Michigan State Penn State 28 – Michigan State 7 Volume 82, Issue 8 Oct
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Michigan State Penn State 28 – Michigan State 7 Volume 82, Issue 8 Oct. 28, 2019 If Penn State had perfect football weather for last week’s thrilling White Out victory over Michigan in Beaver Stadium, the weather in central Michigan Saturday was the exact opposite—a miserable cold rain that only increased, as the afternoon wore on. But the outcome of the game was the same— another victory for the Nittany Lions, this time over Michigan State in Spartan Stadium. It was a contest that was best enjoyed on television from the warmth and comfort of your own living room—rather than shivered through in soggy wet clothing on an aluminum bench in the pouring rain, while wishing your glasses had windshield wipers. But it didn’t bother the resilient Nittany Lions, who started fast on the wet gridiron and built another 21-point lead on an opponent from the state of Michigan by the second quarter. Neither wind nor rain nor sloppy field conditions strayed these sturdy Lions from the completion of their appointed rounds to maintain an unblemished record at 8–0 for the 2019 season. And with the fall of Oklahoma at Kansas State, the pollsters moved Penn State up to the No. 5 ranking. Penn State is one of just nine unbeaten teams remaining in the FBS this fall, and their 28–7 victory over the Spartans marked the first time Penn State started a gridiron season with an 8-0 record since 2008. One of the other nine unbeatens is 13th-ranked Minnesota—the Lions’ next opponent. The two will meet in Minneapolis on Nov. 9, after each has a bye next weekend. Just like last week against Michigan, Penn State never trailed the Spartans, as sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford threw three touchdown passes in the first half—two to sophomore tight end Pat Freiermuth and one to sophomore wide receiver KJ Hamler. On the first scoring drive the visitors traveled 62 yards on eight plays in 3:56, ending in a beautiful arching pass over the head of a defender to Freiermuth along the right sideline for a 16-yard TD. The drive was keyed by a 15-yard pass to Pat across the middle on the second play and a 10-yard toss to KJ on the penultimate play. The second touchdown march took 4:26 and 13 plays to travel 86 yards to paydirt. A 10-yard run around left end by Journey Brown and a 14-yard maneuver through the right side by Clifford, before the first quarter ended, highlighted that drive. On the second play of the second quarter, Clifford fired a pass to Freiermuth churning full-speed down the middle. The big, bruising tight end bowled over three defenders to get into the end zone for a 19-yard TD. He told reporters after the game he had a flashback of the Iowa game two weeks earlier, when the official ruled that his knee was down on the half-yard line before the ball in his hands had crossed the goal line. And State never did score a touchdown on that drive in Iowa City. He decided he was not going to be stopped this time. State’s third scoring drive of the first half was set up by Shaka Toney’s block of a Michigan State field goal attempt, and an eight-yard return by Keaton Ellis. Key plays were a fourth-down conversion by Brown’s one- yard plunge, Devyn Ford’s 16-yard run around left end and an 11-yard pass to Hamler. It was concluded, when Clifford found KJ running free and hit him with a 27-yard TD toss just 1:20 before halftime. Since Jake Pinegar’s streak of 48 consecutive extra point conversions had been halted earlier in the quarter, Penn State lined up for a two-point try after Hamler’s touchdown. Clifford charged up the middle to score the two-pointer. Michigan State tried in vain to mount a scoring drive in the final 1:20, but that effort ended by freshman defensive end Jayson Oweh strip-sacking QB Brian Lewerke for a seven-yard loss and a fumble. And the student section in the southeast corner of Spartan Stadium quickly emptied, while both schools’ bands were putting on a dazzling halftime show. In the first 30 minutes Penn State’s offense had outgained the Spartans 209 yards to 118, getting 82 on the ground and 127 on Clifford’s 12 completions in 17 attempts to compile the 21–0 advantage. The Lions maintained their drives with 13 first downs to Michigan State’s nine and scored on explosive plays to compile their 21-point advantage, even though the home team had a 17:53 to 12:02 margin in time of possession. Early in the