1. Wolverines' defensive line mauls Penn State's offensive line

This was a matchup we discussed quite a bit this week and it turned out, it wasn't even that close of a battle. From the first snap of the game, Michigan's defensive line was miles better than Penn State's offensive line. The Wolverines' defensive line in the game, headlined by Aiden Hutchinson and David Ojabo, racked up seven sacks in the game, including three by the future top-10 pick in Hutchinson. Penn State's ground game once again was poor, though it was better than has been in recent weeks. The Nittany Lions in the game totaled 109 rushing yards on 42 carries.

2. Keyvone Lee must be the go-to running back

Talking about running the ball, Keyvone Lee once again on Saturday showed why he should be the go-to running back for Penn State for the remainder of the season. The Florida native nearly had Penn State's first 100-yard game of the season, rushing for 88-yards on 20-carries. Lee for most of the season has been Penn State's best and most consistent ball carrier, his 4.9 yards per carry is by far the best of Penn State's running back rotation. While he does lack fine-tuning in aspects of his game, especially his vision, at the end of the day, you have to go with the ball carrier who can consistently pick up yards.

Now, perhaps today was the beginning of Lee being that guy as he received 20 of 24 rushing attempts by Penn State running backs in the game. John Lovett was the only other running back who received any carries, with four for 17-yards. Notably, junior running back Noah Cain did not receive any carries in the game.

3. The fake field goal attempt

Let's talk about it. The fake field goal attempt was certainly a baffling decision at the time and in the end, potentially cost them the victory. At the time, the Nittany Lions over their first two drives totaled 108-yards of total offense and had an opportunity to take an early 10-0 lead, if they had converted on 4th and goal. After that offensive series, Penn State's offense just was never able to execute at the same level. Their remaining drives in the first half went for 33, 2, 28, and 22 yards respectively. They wouldn't have another drive longer than 35-yards until midway through the fourth quarter when they went 15-plays for 53-yards to tie the game at 14-14. While it potentially cost them the win, I believe it was evident pretty quickly that it also knocked all the momentum out of Penn State's sails offensively.

4. Not enough playmakers on the offensive side of the ball

One major issue that has plagued Penn State for parts of the season has been the lack of playmakers offensively outside of star wide receiver Jahan Dotson. Dotson had one of his quieter games of the season, nine receptions for 61-yards. Parker Washington did have 92-yards in the game on four receptions but 44-yards of those came on one play. There is simply just no other consistent player on the offense for the Nittany Lions. Ultimately, when Penn State needed a big play on Saturday on offense, they rarely got it. The lack of playmakers was emphasized on Penn State's final drive offensively where three of their four plays were targeted to Cam Sullivan Brown and Malik Meiga who had a combined five receptions entering the game. With Jahan Dotson (likely) headed to the NFL in the spring, the Nittany Lions offense will really need to find out over their remaining games, who they can rely on in 2022 to make big plays.

5. A lack of execution

At the end of the day, if players are unable to execute to the level that is expected, it doesn't matter what type of game plan a coaching staff may draw up. I thought Penn State's gameplan on both sides of the ball was solid on Saturday, however, the execution was, for the most part, poor. The Nittany Lions were plagued by multiple missed tackles, four drops, poor passes, and more. Not to mention the missed field goal attempt by Jordan Stout in the third quarter or freshman corner Kalen King being run into by Daequan Hardy on Michigan's game-winning touchdown reception by Erick All. As a whole, they also struggled on third downs on both sides of the ball. The offense converted just 8-of-21 third-down attempts while the defense gave up first downs on 6-of-15 third-down attempts by Michigan. At the end of the day, Penn State didn't execute to the level that they needed to beat a top-10 Michigan team on Saturday. Perhaps the most concerning part of the lack of execution for Penn State is that as the season has gone on, their level of execution has regressed in all facets of their game.

Quick Hitters:

A few quick hitters here that I thought are worth noting;

Tyler Warren: For only being a tight end for a little over a year, Tyler Warren's catch in the fourth quarter was an impressive one. A great athlete, the former high school quarterback has shown quite a bit of promise of being a future weapon on the Penn State offense.

Brandon Smith: The formerly highly-touted linebacker had another tough performance on Saturday. I'm beginning to wonder if he is perhaps more suited to be a defensive end than a linebacker.

Caedan Wallace/Rasheed Walker: Penn State's coaching staff has always been high on Wallace and Walker but it's safe to say that both have had rough seasons. The two tackles were regularly dominated by Michigan's defensive line in this game. It's evident in my respective opinion that Wallace is better suited to be a guard rather than a tackle.