Click here to view the mobile version VOLUME 76 ISSUE 6 Penn State vs. Michigan October 14, 2013 The Letter It was a game that will forever be remembered as the Miracle in Follow us on Beaver Stadium. Twitter and Check out the new The longest game in Penn State Football Letter history wound up as a 43–40 Blog Homecoming upset win over rival Michigan in the fourth overtime of a contest that flowed back and PSU 7 14 3 10 9 -43 forth as fast as the South Jersey UM 10 0 17 7 6 -40 tide. And a deafening White Out crowd played a big role in the stunning Nittany Lion victory over the CONTENTS undefeated No. 16 Wolverines, after four hours and 11 minutes of suspenseful gridiron action. T he Letter N otes from the C uff The season’s first sellout crowd of 107,844 created an atmosphere that O ther Sports inspired the Lions to their most superlative play since last year’s season- N ews of N ote ending overtime triumph over Big Ten champion Wisconsin. Game P hotos After a roller-coaster contest that saw the home team capitalize on Statis tic s three Michigan turnovers to take a 21–10 halftime lead, then fall victim to the running and passing of lean, lanky and light-footed quarterback Devin Gardner, who drove Michigan to a 34–24 advantage in the fourth quarter, PAST ISSUES the Lions had to stage their own thrilling comeback in the final six and one-half minutes of the game. View past issues The feeling pervading the hoarse and emotionally drained crowd, after Bill Belton ran two yards around the Wolverine defense for the game-winning touchdown, was akin to that at the end of Penn State’s last-minute 27– 24 upset of No. 2 Nebraska in 1982 and the 17–10 night-time conquest of No. 6 Ohio State in a 2005 White Out. A fringe benefit to the Penn State program is that 100 recruits along the southeast sidelines were exposed to the incomparable Beaver Stadium atmosphere in a prime-time White Out. With “We Are … Penn State” cheers reverberating across the gridiron, a happy Coach Bill O’Brien talked to ESPN sideline reporter Maria Taylor amidst a gathering crowd of fans, then rushed to the student section in FAN ZONE the south end zone, where players were excitedly exchanging high-fives Football Sc hedule with ecstatic fans hanging over the railings. T eam Ros ter After a vociferous rendition of the Alma Mater, players sprinted to the GoP SU Sports .c om Radio/T V Lis tings tunnel, from whence the loud clanging of the Victory Bell echoed Big T en Football T V throughout Happy Valley. Sc hedule The result highlighted a nearly Big T en Standings perfect Homecoming Week, during Big T en Sc hedule and Res ults which the men’s hockey team P enn Staters in the dedicated the magnificent new P ros Pegula Ice Arena with a 4–1 inaugural triumph over Army at the same time the men’s soccer team was posting a 3–1 win over Michigan Friday night, while thousands of returning alums lined the streets of campus and town to enjoy the country’s biggest Homecoming Parade. Earlier Friday, the women’s field hockey team knocked off Ohio State, 6–1, and on Sunday the Lady Lions shut out Bucknell, 2–0. Saturday night the nation’s No. 4 women’s volleyball team swept Wisconsin, after having outlasted No. 11 Minnesota, 3–2, on Wednesday. The week was dimmed slightly, and Michigan gained a bit of revenge, when its women’s soccer team upset the 15-time Big Ten champion Penn State squad, 1–0, on Sunday. But the Lions’ feisty Irish football coach was ebullient in his post-game press conference. “Both teams hung in there, both teams fought hard and thankfully Penn State came out on the winning end,” O’Brien noted. “It just says a lot about our kids, a very resilient bunch of kids that care about each other and really love playing for Penn State.” The sanction-ridden 2013 Nittany Lions were out-manned but not outplayed, and their never-say-die attitude kept them in the ballgame, despite facing a 10-point deficit with less than seven minutes remaining in the contest. A faint few fair-weather fans started toward the exits when a Penn State drive faltered at the UM-26. But stalwart Sam Ficken booted a 43-yard field goal through the uprights to cut the home team’s deficit to seven with 6:28 left. Michigan tried to protect its margin by mounting a time-consuming rushing attack and forcing Penn State to call all three of its timeouts. The Wolverines drained five minutes and 38 