Senior P.J. Mustipher raced off the field as soon as Senior Day ended to claim the Lambert Trophy. And carry back what is arguably the ugliest rivalry trophy in all of college football to his PSU teammates. Handing it off to 6th-year senior Sean Clifford, who had arguably one of the greatest Beaver Stadium finales in recent memory: 19-of-24 for 204 yards with four touchdowns. Finished his regular season career with thirteen straight completions. A streak he didn't want to want to end at the very end as he cleverly picked up the final first down with his feet.
Michigan State (5-7) has been through a lot this season. Mel Tucker, off his freshly-inked $95M. contract, faced a year of turmoil. Number of his players were suspended for an ugly brawl in which they pummeled an outnumbered Michigan player in the infamous Ann Arbor tunnel. The freefall from the feel-good eleven wins of a season ago to missing out a bowl hurt the Spartan faithful.
Meanwhile, Penn State (10-2) won its fourth straight. The first ten-win campaign since 2019. The Nittany Lions must wait to see which bowl they play in. The Rose certainly exists. Unless Ohio State falls out of the playoff picture after their home bedshitting vs. Michigan, 45-23. The Buckeyes really do not belong in the final four. They were mauled by Harbaugh & Co. for the second straight year. And their most impressive win is over a four-loss Notre Dame team. The Orange is another possibility. As is the Citrus. Have to wait and see how the CFP rankings sort themselves out Tuesday. Penn State will definitely elevate into the top ten after both Clemson and Oregon got dumped today.
Michigan State came out tonight and promptly turned the ball over on a backwards pass. But Jake Pinegar missed the first of two chip-shot field goals. But on their next possession, Clifford found a wide open Theo Johnson from eleven yards out. A spectacular wide-receiver pass from KeAndre Lambert-Smith to Theo Johnson again from 48 yards out had PSU up 14-0. Michigan State nailed a last-second 51-yard field goal to close out the first half scoring.
When Clifford hit Tyler Warren on a spectacular 14-yard catch to make it 21-3, you thought the Lions were well on their way to their seventh 28-pt + beatdown of the season. But Sparty played an inspired 3rd quarter (three sacks and a slew of stuffs for losses). Getting their own circus catch from Izzo hoopster Maliq Carr from nine yards out to close the gap to eight, 21-10. Followed up by MSU quarterback Payton Thorne untouched two-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to five (after a failed two-pt attempt). Penn State faithful could sense the change of momentum and could feel this one slipping away.
Two fourth down conversions by Clifford were critical. One on a 4th-and-1 to Lambert-Smith on a scramble. The other on a clever sideline pass to freshman Nick Singleton, who dashed 12 yards untouched to make it 28-16. A dazzling one-handed touchdown grab by Lambert-Smith from 45 yards completed his impressive night. And completed the scoring on the 35-16 win.
ODDS AND ENDS....
The freshman backfield duo of Singleton (17 rushes for 78 yards) and Allen (21 carries for 82 yards) were workhorses. Each caught three balls as well......The three-headed tight end monster for PSU were key. The Canadian Johnson scored twice on his three catches. Warren tallied on one of his two catches. Brandon Strange contributed two catches for 17 yards on a quiet night in which his primary role was blocking.......Chop Robinson forced a key fumble on a late punt return recovered by Tyler Elsdon and Kalen King picked off Thorne late. Freshman Abdul Carter was a force in Manny Diaz' assorted blitz packages. Two sacks. Countless pressures and hits on the Spartan quarterback. He definitely resembles a young Micah Parson in that #11. His future is boundless........DE Nick Tarburton had just one tackle but deflected at least three Sparty passes. One that Carter nearly picked off for what would have been a walk-in interception in the 3rd.......Joey Porter Jr. came out in full uniform with the fellow seniors. He played sparingly. Should be fully-recovered in time for the bowl, but will he play? Where do you see PSU bowling? Do you plan on attending?
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