Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547107
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6 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, 2021 After a midseason nosedive that be- gan when quarterback Sean Clifford was injured in a 23-20 loss at Iowa on Oct. 9, Penn State leveled off in November. The Nittany Lions were fourth in the Associated Press poll when they headed to Iowa City, but they had tumbled to No. 22 by Nov. 6 when they vis- ited Maryland. That's how steep their plunge had been. Still, there was nothing wrong with the Lions that a trip to College Park couldn't fix. Penn State was 14-1 all- time on the Terrapins' home field going into the game, and Clifford's partner- ship with Jahan Dotson kept that trend going. Of Clifford's 363 passing yards, Dotson accounted for 242, and 3 of the receiver's 11 catches yielded touch- downs. "Each week, our plan is to get Jahan Dotson as many touches as possible," coach James Franklin said. "That's what you have to do with your best players, and he came through for us time and time again tonight." With the victory, Penn State attained bowl eligibility, and it earned win No. 7 two weeks later when it shut out Rut- gers, 28-0, at Beaver Stadium. The Lions also dropped two games in November, but both were competitive outings against ranked opponents. The Lions fell to No. 9 Michigan, 21-17, and No. 12 Michigan State, 30-27. A 7-5 reg- ular-season finish was hardly what the Nittany Lions had been hoping for after opening their campaign with five con- secutive wins, but it was good enough to earn them a place on the New Year's Day schedule. Following the conference title games, PSU was tapped to face Arkansas in the Outback Bowl. 10 YEARS AGO, 2016 The Nittany Lions' miraculous turn- around season continued in November. With their 24-21 victory over No. 2 Ohio State on Oct. 22, they had reappeared in the Associated Press poll for the first time since the conclusion of the 2011 regular season, checking in at No. 24. By the start of the regular season's fi- nal month, they were up to No. 20, and they just kept rising with wins over Iowa (41-14, Nov. 5), Indiana (45-31, Nov. 12), Rutgers (39-0, Nov. 19) and Michigan State (45-12, Nov. 26). While the Lions were surging, Michi- gan was beginning to stumble. The Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season at Iowa on Nov. 12, a result that dropped them into a three-way tie for first place with PSU and Ohio State. They still had the head-to-head tie- breaker over Penn State, but the Nit- tany Lions had the tiebreaker over the Buckeyes. When Ohio State dealt Michigan a double-overtime loss in Columbus, Penn State suddenly found itself with a path to the Big Ten Championship Game. The Nittany Lions were battling Michigan State when the Michigan-Ohio State game ended. The crowd erupted upon learning that the Wol- verines had come up short, but Franklin and his team still had to take care of business. The Lions were trailing 12-10 at halftime, but touch- down passes of 34 yards to re- ceiver Chris Godwin and 45 yards to tight end Mike Gesicki sparked a second-half scor- ing deluge that secured PSU's place in Indianapolis opposite Wisconsin. 25 YEARS AGO, 2001 After starting its season with four consecutive losses, P e n n S t a te m i ra c u l o u s l y found itself with a chance to achieve bowl eligibility in November. The Nittany Li- ons defeated Indiana, 28-14, in their home finale, getting 3 to u c h d ow n s f ro m L a r ry Johnson — two rushing, one receiving — to turn back the Hoosiers on senior day. A week later in East Lansing, the Lions erased a 10-point halftime deficit with 3 third- quarter touchdowns en route to a 42-37 victory. The win over the Spartans left Penn State at 5-5 heading into a Dec. 1 visit to Virginia, a game that had been post- poned in the wake of the Sept. 11 at- tacks. It was shaping up to be a celebra- tory moment for a PSU team that got off to the worst start of the Joe Paterno coaching era, but 5 turnovers — includ- ing 3 interceptions by Zack Mills and a fumble that Virginia returned 92 yards for a touchdown — gave the struggling Cavaliers a 20-14 win. PSU missed the postseason for the second year in a row, the first time that had happened since 1965-66. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History TixManJim@gmail.com www.TixManJim.com at Chris Godwin's 34-yard touchdown catch against Michigan State helped propel Penn State to the Big Ten Championship Game in 2016. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL