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Penn State Football: Week 7 Studs and Duds against Michigan State

By Corey Hunter

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 13: Miles Sanders #24 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes for 78 yards against Khari Willis #27 of the Michigan State Spartans and David Dowell #6 of the Michigan State Spartans on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 13: Miles Sanders #24 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes for 78 yards against Khari Willis #27 of the Michigan State Spartans and David Dowell #6 of the Michigan State Spartans on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 13: Felton Davis III #18 of the Michigan State Spartans catches a 25 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against Amani Oruwariye #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 13: Felton Davis III #18 of the Michigan State Spartans catches a 25 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against Amani Oruwariye #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

CB – Amani Oruwariye

Redshirt senior Amani Oruwariye had, what I would call, a game to forget this past Saturday.  The normally sure-handed cornerback not only dropped an interception that would have sealed the win for Penn State, but also got caught out of position in man-to-man coverage against Michigan State’s top receiver Felton Davis III.  Felton’s reception with 25 seconds remaining allowed Michigan State to pull ahead and defeat the Nittany Lions 21-17.

To  be fair, there were quite a number of reasons that Penn State lost this past weekend and placing the blame squarely on Oruwariye is not totally fair.  However, when an interception hits you square in the stomach and you drop it, and you allow the opponent’s best receiver to corkscrew you into the ground, catch the pass and score the game-winning touchdown, you deserve at least some of the blame.

Hence, his inclusion on the Duds list this week.

For his part, the Tampa, FL native did record four solo tackles against Michigan State.  He ranks 6th on the Nittany Lions with 24 total tackles, and he is tied with Garrett Taylor for the team lead in interceptions (2).  That is the surprising part of it of his missed pick opportunity last Saturday.  Oruwariye is normally very strong when it comes to intercepting passes.

Over his career at Penn State he has seven interceptions.  Franklin, when given the chance to show his appreciation for all of the hard work Oruwariye has put in, didn’t hesitate (Video courtesy of bwi.rivals.com).

I fully expect Oruwariye to have a bounce-back game this weekend at Indiana because that is the type of player that he is.  He’s been an unquestioned leader of the Penn State secondary.  I wouldn’t put it past him to pick one off Saturday, but it comes a little too late to defeat the Spartans.!

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