Penn State had its chances, but ultimately it was those that were wasted that cost the Nittany Lions against the Wolverines.
For the second time in three weeks, Penn State had the chance to knock off one of the Big Ten's preeminent programs. And for the second time in three weeks, the Nittany Lions left too many plays on the field, this time resulting in a 21-17 home loss to Michigan in front of what was, by the time the game ended, a raucous home crowd.
"I want to give Michigan a bunch of credit," James Franklin said after the game. "Obviously a really good football team and they battled."
The issue, however, is that Franklin's team was good enough to come out with a victory and once again in 2021, it didn't.
The Nittany Lions received the opening kickoff and marched 51 yards down the field in 5:04 for an opening field goal, aided by a fake punt pass from Jordan Stout to linebacker Curtis Jacobs.
After stopping the Wolverines on three plays on their opening possession, Penn State marched right back down the field offensively and inside the Michigan 5-yard line. But on fourth on goal, Franklin opted for a fake field goal that failed miserably, as Stout mishandled a pass and was ultimately tackled all the way back at the Michigan 29-yard line.
The decision, one which Franklin would go on to defend in his postgame press conference, saying that it was a matter of execution rather than decision, was widely panned by both local and national media.
Penn State was able to stop Michigan on the following drive, but after another drive by the Nittany Lions that ended without points, the Wolverines marched 90 yards in 15 plays to take a 7-3 lead late in the third quarter.
The Nittany Lions were able to rebound and kick a field goal in the final minute of the half to make it 7-6 at the break.
Michigan continued to keep its foot to the floor in the third quarter. The Wolverines received the second-half kick and wasted know time, moving down the field 75 yards in just 3:10 to take a 14-6 lead.
That lead held until the fourth quarter when Penn State's special teams and defense put them in a position to tie the game. First it was Stout who pinned Michigan at its own goal line. Then it was the defense which forced a three-and-out, forcing a Wolverines' punt that gave Penn State the ball back near midfield.
Sean Clifford and Keyvone Lee, who ran for 88 yards on 20 carries, then help Penn State march toward a tying touchdown, aided by a pair of fourth-down conversions. Then, on fourth-and-goal from the Michigan 2, Clifford rolled out and found tight end Tyler Warren, who made a contested catch to cut the lead to 14-12 with a two-point conversion yet to come. On the conversion, Clifford found Jahan Dotson on a back-shoulder throw and the game was tied with 7:35 left to play.
That momentum seemed to snowball on Michigan's ensuing possession, as Arnold Ebiketie got to Wolverines' quarterback Cade McNamara and forced a fumble that was recovered by Derrick Tangelo at the Michigan 16-yard line.
But Penn State's offense sputtered and Stout was forced into a 31-yard field goal attempt, one which we hit to give Penn State back the lead at 17-14 with 5:55 left to play.
All seemed to be going the way of the Nittany Lions, but it didn't last long. Michigan took the ball and immediately moved across midfield thanks to some strong running by Hassan Haskins, who carried the ball 31 times for 156 yards in the contest. Once there, McNamara hit a wide open Erick All, who used a mesh concept to separate from cornerback Kalen King and took the ball 47 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with 3:29 left to play.
Penn State had one final chance on offense, but on fourth down and 2 from the PSU 33, Sean Clifford's pass attempt when sailing well over the head of Cam Sullivan-Brown and the ball went back to the Wolverines, who picked up one first down to salt the game away.
On the final offensive play the Nittany Lions, Jahan Dotson was off the field after being shaken up on third down. Franklin said afterward that Dotson would not have been able to return even if he'd taken a timeout before the play.
The loss drops Penn State to 6-4 on the year and just 10-9 over the last two seasons. Franklin and co. have one of the nation's top recruiting classes in tact for 2022, but he acknowledged in postgame that the recent record is not up to snuff, though he's solely concerned with the Nittany Lions' game next week against Rutgers.
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