Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526526
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2019 Seventh-ranked Penn State jumped out to a three-touchdown lead and held on to defeat No. 16 Michigan, 28-21, in the Nit- tany Lions' 2019 White Out game. It looked as though Penn State was go- ing to romp, much to the delight of the 110,669 fans on hand. The Lions kept hit- ting the Wolverines with big plays early in the game, including a 37-yard catch by receiver Jahan Dotson, a 17-yard scoring reception by tight end Pat Freiermuth and a 44-yard run by tailback Ricky Slade. Penn State's KJ Hamler scored on a 53- yard heave from Sean Clifford early in the fourth quarter, but the Wolverines weren't quite finished. They had a chance to tie the score in the final minutes, but PSU forced them into a fourth-and-goal situation at the 3-yard line, and Ronnie Bell dropped a pass on what would turn out to be Michi- gan's final offensive play of the night. "That stop at the end was obviously critical, and guys made plays when they needed to. I'm just proud," coach James Franklin said afterward. "We made some adjustments; they made some adjust- ments. It was a chess match all night long, but at the end of the day our guys were able to step up and make critical plays at critical moments." 10 YEARS AGO, 2014 Thanks to a couple of bye weeks that were placed in unusual proximity by Big Ten schedule makers, Penn State played only two football games in Oc- tober 2014. However, the time off didn't do much to help Franklin's squad after it wrapped up September with a 29-6 loss to Northwestern. The Lions lost both of their Octo- ber games, falling to Michigan, 18-13, in Ann Arbor, then dropping a 31-24 double-overtime decision to Ohio State at Beaver Stadium two weeks later. The clash with the Wolverines was a forget- table slog, but against the 13th-ranked Buckeyes, PSU showed the kind of re- silience that would help propel it back to the top of the Big Ten in a couple of years. The Lions were only a year removed from a dreadful 63-14 defeat at the Horseshoe when they welcomed Ohio State for a White Out game on Oct. 25, and this time they gave the Buckeyes all they could handle. Linebacker Josh Hull had 19 tackles and an interception, while defensive end Anthony Zettel returned a pick 40 yards for a score. On offense, receiver Dae- Sean Hamilton set a PSU single-game record with his 14 catches, totaling 126 yards and helping the Lions rally back after falling behind 17-0 in the first half. The Buckeyes won when Penn State wasn't able to answer quarterback J.T. Barrett's second touchdown in overtime. The visitors also benefited earlier in the game from a couple of egregious of- ficiating errors. Ohio State was given a key interception on what should have been ruled an incomplete pass, a play that was allowed to stand because the video equipment in the replay booth was malfunctioning. Later, the Buck- eyes kicked a 49-yard field goal when replays clearly showed that the play clock had expired. And yet, while it ended in disappoint- ment, the game showed that Penn State wasn't as far behind its elite rivals as some may have suspected at the time. 25 YEARS AGO, 1999 After thrashing Iowa and its first-year head coach Kirk Ferentz, 31-7, in Iowa City to open the October portion of its schedule, Penn State braced for a visit the following week from its nemesis Ohio State. The Buckeyes had won four of the first six meetings between the two teams since Penn State had joined the Big Ten, including a 28-9 romp in Columbus in 1998. The rematch would be very differ- ent. The Nittany Lions went into the game ranked second nationally, and they pounded their 17th-ranked opponent, with tailback Eric McCoo gashing the Buckeyes for a career-high 211 yards on 22 carries and adding another 47 yards on 4 pass receptions. The final score — Penn State 23, Ohio State 10 — was deceptively close. The Li- ons outgained the Buckeyes 422 yards to 143 but committed 10 penalties, botched a pair of field goal attempts and fumbled in the end zone to give Ohio State its only touchdown. "We should have put 40 on the board," fullback Mike Cerimele said. "We had two field goals blocked. We stopped ourselves inside their 25 all day. Stupid [mental] problems. We have to cut them out, or it will catch up to us." — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Receiver KJ Hamler had touchdown catches of 25 and 53 yards in Penn State's 28-21 victory over Michigan in 2019. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL