Highs & Lows: Michigan
After more than a month of agony, Penn State is on the board.
After suffering an 0-5 start to the season, the Nittany Lions earned their first win by topping Michigan on Saturday afternoon at the Big House, 27-17.
BWI editor Nate Bauer recaps the highs and lows from the game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME Sean Clifford has had something of a miserable experience through the course of the 2020 season, committing turnovers, losing his starting job for a game, and generally struggling through the Nittany Lions' 0-5 start. His stat line was unremarkable Saturday, but his performance was nothing short of gritty en route to the 27-17 win, completing 17 of 28 passes for 163 yards, picking up 73 yards and a score on nine carries, and maybe most important, finishing without a turnover.
PLAY OF THE GAME After taking a low shot on a deep pass in the first half, that the quarterback came back and strung together a couple of big plays on the ensuing possession, connecting with Parker Washington for a big gainer then weaving his way through Michigan’s porous defense for a 28-yard touchdown, was a shift back toward the positive.
BEST PASS It wasn’t the most thrilling, but Clifford’s patience to wait for Jahan Dotson with a double-pump helped produce a critical third-down conversion early in the fourth quarter. Leading 20-17, maintaining possession was critical in the wake of Michigan’s touchdown the previous series. He’d make another key third-down completion in the red zone to Dotson later in the possession, ultimately leading to a crucial cushion touchdown.
BEST RUN Michigan’s Hassan Haskins finished with the game’s longest run, a 60-yarder in the first half, but Clifford had the game’s most critical carries for either team. His third-and-six third-quarter run for 29 yards moved the Nittany Lions deep into Michigan’s side of the field to set up a Jake Pinegar field goal and a 20-10 Nittany Lion lead.
BEST CATCH A.J. Henning managed to get over the back of Daequan Hardy on a jump ball deep down the field for the Wolverines late in the third quarter. The 28-yard completion moved Michigan into Penn State territory.
BEST SACK With Michigan threatening to come back, Hardy chased down Cade McNamara to generate a strip-sack. Though Shaka Toney kept the ball in-bounds by batting it back onto the playing field, a penalty negated the would-be turnover.
BEST HIT This might not be the category, but Penn State’s fourth-and-1 stop of Joe Milton with minutes draining in the fourth quarter has to get a mention here. Ahead 27-17 with Michigan threatening a comeback, Toney redirected the Wolverines’ quarterback on the sneak to keep him short of the first down.
BEST EFFORT Parker Washington took a shot upon catching the first-down pass at midfield, then picked up another 10 yards afterward, as part of his big first-half performance. On the day, the Nittany Lions broke more tackles and hits than in previous performances this season.
WORST KICK For Jordan Stout on Saturday, there were unfortunately a few options for this category. The ones that will likely stick for most are his two kickoffs sent out of bounds in the third quarter to give the Wolverines easy field position at the 35-yard line.
BEST DECISION On what might have been a backbreaking turn for Penn State in the first quarter, the officiating decision to overturn Parker Washington’s fumble and Michigan’s scoop-and-score was the correct one. Instead of a 7-7 game, the Nittany Lions instead were granted reprieve with possession at midfield.
WORST DECISION Somehow, Clifford was initially assigned blame for a holding penalty on a Nittany Lion punt in the third quarter. The penalty was eventually correctly assigned to Michigan, moving the Wolverines back to their 18 yard line.
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