Penn State Football falls to Michigan 21-17, what went wrong for Nittany Lions?

Penn State Football found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard for the 4th time in five weeks, as they fell to the Michigan Wolverines by a final score of 21-17.

After controlling the football for most of the first quarter, and having a 3-0 lead thanks to a successful fake punt, the tide began to turn in the second quarter, as Penn State Football dropped its fourth loss of the season.

On their first possession of the second quarter, the Wolverines had a long march down the field to score the game’s first touchdown. The Nittany Lions were able to muster another 3 points before halftime, making it just a 1 point Wolverine lead at the break.

To the surprise of probably all Penn State Football fans, the Nittany Lions had more success running the football than they did through the air, for a large portion of the game.

A big reason for that was the offensive line’s inability to slow down Michigan’s potent pass rush. Some crucial drops also did not do the passing game any favors.

The coaching staff finally leaned on Keyvone Lee, who was the Nittany Lions’ leading rusher coming into the game. Lee accumulated the most rushing yards by a Penn State Football running back in a single game all season, rushing for 88 yards on 20 carries.

After struggling to find the end zone through the first three quarters, Sean Clifford was able to connect with Tyler Warren for six points, followed by a successful 2-point conversion attempt on a good back-shoulder throw to Jahan Dotson that tied the game with seven and a half minutes to play.

On the following Michigan possession, Arnold Ebiketie got home for his second sack of the afternoon, this time forcing a fumble that the Nittany Lions were able to recover, setting their offense up in plus territory to take the lead.

The offense had to settle for just 3 points, but they did have the lead for the first time since early in the 2nd quarter.

Minutes later, Michigan tight end Erick All got open on a mesh route, and was able to take it 47 yards for a touchdown to give the Wolverines the lead.

Back on offense, with a 3rd down and about 3 yards to go, the Nittany Lions went to the air on back-to-back plays, rather than leaning on Keyvone Lee, who had been having a great afternoon, to pick up 3 yards on 2 carries.

The Penn State Football defense was unsuccessful in getting a third down stop to force a field goal and giving the offense one final chance to tie the game.

The Nittany Lions’ defense did not have their best game of the season, as they missed on a lot of tackles and allowed Hassan Haskins to pick up a lot of yards after contact.

Where things fell apart for Penn State Football in loss to Michigan

Offensively, Penn State Football had easily their best rushing game of the season, and it came against one of the better run defenses in the country. Part of that might be due to a personnel switch made early in the game, where center Mike Miranda was pulled from the game, moving Juice Scruggs over from his guard spot, and inserting Bryce Effner into the lineup.

However, tackle Rasheed Walker and Caedan Wallace were more than overwhelmed in pass protection, and the passing game struggle as a result.

There were some more questionable play calls this afternoon, including the fake field goal and throwing up a fade on 4th down and 3 on the final offensive play of the afternoon.

The Nittany Lions are once again back below a .500 record within the Big Ten, and they will stay home next week to take on a 5-5 Rutgers team, eager to pick up one more win and secure bowl eligibility for the first time in nearly a decade.

Many things need to be cleaned up for Penn State Football going forward, including pass protection and tackling, but it would certainly be helpful if the running game can continue to look like it did against Michigan.