Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions performance vs. Michigan

Penn State defeated Michigan 28-21 at Beaver Stadium on Saturday night to move to 7-0 on the season.

Penn State football’s 21-0 lead within the first quarter and a half made it seem like the fourth Penn State-Michigan game in a row was headed towards a blowout.

However, Penn State’s lead was cut to just seven, after Michigan went on a 21-7 run putting all 110,669 fans in the White Out crowd on edge. The Wolverines were driving with only over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Penn State’s defense came up with the stop on fourth and goal after Michigan wide receiver Ronnie Bell dropped a pass in the end zone.

The Nittany Lions’ win moved them up to No. 6 in the latest AP Poll jumping Wisconsin after the Badgers lost to Illinois 24-23 on Saturday.

Any win in conference play is a good win, but Penn State’s defense looked as vulnerable as it has been all season in this game. The Nittany Lions gave up a season-high of 21 points to an offense that has struggled at times this season, and they also gave up 417 total yards. For context, Penn State’s offense only had 283 yards.

Penn State will once again face another tough task next week when they head to East Lansing to take on Michigan State. The Spartans are only 4-3, but have a great defense and have caused significant problems for the Nittany Lions the past two seasons.

Before we jump into Michigan State content this week, let’s get to positional grades for the Michigan game.