Penn State football: Micah Parsons and company top Pitt for final matchup

Penn State football came away with the defensive battle over Pitt for the rivalry’s 100th matchup.

A weather delay caused Beaver Stadium to start the Saturday afternoon matchup off with a slightly less than ideal vibe for the Penn State football program. It didn’t take long before the crowd packed in with their intense energy for the home team, though.

However, Pittsburgh football wasn’t much fazed by the crowd. In fact, they came to play on Saturday for the rivalry’s 100th battle. It’s a shame that both programs couldn’t come to an agreement to continue this matchup for years to come anytime soon — but we didn’t leave this one disappointed as it came down to the wire.

At times, it felt like Penn State was up against both, Pittsburgh and the referees, but they would never quit. Although they didn’t take care of the Panthers with ease like many thought, they faced adversity multiple times throughout the game and won a grueling defensive battle.

Seeing a final score of 17-10 tells you this was no offensive shootout. Rather, the defenses got to work for a fierce matchup. Pittsburgh did a solid job of containing Penn State’s offensive weapons, and the Nittany Lions’ defense returned the favor on the other side of the ball as well.

Micah Parsons leads the way

They were led by second-year linebacker Micah Parsons, who notched the second-most tackles in the matchup with nine total. Two were for a loss. The star linebacker hasn’t been much of a showstopper for the first two games of the season, but he re-introduced his grit and toughness in week three against the Panthers.

And Parsons’ fellow linebacker Cam Brown followed suit. As a collective, Parsons and Brown totaled for 16 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and a sack and a half. Even though the Panthers led the game in yards with 396 and time of possession by remaining on the field for nearly 35 minutes, the Nittany Lions defense managed to hold them to ten points.

Once again, the Nittany Lions weren’t flawless. There’s still tons of room for improvement. A win is a win though, and they will take it however they can get it. Now, they will have another tough matchup as they play within the conference next week with a primetime game against Maryland.

Considering Maryland took an upsetting loss to Temple on the road on Saturday, the Terps will be coming out and looking to take their frustrations out on the Lions. Hopefully, Penn State’s ready for the challenge as they look to remain unbeaten playing on the road for the first time this season.