Penn State Football Season Rewind: Nittany Lions Struggle, Get Dominated at Michigan
The latest Penn State season rewind begrudgingly revisits the ugliness that took place in Ann Arbor.
After struggling through part of the first three games of the season, Penn State had to head on the road to face the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines. Penn State fans knew that the matchup with the Wolverines would be a tough ones. However, nobody was expecting the domination that happened on the field.
Penn State entered the contest as one of the worst defenses against the rush in the nation. That stat continued against Michigan. The Wolverines racked up 326 yards on the ground and six rushing touchdowns.
Michigan ran its way to a 49-10 thumping of the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines went into halftime up 28 points and never looked back.
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The banged up Penn State defense had to rely on several inexperienced and young players throughout the game. The Nittany Lions were clearly not playing with a full team. Things got even worse when reserve linebacker Brandon Smith was ejected for a very questionable targeting call in the second quarter.
Still, the effort was concerning. There were struggles on both sides of the ball. Aside from the defense not being able to stop the ground game, the Nittany Lions could get nothing going on offense. Even special teams was a struggle.
A Tyler Davis field goal and an eight-yard touchdown catch by Chris Godwin were the only points the Nittany Lions could muster.
Star running back Saquon Barkley found tough sledding on the ground against the stellar Michigan defense. He ran the ball 15 times for just 59 yards. He did, however, lead the team with five receptions for 77 yards.
Quarterback Trace McSorley threw for 121 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
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The loss to Micghian was a big one, but head coach James Franklin and his team used it to help turn the season into a positive direction. Penn State would go on to string together a nine-game win streak, including a victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game.