Penn State football stacked their third consecutive victory Saturday, defeating Michigan State 39-24 and keeping the Land Grant trophy home in State College.
Penn State football overcame a 21-10 halftime deficit Saturday afternoon, roaring back to defeat the Spartans 39-24 and keeping the Land Grant trophy at home in Happy Valley.
Things looked dicey after two quarters in which the Penn State defense was chopped up by Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne for two long touchdown passes. The Nittany Lions did well with halftime adjustments on both sides of the ball, locking the Spartans up in the second half, holding them to three points. A key red zone stand late in the third quarter by the defense holding the Spartans to a field goal kept the lead at one score, allowing the offense to stay in the game.
Quarterback Sean Clifford and the Nittany Lions’ offense picked up the defense, responding with a 49 yard touchdown pass to freshman Parker Washington to take the lead and never look back. Special teams got in on the fun as well, when junior Jahan Dotson took a punt back for an 81 yard punt return touchdown, putting the Nittany Lions in the lead for good.
Here are three player grades from Saturday’s win and a game MVP:
WR Parker Washington
Grade: A-
The freshman from Sugar Land, Texas has been all the coaching staff could have hoped for and then some, after naming him a starting wide receiver week one coming out of camp.
Washington was on the receiving end of both of Clifford’s touchdown passes Saturday, finishing the game with four receptions for 95 yards and two scores.
His first one came on a crucial drive to begin the second half, down 11 the Nittany Lions needed a score and Washington responded. The freshman went up and got an eight yard pass from Clifford in the back of the end zone on second and goal to cut the lead to a field goal.
Down six early in the fourth quarter, Penn State Football got the ball back needing a score to take control and Washington caught a 49 yard touchdown pass on a nice play design by offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca. Clifford pump faked a screen pass and Washington released up the field, caught the ball in space and then made two defenders miss, zig zagging his way into the end zone.
The Clifford to Washington connection gets better every week.
Shane Simmons
Grade: A+
It is hard to not feel good for defensive end Shane Simmons after his performance on Senior Day, in what is likely his final game at Beaver Stadium.
Simmons’ career has not panned out the way most thought, after coming to Happy Valley as a highly touted 4-star recruit out of powerhouse Dematha Catholic High School in Maryland. He has constantly battled for playing time, watching young guys come in and take starter reps ahead of him, but he has stuck with it and resulted in a fairy tale performance yesterday.
Simmons racked up seven total tackles, one and a half sacks, and two tackles for loss in the win. The senior was seemingly in the Spartans backfield all afternoon, carrying the defense to one of their best performances of the season in the second half, holding Michigan State to only three points and four punts and a turnover on downs.
Lamont Wade
Grade: D
Senior safety Lamont Wade was great during his junior campaign in 2019 and looked as if he was finally acclimating to the change from corner to safety.
In 2020, it seems Wade has regressed and all the warts in his game were on display Saturday in the first half.
Penn State Football fell down early into a 21-10 half time deficit due largely in part to a leaky secondary, and Wade was the main culprit.
Michigan State quarterback redshirt freshman Payton Thorne made his first collegiate start Saturday against Penn State and looked way to comfortable in the pocket, dicing up the secondary to the tune of three first half passing touchdowns.
Thorne found wide receiver Tre’Von Morgan for a 26 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to put the Spartans up 14-10. Morgan ran a post route and the cornerback had outside leverage and it looked as if Wade never saw it develop, caught standing idle and flat footed in coverage a the ball went over his head for a touchdown.
Wade has struggled all season and has been a big part of why the Penn State defense has struggled at times this season.
Game MVP
Quarterback Sean Clifford
This game MVP goes to the redshirt junior quarterback, because like the rest of the team, he showed resolve and bounced back in the second half to lead Penn State Football to their third consecutive victory.
Clifford finished the game completing 17 of 27 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing 48 yards and a score, scampering for a 31 yard touchdown run in the second quarter on a designed quarterback draw.
Facing an 11 point deficit at halftime with a running game that was struggling, Clifford put the Nittany Lions on his back, leading them right down the field for touchdowns on three of their first four drives in the second half en route to the come form behind victory.
In the first half the offense struggled like it did many times early in the season, and it looked like Penn State football would fall to the same fate they did five times previous this season. Clifford would not have on this day, and his two second half passing touchdowns to Parker Washington led the team to victory on Senior Day.