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Dominant Second Half Propels Penn State Football to 39-24 Win Over Michigan State

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By Gabe Angieri - December 12, 2020
Altoona | Local & Penn State Sports | Local News | Other | Penn State Football | Penn State Sports | Sports News | State College | StateCollege.com | Virtual | Williamsport

Penn State football (3-5) put on a dominant showing in the second half en route to a 39-24 comeback win against Michigan State (2-5) on Saturday at Beaver Stadium

James Franklin squad’s fell behind by double digits, trailing 21-10 at halftime. But the Nittany Lions dominated every aspect of the final 30 minutes to take down the Spartans and defend the Land-Grant Trophy.

The win was third straight for Penn State as it continued a late-season hot streak heading into week nine against a West Division opponent to be announced.

How It Happened

Penn State won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving Payton Thorne and Michigan State’s offense the ball to start the game. On third and long, Jaquan Brisker picked off a Thorne pass, but fumbled on the return and Michigan State picked up a fresh set of downs.

On the next series, however, a third-down sack by senior defensive end Shane Simmons forced the Spartans to punt.

Penn State’s offense got it going right away, as Sean Clifford connected with tight end Brenton Strange for a 27-yard completion. After marching down into the red zone, the drive stalled, and Jake Pinegar made a 24-yard field goal to put Penn State up 3-0 with 6:06 left in the first quarter.

Each team traded punts as the game moved into the second quarter with Penn State still leading 3-0.

Early in the second quarter, Thorne threw a perfect pass to Jalen Nailor for a 45-yard touchdown to put the Spartans up 7-3 with 13:50 left in the first half.

Penn State immediately responded with an impressive drive of its own. On third and short, Clifford broke free for a 31-yard touchdown to give the Nittany Lions the lead right back. Penn State led 10-7 with 10 minutes to go until halftime.

 

 


The Spartans answered with a big drive through the air, as they once again beat the Nittany Lions with a big play. Thorne connected with 6-foot-7 wideout Tre’Von Morgan for a 26-yard touchdown in triple coverage to give the Spartans a 14-10 lead with 6:24 left in the half. Michigan State totaled 70 passing yards on the drive.

After Penn State punted, Michigan State had no problem marching right down the field again. The seven-play, 87-yard drive ended with Thorne finding Nailor for a 7-yard touchdown, and the Spartans took a 21-10 lead into halftime.

On its first drive out of the locker room, Penn State took the ball deep into Michigan State territory thanks to three catches by Jahan Dotson and two by KeAndre Lambert-Smith. On the 11th play of the drive, Clifford connected with Parker Washington for an 8-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-16 with 10:07 left in the third quarter.

Clifford and Dotson then converted the two-point attempt to make it a 21-18 game.

 


The two teams traded punts before Michigan State got something going offensively. The Spartans took to ball down inside the five-yard line, but Brent Pry’s defense held strong and forced a field goal attempt. Matt Coghlin made a 23-yard field goal to extend Michigan State’s lead to 24-18 with 1:59 left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Dotson made a pretty 36-yard catch to bring the Nittany Lions down to Michigan State’s 33-yard line. Just a play later, Clifford and Washington connected for a 26-yard completion down to the Spartans’ 7-yard line.

Will Levis capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Nittany Lions a 25-24 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The Nittany Lions’ defense came up big on the next drive, forcing a three-and-out to give the ball right back to Penn State’s offense.

On the third play of the drive, Clifford connected with Washington for a 49-yard touchdown to give the true freshman his second touchdown of the day, and to give Penn State a 32-24 lead with 12:18 remaining in the game.

 


After another defensive stop, the Nittany Lions continued to build momentum as Dotson returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown on the next drive to extend the lead to 39-24 with 11:24 left in the game.

 


Michigan State wasn’t able to respond the rest of way, and the Nittany Lions won the game 39-24.

Takeaways

  • It was a tale of two halves for the Nittany Lions in the one. After being outgained 242-173 and outscored 21-10 in the first half, Penn State completely dominated the second half. The Nittany Lions totaled 29 points and 232 total yards in the final 30 minutes of action, leaving the Spartans with absolutely no answers.

  • Have a day, Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington. After totaling just seven catches for 60 yards the previous two games, Dotson had eight receptions for 108 yards, including a 36-yard catch, on Saturday. Washington totaled four catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his touchdown total to six on the season.

  • Special teams touchdown! Jahan Dotson returned a punt 81 yards to the house early in the fourth quarter. It was Penn State’s first punt return touchdown since 2018 and the first special teams touchdown of the season.

What’s Next

It’s currently unclear what’s next for the Nittany Lions, as the Big Ten hasn’t yet announced its plans for week nine.