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Clock runs out on Lion’s rally. Penn State loses to Michigan State 28-22

Submitted by on November 29, 20102 Comments
Penn State celebrates Senior Day against Michigan State
It just wasn’t a good weekend for Penn State athletics. #7 ranked women’s volleyball team fell at #15 Minnesota in a 5 set thriller (3-2) despite being up 2-0, the men’s soccer team lost a heartbreaker at Maryland despite holding the nation’s most prolific offense scoreless for 87 minutes in the 3rd round of the NCAA tournament and the football team kicked grass around for 3 quarters against the Spartans (11-1) before mounting a furious 19 point rally in the fourth quarter before the clock eventually gave out.

The Lions were uncharacteristically sloppy in the first half. Heading into the game, the Lions averaged a FBS-leading 28 penalty yards a game, but were flagged 8 times for 67 yards often extending Spartan possessions and halting our offensive drives most notably on Penn State’s first possession following Michigan’s opening game touchdown drive. McGloin and Royster drove the Lions down the field all the way to the Michigan State 10. But on 2nd and 4 the offensive line was flagged for a false start lengthening the down to 2nd and 9 on the Michigan State 15 which the Lions failed to convert resulting in just a field goal from a promising first drive.

Even the defense added to the penalty woes that plagued the Lions. Late in the 2nd quarter, the defense held the Spartan offense to a punt before Devon Still was flagged for running into the kicker giving up free yards to the Michigan State offense. 3 false starts, 1 personal foul, 1 running into the kicker and 2 dropped balls essentially tells us the story of the first half.

Not to be outdone by the offensive and defensive mistakes, the coaching staff, on the opening drive of the 2nd half and facing just 3rd and 1, called a questionable pitch back play to Devon Smith that resulted in a 9 yard loss. This after the Lions had effectively and quickly moved the ball down to the Michigan State 41, grinding another offensive drive to a premature halt. When you have a Evan Royster or 6’1″, 221 lb Suhey facing a 3rd and 1, the call to pitch the ball backwards 8 yards to 5’7″ 157 lb Devon Smith is questionable. I can understand the need to utilize Devon Smith’s speed, but facing a 3rd a 1 even if Royster or Suhey fails to get a first down, the Lions should be facing a manageable 4th and inches at worst.

The flags continued to fly in the second half, most notably early in the 4th quarter following a Lion’s touchdown which cut the lead down to 21-10. On the ensuing Spartan drive Penn State’s Malcolm Willis was flagged for committing a freshman mistake when he hit Keshawn Martin out of bounds moving the ball from the Michigan State 38 to the Penn State 47. A costly error when the Lions needed the critical stop to get the ball back. The Spartans eventually went on to score on that drive which turned out to be the game winning score.

As frustrating as the errors were, you could not help yourself from feeling optimistic about the future of this really young Penn State squad (only 8 seniors started for the Lions). This optimism was only fueled by the furious rally mounted by the Lions despite sleepwalking through 3 straight quarters. The Derek Moye show that was put on in the closing minutes of the game was simply jaw dropping including the TD catch that was ruled incomplete. Even when McGloin’s pass into the endzone was tipped for an interception, Moye’s hustle to strip the ball from Trent Robinson was inspiring. The Lions went on to score again cutting the lead to 28-22.

Fortunately for the Spartans the clock just ran out on the Lions, watching the fourth quarter, there was just the sense that the Lions were on pace to score again were they to recover possession of the ball. Unfortunately Collin Wagner’s onsides kick did not get the bounce he wanted and the Spartans recovered allowing them to hang on to their 11-1 season.

I am absolutely excited about the next few seasons for this Lions squad. All season long, the young Lions were unable to put together 4 complete quarters. They were either mounting furious 2nd half comebacks (Temple, Northwestern, Indiana, Michigan State), had strong 1st half performances snowball away in the 2nd (Alabama, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio State) or used a change of QBs to spark the offense (Minnesota, Michigan). Nothing the 15 extra bowl practices and an entire offseason of conditioning and experience under their belts won’t help. You can only imagine the expectations of this young team that has already been through the fire of Tuscaloosa, Iowa City, and Columbus that compiled a 7-5 record during a rebuilding year to soar. Don’t think 7-5 is acceptable during a rebuilding year? Just talk to Longhorns fans for perspective on just how bad a rebuilding year can get. At 5-7, 2-6 in Big 12 play, they will not qualify for the postseason a season after they played in the championship game. Now that is a bad rebuilding year.

Now we wait for the bowl pairing to come out, but there is word out there that Penn State could actually be selected with the #2 Big Ten pick by the Outback bowl just after the Capital One bowl uses their #1 selection for 11-1 Michigan State. With three 11-1 squads (Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan State) and four (5 if Illinois beats Fresno State next weekend) 7-5 teams (Penn State, Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern), the Outback bowl has it’s work cut out for them. However, considering that Joe Paterno’s contract ends next season, regardless of whether or not it is renewed, does the Outback bowl want to risk the chance of missing out on the high television ratings, hordes of Nittany Lion fans that are known to travel and Joe’s last appearance in Tampa? Penn State might not even be available for the Outback bowl to select if they do meet their expectations in the next few seasons. Is the Outback Bowl selection committee willing to risk all that?

We shall see.

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