Published Nov 28, 2020
Instant Recap: Penn State 27, Michigan 17
Austin Fox  •  Maize&BlueReview
Staff Writer

The Michigan Wolverines' football team fell to Penn State this afternoon in Ann Arbor in an ugly affair to what had been a winless Nittany Lion club.

Miss any of the action? Here's how the entire game unfolded:

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First Half

Michigan's defense got off to a rough start today, with Penn State marching right down the field on them on the opening drive. The Nittany Lions went 75 yards in 10 plays, capping things off with a six-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Keyvone Lee to put his club up 7-0.

The Wolverines' offense stalled on their opening drive, going for it on fourth-and-two at the Nittany Lion 42-yard line, but saw redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara's pass fall incomplete.

Penn State missed a 49-yard field goal on its next series, keeping the score at 7-0. U-M finally got some momentum when redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins ripped off a 60-yard run that eventually led to a two-yard touchdown scamper from him with 30 seconds left in the quarter.

The score knotted the game at 7-7, though McNamara got hurt on the second last play of the series and headed to the locker room.

The majority of the second quarter played out as a punt fest. The stanza began with three consecutive punts, two by Michigan and one from Penn State. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 14-7 when redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford found the end zone on a 28-yard touchdown run with 3:32 left in the half.

Clifford's score capped off an eight-play, 76-yard drive and put Penn State up 14-7. McNamara returned on Michigan's ensuing series after Milton had struggled mightily (1-of-3), but his return unfortunately didn't do much good.

The Maize and Blue went three-and-out and were forced to punt. U-M's defense forced a PSU punt of its own, but sophomore receiver Mike Sainristil fumbled the punt and the Nittany Lions recovered at Michigan's 27-yard line.

It led to a 22-yard field goal by Penn State with just 15 seconds left in the frame to put PSU up 17-7. Michigan then ran out the clock to cap off a dismal and uninspired first half.

Second Half

Michigan put points on the board on its first drive of the second half, with junior kicker Jake Moody connecting on a 40-yard field goal at the 9:10 mark of the third quarter. The two teams then traded punts to consume much of the rest of the third quarter, before the Nittany Lions nailed a 33-yard field goal to make the score 20-10 with 40 seconds left in the frame.

Michigan responded, however, with a seven-play, 65-yard drive of its own. The possession was capped off with a two-yard touchdown run by Haskins at the 13:12 mark of the fourth quarter, making the score 20-17.

The play gave Haskins exactly 100 rushing yards on the day. Michigan's momentum didn't last long though, with Penn State driving 12 plays in 75 yards and finishing things with a two-yard touchdown run by redshirt sophomore quarterback Will Levis.

The play put PSU up two scores again (27-17) with only 8:12 remaining in the game. The contest all but came to an end on U-M's ensuing possession, when Milton was stopped (he was in for an injured McNamara) on a fourth-and-one quarterback sneak at the Penn State 37-yard line.

The Nittany Lions ran out the clock from that point on, taking their offense down to the Michigan 28-yard line before taking a knee and capping off an embarrassing loss for U-M.

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