Penn State 42, Michigan 13
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, October 21, 2017
Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
Temperature:
62°
Head Official:
Jerry McGinn
Attendance:
110823
By The Sports Xchange
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Despite Penn State's 42-13 victory over No. 19 Michigan on Saturday night, coach James Franklin allowed himself little time to celebrate.
"We've got 37 minutes to enjoy this win," he joked as he sat down to address reporters at 11:23 p.m.
He is well aware of other challenges awaiting the second-ranked Nittany Lions, beginning next Saturday when they visit No. 6 Ohio State.
Heisman Trophy candidate Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley scored three touchdowns apiece and the Lions (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) piled up 506 yards against a team that had been allowing an FBS-leading 223.8 per game.
"Everybody's been saying we haven't been playing anybody this year," Penn State wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton said. "Obviously, we played somebody today."
Barkley scored on runs of 69 and 15 yards in the first quarter, and a 42-yard reception from McSorley with 13:11 left in the game.
The national leader in all-purpose yards per game when play began (217.0), Barkley finished with 176 -- 108 on 15 rushes, 53 on three receptions and a 15-yard kickoff return.
McSorley, who ran 11 times for 76 yards and three TDs, clicked on 17 of 26 passes for 282 yards and the score to Barkley. He was also intercepted once.
Playing before a Beaver Stadium-record crowd of 110,823, PSU had four touchdown drives of 75 yards or longer and scored the most points against Michigan since Ohio State rang up 42 against the Wolverines in 2015. It was also the Lions' second-highest total against Michigan in a regulation game.
"Tonight kind of speaks for itself," McSorley said. "We were able to put up 42 points against a great defense, a defense that was a top defense in the Big Ten."
Michigan (5-2, 2-2), which scored first-half touchdowns on short runs by Karan Higdon and Ty Isaac, managed 269 yards.
"They were hitting on all cylinders," Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh said of PSU. "It was impressive. They hit us with quite a few plays that we've defended this year, but they executed them better than anybody else has."
The Nittany Lions had not run a Wildcat snap this season until the second play. That's when Barkley took a direct snap, started to his right behind pulling guard Steven Gonzalez, cut back through a gaping hole to his left and outran the Michigan defense for a 69-yard touchdown.
After a Wolverines punt, Penn State whisked 78 yards in four plays, including a 23-yard run by McSorley and his 35-yard pass to tight end Mike Gesicki. Barkley then took a pitch from McSorley around right end and scored from 15 yards, giving the Nittany Lions a 14-0 lead.
With Penn State again on the move late in the quarter, Michigan cornerback David Long intercepted McSorley on a second-down snap from the Michigan 22, setting in motion an 11-play, 59-yard drive culminating in Higdon's 1-yard TD run on fourth down.
Michigan kicker Quinn Nordin, a one-time Penn State commit, missed the extra-point attempt wide right, leaving the Nittany Lions with a 14-6 lead.
The Wolverines cut the deficit to 14-13 on Isaac's 6-yard run with 1:45 left in the first half. Michigan's eight-play, 67-yard drive came after the Penn State turned the ball over on downs, and featured a 23-yard pass from John O'Korn to Kekoa Crawford on third-and-5 from the Penn State 29. Isaac scored two plays later.
McSorley answered by leading the Nittany Lions 75 yards in seven plays, a march that consumed just 52 seconds. He hit three of four passes for 65 yards, including a 36-yarder to Hamilton and a 17-yarder along the left sideline to Gesicki on third down. The latter pass gave the Nittany Lions a first-and-goal at the 3, and McSorley took it in from there with 53 seconds left in the half.
Up 21-13 at the break, Penn State had more points and yards (302) at that point than Michigan had allowed in any game this season.
McSorley also ran 13 yards for a score with 5:13 left in the third quarter, capping a nine-play, 80-yard march. Hamilton, who finished with six receptions for 115 yards, contributed two catches, a 26-yarder and a 9-yarder on third-and-3.
McSorley then picked his way through traffic and dived inside the pylon at the left side of the end zone to score.
After a Michigan fumble early in the fourth quarter, McSorley fired to Barkley, who beat linebacker Mike McCray down the right sideline. Barkley made a juggling catch to complete the scoring play and extend PSU's lead to 35-13.
McSorley capped the scoring with a 9-yard run.
NOTES: Saquon Barkley's 100-yard game was the 13th of his career. He also became the first player in Penn State history and the fourth in Big Ten history to generate more than 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving. ... LB Jason Cabinda had 13 tackles and one of Penn State's seven sacks. ... The Nittany Lions, who built a 14-0 lead after a quarter, have outscored their opponents 90-0 in that quarter this season. They are the only team in the nation to hold their opponents scoreless in that quarter to date. ... Before a 1-yard TD run by RB Karan Higdon early in the second quarter, Michigan had just six touchdowns on 18 trips into the red zone, the Big Ten's worst conversion rate.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Michigan
|
269 |
103 |
166 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2.0 |
0 |
Penn State
|
506 |
224 |
282 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
7.0 |
2 |