seconds off the clock by running 10 times for 31 yards then punting. With only 50 seconds remaining, true freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg did what has been drilled into him at every Penn State practice he has attended in his short career. He executed the end-of- the-game drive. First, he threw a 14-yard pass to stellar wide receiver Allen Robinson, who made a sure-handed catch while keeping a toe inbounds along the east sidelines. Next, Hack aimed an aerial at a double- covered Brandon Felder that the veteran wideout took away from both defenders for a 29-yard gain. Finally, he decided to launch a long shot at the man with a 38-inch vertical leap. Robinson, the 2012 Big Ten Receiver of the Year, out-jumped his defender 36 yards downfield to make a circus catch and maintain his place as the Big Ten leader in receptions and yardage for 2013, as he fell to earth on the half-yard line. Hackenberg dove over his right guard John Urschel to cross the plane of the goal-line and score the first rushing touchdown of the year against the country’s ninth-best defense. The Lions had completed a scintillating 80-yard touchdown march in just 23 seconds. As the crowd erupted, and the faint few wondered from the parking lots what they were missing, Coach O’Brien toyed with the idea of going for a two-point conversion. But he eschewed the risk and sent out Steady Sam to tie the game with his extra-point kick. Ironically, the Lions nearly left too much time on the clock, as Michigan got a 34-yard kickoff return by Dennis Norfleet, and QB Devin Gardiner passed 25 yards to Jeremy Gallon then five yards to Justice Hayes, before Brandon Gibbons attempted a long 52-yard field goal that fell short with just two seconds left. Thus ensued the fourth overtime game in Beaver Stadium history. Michigan won the toss and chose to play defense first. Penn State chose to play at the south end of the stadium in front of the raucous student section. Unable to get a first down after starting from the UM-25, State’s Kickin’ Ficken attempted a 40-yard field goal that sailed barely wide right, and Penn State hearts sank. But the Lion defense rose up to smite the Wolverines on three rushes, and Kyle Baublitz made the play of his young career by reaching up and blocking Gibbons attempt at a 40-yard field goal. The field of play moved to the north end zone for the second overtime, and Michigan had to go first. The Wolverine offense got as far as the PS- 16, before the visitors had to settle for Gibbons 25-yard field goal. Ficken countered four plays later with a 36-yarder. Back to the south end, where PSU had the ball first, but Robinson could not control a bad exchange from Hackenberg on an attempted reverse, and Michigan recovered the fumble. It looked like the visitors were going to walk out of Beaver Stadium victorious, when Gibbons lined up for a 33-yard attempt four plays later. But his boot barely missed wide left. In the fourth overtime—one longer than Penn State needed to beat Florida State in the 2005 Orange Bowl, when all-time leading scorer Kevin Kelly kicked the game-winner in the third OT—State’s defense stymied the Wolverines, so Gibbons knocked a 40-yarder through the uprights. In their last turn before the north end zone crowd, the Lions turned to tailback Bill Belton. Three Belton runs netted nine yards. At that point Coach O’Brien decided “someone needed to win this game.” Instead of counting on Ficken’s foot to force a fifth frame, O’Brien gambled and called a fourth straight running play by Belton through the right side. The offensive line did its job, fullback Pat Zerbe nailed his lead block and Belton slipped through for three yards and a first down. After another Belton rush gained two, Hackenberg fired a pass at Robinson in the end zone. A Michigan defender was called for pass interference and State got the ball at the two-yard line. O’Brien immediately called another Belton run to the left side, and the scatback bounced it to the outside, outflanking the Michigan defense for the touchdown and the crowd went W-I-L-D. The team that suffered a disappointing loss at Indiana and slipped to a 3–2 record last week regained its pride, before getting a week off and then traveling to Columbus for a shot at conference-leading undefeated No. 3 Ohio State. “Winning, like salt water, cures a lot of ills,” O’Brien concluded.