second half the Lions put the game out of reach for the Spartans, and the Michigan State alumni and adult fans joined the students egress from the pouring rain. After the Spartans had halted Penn State’s first possession with a three-and-out, Blake Gillikin lofted a 46-yard punt to the MS-6, where returner Brandon Sowards muffed the catch. Speedster Dan Chisena recovered for the Lions, and on the first play Clifford rolled right and threw his third six-pointer to Freiermuth on an underneath crossing pattern. The best play by the home team’s offense came on the Spartans’ next possession and was ignited by the game’s longest play. Lewerke saw speedy Cody White splitting Penn State’s safeties and sailed a 49-yard pass to the PS-4. On the next play Lewerke rolled right on an option. When the Lions’ freshman linebacker Brandon Smith blocked his path, the Spartan QB pitched to Anthony Williams, who slipped four yards into the corner of the end zone for the home team’s only touchdown. By the start of the fourth quarter the heavy rain had driven all but the hardiest fans out of the stadium—and most of those were wearing blue and white under their transparent ponchos. The final frame became a comedy of errors on the sloppy turf, but nobody was laughing. The play of both teams deteriorated with turnovers, illegal blocks, unnecessary penalties and chippy trash-talking, There were off-setting interceptions, another strip-sack of Lewerke by Oweh with Penn State recovering the fumble but drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the process. Coach James Franklin was upset by the Lions’ unsportsmanlike conduct flags and told reporters, who had waited for him a long time after the game, that he had immediately addressed these issues in a very direct conversation in the locker room. “That’s not who we are and not who we are going to be … It was addressed today and it will be addressed Sunday, after we watch the tape in the team meeting.” “We have played a disciplined style of football,” he said. “I take pride in the 700,000 fans and alumni we represent.” At game’s end the Nittany Lions had rushed for 113 yards to the Spartans’ 83, posted 302 yards of total offense to 265 for Michigan State, returned two interceptions for 29 yards and scored seven points off turnovers to none for the home team. Three Spartan passers completed only 19 of 43 attempts for 182 yards with two interceptions. Sean Clifford completed 18 of 32 passes for 189 yards and tied a career-high with four TD tosses. Journey Brown led the Lion runners with 45 yards on 12 carries. Noah Cain, who, at the game’s outset, became the first true freshman starter this fall, limped off the field after gaining 21 yards on six carries in the first two series. Freiermuth led the receivers with five catches for 60 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, setting a single game record for tight ends. And he tied Mike Gesicki’s mark of 15 career touchdowns by a tight end. Hamler caught five passes for 57 yards and one TD. Nick Bowers nabbed two for 44 yards, including State’s longest of 38 yards. Sophomore linebacker Micah Parsons led the defense with 12 tackles, freshman Jayson Oweh posted two sacks with 14 yards in losses and forced two fumbles. Jaquan Brisker had a 29-yard interception return. Dan Chisena and Ellis Brooks got fumble recoveries, and Shaka Toney blocked an attempted field goal. Coach Franklin said his team “found a way to get a win on the road, despite the fact that it is difficult to win every week in the Big Ten.” He attributed the Lions’ success to the field position provided by Blake Gillikin’s punting, and to winning the turnover and explosive play battles. Saturday’s contest differed markedly from the Lions’ last two encounters with Michigan State, when the underdog Spartans captured victories with last-minute scores to win by three and four points. The last time Penn State played in East Lansing in 2017, the rain was not as incessantly heavy as Saturday, but in the first half, the game was delayed for three and one-half hours by lightening in the area. The stadium was cleared, and the momentum switched to the Spartans in the second half. However, Penn State finally got back the coveted trophy awarded to the winner of each game between the nation’s two oldest Land Grant universities. Penn State has housed it for 15 years to Michigan State’s nine. For the Glory, Notes from the Cuff Penn State is 8–0 for the fourth time since joining the Big Ten in 1993.