No. 8 Penn State lost to Michigan State on Saturday in State College, 21-17.
3 takeaways from Michigan State knocking Penn State out of the Playoff race
The Nittany Lions could never put away the Spartans. In the end, they paid dearly.
Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Michigan State got the ball with 1:19 to play at its own 24, trailing by 3. Brian Lewerke drove the Spartans 76 yards in eight plays, capped with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Felton Davis III with 19 seconds left. The Spartans had been outscored 58-18 in previous fourth quarters in 2018, but they outmuscled the Nittany Lions when it mattered most here.
Nobody ever led by more than a score. Penn State had leads of 7-0 and 14-7, but both times, Michigan State’s defense tightened up and the offense did enough to keep things close. Catalyzing MSU’s first scoring drive was a 26-yard run on a fake punt. The Spartans controlled time of possession, holding the ball for 34 minutes. They ran 89 plays to Penn State’s 64.
It was a thrilling (and devastating, for Penn State) game. Here are the top-line takeaways from MSU stunning the country’s eighth-ranked team.
1. Penn State’s now out of the Playoff race.
Nobody’s ever made the Playoff with two losses, which Penn State now has after an earlier home loss to Ohio State.Auburn would’ve last year if it had won the SEC Championship Game, but Penn State’s not going to be in a similar position. It’d now require Ohio State to lose three Big Ten games, for starters, not to mention Michigan and Michigan State staying out of the way as well. It won’t happen, and Penn State’s ceiling is now a non-Playoff New Year’s Six bowl in Trace McSorley’s last season.
2. Penn State’s offense was really boom-or-bust.
The Nittany Lions got touchdown runs of 78 and 48 yards from Miles Sanders. They didn’t have any other carries longer than 10 yards. McSorley didn’t have a completion longer than 25 yards. Penn State averaged 6.2 yards per play, but outside of of those two big Sanders runs averaged just 4.4. Michigan State played the Nittany Lions aggressively and limited McSorley to 192 yards on 32 throws.
3. Michigan State isn’t good. Michigan State isn’t bad. Michigan State is merely Michigan State.
Clunky, often painful to watch, but competitive against a Big Ten East power anyway. We’ve seen this motion picture a billion times before. The Spartans were 13.5-point underdogs after laying an egg against Northwestern last weekend, but they returned to their usual form. I’m excited to act surprised when they beat Michigan or Ohio State this fall.
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