11/26/2022 football Edit

Takeaways from Penn State football's Senior Day victory over Michigan State

Sam Woloson • Happy Valley Insider

Staff Writer

Penn State capped off the regular season with its 10th victory of the year against Michigan State, the fourth 10-win campaign in the James Franklin era.

Here are the top takeaways from the Nittany Lions' 35-16 win over the Spartans.

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On-and-off rushing attack:

The ground game picked up where it left off, racking up 82 yards on 12 rushes early on. The freshman duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen ran with impressive speed and power and benefitted from terrific blocking up front.

Credit Mel Tucker and the Spartans, though, as their defense adjusted to Penn State's rushing game. The Nittany Lions finished with 147 rushing yards, averaging 3.5 yards a carry.

With the ground game and the offense as a whole quiet in the second half, Michigan State took advantage and made the game much closer, getting within five points in the fourth quarter.

Life without Parker Washington:

Penn State fans received some tough news this week when sophomore receiver Parker Washington was announced out for the season with an undisclosed injury.

Without their No. 1 wideout, coach James Franklin called on his other receivers to step up, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith was up to the challenge.

Lambert-Smith has dealt with his own injuries this season, but he capitalized on his expanded role against the Spartans. He finished with five catches, 83 yards and a touchdown, and even a passing touchdown on a trick play.

Additionally, the tight ends stepped up big time, as the trio of Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren combined for seven catches, 96 yards and three touchdowns.

Abdul Carter is the real deal:

Abdul Carter is extremely talented — that's nothing new. But the freshman's impact on this defense has been huge, and he may have been the best player on the field Saturday night.

Carter was everywhere, racking up seven tackles, two sacks and three TFLs. He now has a team-leading 6.5 sacks on the season.

The Philadelphia native has been a force since taking over a starting linebacker spot, and should be a fixture in Penn State's defense as long as he dons the blue and white.

Jake Pinegar struggles from short distance:

Redshirt senior kicker Jake Pinegar had a difficult night against the Spartans, pulling both of his field goal attempts wide.

Pinegar missed kicks from 37 and 28 yards out in the first half, marking two possessions where Penn State drove deep into Spartan territory and came away with nothing.

In the fourth quarter, up 21-16 with five minutes to play and facing a 4th-and-1, the Nittany Lions went for it and ultimately scored. It's fair to wonder if this decision was because of Pinegar's struggles earlier in the night.

Saturday's effort was a sudden regression for the placekicker, who was 9-for-9 over the past seven games and 12-for-14 on the year coming into this weekend.