Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509432
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 6 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M the third quarter, beginning with a 24-yard scoop-and-score touchdown following a Zach Zwinak fumble on the first play of the second half, the Lions didn't flinch. It may have seemed as though the game was winding down when the Wolverines took a 34-24 lead over the undermanned hosts early in the fourth quarter, but Penn State was just getting warmed up. PSU was still trailing by a touchdown when it took pos- session at its own 20-yard line with 50 seconds to play and no timeouts. Hackenberg connected with Robinson on the sideline for 14 yards and with Brandon Felder for 29 yards. Then he made the play of the game, lobbing a 36-yard pass to Robinson, who outjumped cornerback Channing Stribling and landed flat on his back just in front of the goal line. The acrobatic completion sent the crowd of 107,884 into hysterics and set up the tying score on a quarterback sneak — the first rushing touchdown Michigan had surrendered in six games that season. All told, Hackenberg had led the Nittany Lions 80 yards in just five plays, one of which was a clock-stopping spike. The drive took 29 seconds. "Those are situations that we practice every day," O'Brien said. "We practice two-minute situations every day. That one at the end of the game, we practiced that just the other day. I think it was 50 seconds left in the game and we had the ball from our own 25- or 30- yard line. "We knew there were spe- cific plays we wanted to run there. We just needed the line to block well, and they did. We were able to come up with some big plays. Christian is obviously a very mature quarterback for being 18 years old. He's a fun guy to coach." Michigan had two chances to win it in overtime, but de- fensive tackle Kyle Baublitz blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt by Brendan Gibbons in the first extra period, and Gibbons pushed a 33-yard attempt wide left in the third overtime. It wasn't until the fourth overtime that the matter was fi- nally decided. Michigan took a three-point lead when Gibbons hit a 40-yarder, but once again, Penn State responded. The Lions converted on fourth-and-1 when tailback Bill Belton squirted through a slender opening on the right side of the line. Three plays later, following a pass interference call that had given PSU a first down at the 2-yard line, Belton dashed around the left flank of the Michigan defense and into the end zone, capping a 43-40 victory. To the crowd that had poured into Beaver Stadium, and to the Penn State fans watching from home, it was an amazing, aston- ishing moment. To O'Brien, though, it was not so surprising. "I think when you're coaching 18-, 19-, 20-, 21-year-old guys, nothing should amaze you," he said. "There are going to be twists and turns. "I've said it a million times, these are tough kids. They love Penn State. They love playing with each other. The locker room is just a great scene right now, because these kids really believe in each other. "They felt bad for themselves, and they felt bad for the fans last week after the Indiana game. They knew they didn't play well, and we knew as coaches that we didn't coach well. "They came out and practiced hard this week, and that's what they'll do next week. … We'll see how we play in the upcoming games, but they're a fun group to coach, that's for sure." Moving Forward In its own way, Penn State's unlikely victory turned out to be the real harbinger, not the dreary loss to Indiana. The win over the Wolverines served as yet another indication that PSU hadn't been decimated the way so many outsid- ers had expected when the sanctions were handed down in July 2012. The conventional wisdom held that Penn State was about to fall off a cliff and that victories over any opponent would be rare and wonderous. That's not exactly what happened, though. In 2012, the Nittany Lions went 6-2 in Big Ten play, including a 1-2 record against ranked opponents, the win com- ing at Beaver Stadium against No. 24 Northwestern. The fol- lowing year, Penn State went 7-5 overall, 4-4 in Big Ten play and 2-1 against ranked oppo- nents. There were a few reality checks along the way. Two weeks after playing Michigan, the Nittany Lions traveled to Columbus and were wiped out by fourth-ranked Ohio State, 63-14. It was the first time since 1988 that a Penn State team had surrendered more than 50 points in a game. But five weeks after their dismal night in the Horseshoe, the Nittany Lions wrapped up the season with a rousing 31-24 road victory over 14th-ranked Wisconsin. Six weeks after that, James Franklin arrived in State College, and less than three years after Franklin's appointment as successor to the NFL- bound O'Brien, the Lions were Big Ten champions. It's now been a decade since Penn State outlasted Michigan in one of the most entertaining games of the post-Paterno era. The Nittany Lions will head into this year's matchup against the Wolverines with hopes of reaching their fifth New Year's Six bowl in the past eight seasons, or maybe even the playoff. That players and coaches can aim so high in 2023 is partly because their predecessors kept Penn State relevant through some of the program's darkest days. Belton, who rushed for 85 yards against the Wolverines, summed up the determined approach that the Nittany Lions had used in order to keep moving forward. "I enjoyed playing that game today," he said after scoring his decisive touchdown. "We've just got to get back to work on Monday." ■ "I think when you're coaching 18-, 19-, 20-, 21-year-old guys, nothing should amaze you. There are going to be twists and turns." B I L L O ' B R I E N