webinar, learn about details for a future Penn State Tailgate or career-related event, or scroll through the option by clicking on the pull-down menu at the top. We hope to see you soon.

Follow the Alumni Association on Social Media Stay updated on Alumni Association news and events by following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Also follow The Football Letter and The Penn Stater magazine on Twitter for more information on what’s happening at Penn State.

Join Penn State on LinkedIn Looking for more ways to network with Penn State alums? Join the Penn State Alumni Association LinkedIn Group. If you already have a LinkedIn profile, the link will take you to our main page, where you can ask to join the group. You can also look for our group on the Penn State University Page. Our group is listed in the options on the right-hand side. If you’re new to LinkedIn, the Alumni Association offers webinars to help you learn all about the platform and what it can do for you. Regularly visit our website to know when upcoming webinars will be scheduled. Already a member of our LinkedIn group? Make sure you’re getting notifications about the group by checking your group settings to ensure that you have checked the daily digest and announcement options.

Hintz Family Alumni Center Open House Hours A reminder to all University Park visitors that the Hintz Family Alumni Center’s open hours change during football season. During home football weekends, the Alumni Center opens at 8:00 a.m., and closes one hour prior to kickoff for all games that begin before 6:00 p.m. For evening games, the Alumni Center opens at 11:00 a.m., and closes at 5:00 p.m. For questions, call the Alumni Association at 814-865-6516, and you can also visit our website for more information.