No. 10/10 Penn State Falls to No. 4/5 Michigan, 41-17

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 10/10 Penn State football team (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) dropped its first contest of the 2022 campaign by a score of 41-17 to No. 4/5 Michigan (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) in Michigan Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions’ defense came to play in the first half, holding the Michigan offense to field goals on three of its four trips inside the red zone before the break. It also recorded one of two Penn State touchdowns on the day, when Curtis Jacobs picked off a tipped pass and took it all the way to the end zone for a score. However, the Wolverine rushing attack gained significant momentum in the second half, with two 60-plus-yard touchdown runs by Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum, respectively, inflating the Michigan lead. The Wolverines ended the day with 418 yards on the ground

Penn State did its best to keep pace with the Wolverines, however only one offensive touchdown and one field goal on 268 yards of offense proved not enough.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Nittany Lions were led by Ji’Ayir Brown’s nine total tackles, all of which came in the first half. His performance was highlighted by an impressive one-arm tackle-for-loss inside the five-yard line to keep Michigan out of the end zone in the first half. Coziah Izzard pitched in with Penn State’s only sack of the day, as the Wolverine rushing attack diverted attention away from the quarterback.

Offensively, a few big plays resulted in scoring drives for the Nittany Lions, including a 62-yard run and a 48-yard reception for Harrison Wallace III, but Penn State struggled to push the ball downfield for the majority of the game.

The Nittany Lions won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. On the first possession of the game, Michigan took the ball deep into Penn State territory before the Nittany Lion defense stymied the drive and forced the Wolverines to a 29-yard field goal.

After a Penn State three-and-out and a 50-yard punt from Barney Amor, the Wolverines took over at their own 17 and strung together a 13-play, 77-yard drive that the Nittany Lions stopped in the red zone once again to force another field goal that put Michigan up 6-0 with 1:25 left in the first quarter.

In the Wolverines’ first drive of the second quarter, Blake Corum punched in a one-yard touchdown to put his team up 13-0. They used up 6:20 of clock on the 70-yard touchdown drive. It was the third consecutive possession that resulted in a score for Michigan.

The Nittany Lions broke through with 6:11 left in the second quarter as Kaytron Allen burst through the line for a touchdown run on a fourth-and-goal play from inside the one-yard line. The drive was highlighted by a 62-yard scamper by Sean Clifford that gave Penn State a first down inside the five-yard line.

With 4:27 left in the second quarter and the Wolverines driving down the field, Chop Robinson tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage that was picked off by Curtis Jacobs and returned 47 yards to the house for a Penn State score. The pick-six was Jacobs’ first as a Nittany Lion, and gave Penn State a 14-13 advantage, its first of the game.

Penn State’s red zone defense kept the Wolverines out of the end zone for the third time in the game, as a 23-yard field goal was all Michigan could muster with 2 seconds remaining in the quarter. The Nittany Lions entered the halftime break down 16-14.

Sean Clifford came out firing in the second half and led a nine-play scoring drive that was highlighted by a 16-yard dot to Mitchell Tinsley to convert on third down, and then a huge 48-yard pass to Harrison Wallace III. Penn State couldn’t punch it in, but Jake Pinegar converted a 27-yard field goal with 13:15 left in the third quarter to give the Nittany Lions a 17-16 lead.

The Wolverines answered right back, as Donovan Edwards exploded for a 67-yard rushing touchdown on just the fourth play of the drive. Michigan converted its two-point conversion attempt as well, resulting in a 24-17 lead.

After a Sean Clifford pass fell incomplete on fourth down, Blake Corum sped through the middle for a 61-yard score to extend the Wolverines’ lead to 31-17 with 7:20 remaining in the third quarter.

Michigan tacked on three more points on a 37-yard field goal with 11:00 to go in the fourth, extending its lead over the Nittany Lions to 34-17.

The Wolverines added another touchdown with 5:03 to play on Donovan Edwards’ second touchdown run of the day to go ahead 41-17.