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Stadium last year. "That's the No. 1 defense in the country in a lot of categories, and they played like it today and we didn't," coach James Franklin said. "So give Michigan's de- fense and Michigan's coaches and Michigan's players credit." The Nittany Lions did have a chance to change the game's direction. A>er falling behind by two touchdowns, they caught a break late in the second quarter when DeAndre Thompkins found himself streaking down the sideline alone. But McSorley overthrew the pass, and Penn State wasn't able to take advantage of the opportunity. There wouldn't be another – not, at least, until the final minutes, by which time the outcome had long been decided. Said Franklin, "We had oppor- tunities that we didn't hit." The Wolverines set the game's tone early in the first quarter. On Penn State's first possession, they sacked McSorley twice to force a punt. A>er taking over on offense, they overpowered the Nittany Lions' defensive line with eight consec- utive running plays, scoring the opening touchdown on a 1-yard run by Shea Pat- terson. Michigan, which was coming off a bye week, stayed on pace for the Big Ten Championship Game, improving to 8-1 and 6-0 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions slipped to 6-3 and 3-3 in confer- ence play. Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • The stats may look grisly, but Penn State's defensive front actually held up fairly well given the extreme disadvan- tage it had been put in with the offense unable to hold the ball for more than a few plays at a time. In the first half, Jan Johnson broke up a fourth-down pass to end one drive, and the Lions later held on third down and blocked a field goal to keep Michigan from pulling away. It was still 14-0 with a minute remaining in the third quarter, a testament to the de- fense's performance. For the game, Michigan held the ball for just under 38 minutes. "Our defense has been on the field way too many reps the last couple weeks, so give Michigan credit," Franklin said. "They're a good football team. We did not play well today, so we have to make some adjustments, we have to make some corrections obviously, and we have to get ready for next week." • Freshman tight end Pat Freiermuth continued his impressive ascent with three catches for 51 yards. Freiermuth had a 25-yard gain on the Nittany Lions' first play from scrimmage, and he also caught a 19-yard pass late in the second quarter on one of the few Penn State drives that even came close to producing points. • Blake Gillikin averaged 46.3 yards on eight punts. • The Nittany Lions kept fighting be- hind backup quarterback Tommy Stevens. The game was long over, but the Lions put together an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quar- ter to avert what would have been their first shutout since 2001. THE BAD • The biggest mismatch of the game was Michigan's defensive line against Penn State's offensive front. The Nittany Lions gave up five sacks, including two on their first possession, and the Wolver- ines also pressured McSorley and Stevens into throwing a pair of intercep- tions, the first of which was returned for a touchdown, the second of which set up a score by giving Michigan possession deep in the red zone. In addition, the running game was a nonfactor for Penn State. The Lions managed only 68 rush- ing yards, with Miles Sanders gaining just 14. Thirty-five of Penn State's rush- ing yards came on its final drive. "They're the No. 1 defense in the coun- try for a reason," Franklin said. "That was the bigger difference tonight. Trace being 100 percent could have made a differ- ence, no doubt about it, but I think it's got to start with giving Michigan credit." • Whether it was Michigan's ravenous pass rush or the brace on his right knee, McSorley just wasn't himself. Even when he did have time to throw, he was off- target. He finished with five completions on 13 attempts for 83 yards and an inter- ception. Stevens went into the game SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 8:12 MICH Patterson, Shea 1-yard run (Nordin, Quinn kick) 8 plays, 76 yards, TOP 4:00........................................................ 0-7 2ND 6:52 MICH Peoples-Jones 23-yard pass from Patterson, Shea (Nordin, Quinn kick) 10 plays, 48 yards, TOP 5:06.................................................... 0-14 3RD 0:56 MICH Gentry, Zach 7-yard pass from Patterson, Shea (Nordin, Quinn kick) 13 plays, 90 yards, TOP 7:05..................................................... 0-21 0:09 MICH Watson, Brandon 62-yard interception (Nordin, Quinn kick).................................................................. 0-28 4TH 9:49 MICH Higdon, Karan 4-yard run (Nordin, Quinn kick ) 6 plays, 53 yards, TOP 3:28......................................................0-35 7:44 MICH Evans, Chris 1-yard run (Nordin, Quinn kick ) 4 plays, 12 yards, TOP 1:52........................................................0-42 1:59 PSU Stevens, Tommy 8-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick ) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:45...................................................... 7-42 N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 2

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