Penn State football wins their third straight as they topple the Spartans 39-24 on Senior Day at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State Football puts together their third straight victory as they dominate the Michigan State Spartans 39-24 on Senior Day in Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions fell down early after the secondary struggled to cover anyone in green and white, but a solid second half led Penn State football to their third straight victory. It seemed as if they fell asleep in the second quarter of this one as the Spartans outscored them 21-0 and took a 21-10 halftime lead.
On the back of quarterback Sean Clifford and a stout defense, the Penn State football team dominated the second half, with a Michigan State field goal being the only points the Spartans scored after half time.
Special teams played a role as well for the Nittany Lions as a house call for Jahan Dotson on an 81-yard punt return put Penn State football up 15 and they never looked back.
Momentum is building for James Franklin’s squad after a third straight victory.
Here are three key takeaways from todays victory:
Secondary a tale of two halves
Penn State football trailed 21-10 at halftime largely in part thanks to a defensive secondary that allowed touchdowns of 45 and 32 yard sin the first half, but locked up the Spartans passing game in the second half.
Michigan State quarterback Patrick Thorne passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns in the game, however most of the that damage did come in the first half of this one.
Thorne looks to provide Michigan State with something that incumbent starter Rocky Lombardi could not, a downfield passing threat that keeps the defense honest.
Jailen Nailor, MSU wide receiver caught a 45 yard touchdown pass in the first half but was kept under wraps in the second half, as the Nittany Lions suffocated the Spartans offense. Safety play has been an issue all season long, and it continued today ad safety Lamont Wade was caught flat footed on the Spartans second touchdown of the same, seemingly standing idle in open space as a post routebeat cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Senior Tariq Castro-Fields missed his fifth straight game and allowed the young guns in this secondary to take on the burden, and Penn State has to be happy with the result.
Passing offense has a bit of life
Penn State football came out in the first half clearly trying to establish the running game with freshman Keyvone Lee and it did not work out.
The Nittany Lions were held to 119 yards on the ground on 40 carries, an average of three yards per attempt. In the second half we saw the passing attack come to life as quarterback Sean Clifford throw for 232 yards on 17 of 27 completions.
Much to the delight of Penn State football fans, once again freshman Parker Washington had himself a day, catching four passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Washington went up and got the first one, and for the second score caught the ball in space and made two Spartans miss as he zig zagged his way into the end zone.
Junior Jahan Dotson, in what is presumably his last game at Beaver Stadium, Dotson caught eight passes for 108 yards and once again was a security blanket for quarterbacks Clifford and Levis
The first half was as ugly as it gets, however the offense seemed to open up a bit in the second half and Penn State football moved the ball at will.
A testament to what Franklin has built
Penn State started this season 0-5 for the first time in program history and it would have been very easy for certain draft eligible juniors and seniors to opt out of the remainder of the season.
Despite the nightmare start, not a single Nittany Lion opted out.
That is a nod to what coach James Franklin has built in Happy Valley. This team believes in him, believes in each other, and a two score deficit at half time put that to the test today.
Penn State received the opening kick of the second half, down 11 points and with more questions then answers. They came out and went up and down the field offensively, while the defense held up their end of the bargain and got key stops.
Against a 2-4 Michigan State squad it would have to pack it in and accept yet another defeat. Instead, this team showed the resolves we have seen over the past two weeks, fighting back to not only win but dominate the Spartans and win by 15 points.
If their was ever a question if Franklin was the right guy for the job, it was answered today as this team fought back and never quit, winning their third straight and building momentum into week 9.