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Penn State Football: Players of the game against Michigan

By Barry Leonard Jr.

ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 03: Penn State Nittany Lions head football Coach James Franklin argues with the field judge after a penalty call in the second quarter of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 03: Penn State Nittany Lions head football Coach James Franklin argues with the field judge after a penalty call in the second quarter of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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It was a rough showing for Penn State football, but who stood out above the rest?

Penn State football headed to Ann Arbor on Saturday and absolutely laid an egg against the Wolverines. There’s no way to sugarcoat the performance. Lucky to be down just 14 points at halftime, the Nittany Lions imploded in the second half and limped away after a 42-7 defeat.

The offense was anemic throughout, failing to convert on third downs and failing to get anything going. Granted, Michigan has the best defense in the nation, but the Nittany Lions looked unprepared to face such a tough challenge.

Penn State’s defense played well throughout, except for a few blown coverages, but were dog tired in the second half after being on the field for much of the game.

Head coach James Franklin and his coaching staff really need to regroup after this loss and try to salvage the final three games of the season.

It won’t be fun to look back and analyze the game to look for the best players, but there were some individual performances that stood out among the overall poor team performance.

Offense – Tommy Stevens, Quarterback 

It’s difficult to call anyone from Penn State offense a player of the game against Michigan, but backup quarterback Tommy Stevens has to be the choice. Yes, he threw a terrible interception that turned into a pick-six, but he did show flashes of some life on offense.

Starting quarterback Trace McSorley was clearly hampered from an injury he suffered last week, so Stevens saw significant time against Michigan.

Stevens didn’t show much throwing the ball — as he completed just three-of-four passes for 35 yards with the interception — but he was Penn State’s best rusher on the night. The backup ran 10 times for 52 yards and scored the Nittany Lions’ only touchdown.

Honorable Mention: TE Pat Freiermuth, WR Jahan Dotson

Defense – Jan Johnson, Linebacker 

Penn State was torched on the ground by Michigan for 258 yards, but for the most part, the defense played well. Penn State’s offense constantly failed to put any drives together, meaning the defense was on the field for much of the game.

There were not any real standout individual performances, but linebacker Jan Johnson led the team with eight total tackles. He continued his strong season as one of the leaders on Penn State’s defense.

A former walk-on, Johnson earned a scholarship this year for his play as a starting linebacker. His 51 total tackles this year is tied for the team lead with true freshman Micah Parsons.

Honorable Mention: LB Micah Parsons, S Garrett Taylor

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