Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 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, 2020 Penn State lost its first five games of the abbreviated 2020 campaign, but on Nov. 28, the Nittany Lions finally found an op- ponent that was mired even deeper in the COVID-ridden doldrums than they were. Oddly enough, they found that opponent in Ann Arbor, Mich., a place where they hadn't won in 11 years. Michigan had lost three of its previous four games heading into the matchup with the Nittany Lions in an empty Big House. PSU added to the Wolverines' woes by piling up 254 rushing yards en route to a 27-17 victory. Freshman running back Keyvone Lee supplied 134 of those yards on 22 carries, including a 6-yard touch- down run in the first quarter that staked the visitors to an early 7-0 lead. After taking a 17-10 edge into halftime, the Lions held Michigan to 126 total yards in the second half. It was enough to de- liver PSU its first win of the season, and the Lions were grateful to end their five- game losing streak even though the cir- cumstances were unlike anything they'd ever encountered before. "The whole year has just been strange," coach James Franklin said. "You drive up to the Big House, and there's not a car on the road. There's nobody giving you the middle finger on the ride up to the stadium like you normally get at every place. … It's just weird. You're looking at cardboard cutouts. There's nobody there, and this is Big Ten football, 110,000 fans. I could never have imagined this in my wildest dreams. I can't even put into words how surreal this whole year has been." 10 YEARS AGO, 2015 When Penn State shut out Illinois, 39- 0, on the final day of October 2015, few could have imagined that it would be the last time in 10 months that the Nittany Lions would taste victory. PSU was 7-2 in Franklin's second season as head coach, defying the conventional wisdom that had the sanction-plagued team finishing in the middle of the Big Ten pack. But once the calendar page turned, so did PSU's fortunes. After starting off 4-1 in Big Ten play, the Lions went 0-for- November, with losses to Northwestern (23-21), Michigan (28-16) and Michigan State (55-16). The lopsided defeat in East Lansing was especially hard to swallow, in part because of how the Spartans twisted the knife in the fourth quarter. Leading 48-16, Michi- gan State ran a gadget play in the red zone, with 296-pound center Jack Allen lum- bering 9 yards for the final touchdown of the evening. Quarterback Connor Cook had been waving his arms around before the play, trying to get the crowd excited. Said the senior, "I was trying to have fun with it." It's been less fun for the Spartans in the years since. In eight subsequent games between the Land Grant Trophy combat- ants, Penn State has won five and enjoyed a 257-137 scoring edge. 25 YEARS AGO, 2000 Any hope of attaining bowl eligibility in 2000 ended when the Nittany Lions dropped a 33-11 decision at Michigan on Nov. 11. The only thing left to do was to try and finish strong against Michigan State. The Lions did just that the follow- ing week, defeating the Spartans, 42- 23. Quarterback Rashard Casey threw 3 touchdown passes and also had a pair of scores on the ground, helping the Li- ons coast to victory after building a 28-0 lead. The defense sacked Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker 6 times and also dropped his understudy, Ryan Van Dyke, twice. Joe Paterno earned his 322nd victory, closing to within one win of Bear Bryant's major-college record. Still, the celebration was muted. Penn State's 5-7 finish was the worst of Pater- no's career, and it kept the Nittany Lions out of the postseason for only the fifth time in the veteran coach's long tenure. PSU hadn't ended its season so early since it completed a 3-3-1 campaign with a 6-6 tie against Penn on Nov. 18, 1933. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Running back Keyvone Lee rushed for a career-high 134 yards to help Penn State beat Michigan, 27-17, on Nov. 28, 2020. It was the Nittany Lions' first road victory over the Wolverines since 2009. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS