Blue White Illustrated

The Nittany Lions defeated No. 18 Michigan, 43-40, completing a comeback that began when they rallied for 10 points in the final six and a half minutes of regulation. It was a game of high emotion and radical momentum swings, a four-hour marathon that had the stadium roaring from start to finish, its volume fluctuating between ear-splitting and brain-rattling. Does a double-digit rally in the waning moments sound like an impressive feat for a team that went into the game with roughly 20 fewer scholarship players than the undefeated Wolverines? If so, hold on, because the story gets even better. The Lions got their final points in regulation when Hackenberg spearheaded an 80-yard drive in the final minute that took 23 seconds. He completed all three of his passes to get the Lions to the 1-yard line, and he didn't need to use any timeouts, which was a good thing for Penn State, because it didn't have any. Hackenberg plunged in on a quarterback sneak to tie the score with 27 seconds left. The victory, which lifted Penn State to 4-2 and 1-1 in the Big Ten, came on the heels of one of the program's more disheartening losses in recent memory, a 44-24 setback at Indiana in which everyone, coaches and players alike, seemed out of sync. Players talked Saturday about how eager they were to atone for their disappointing performance in Bloomington. But as senior guard John Urschel explained, they weren't just looking to vent their frustration or anger over the loss. They took a methodical approach to their practice regimen in hope of putting together a better effort against the Wolverines. "It's a progression," Urschel said. "It's about watching film, learning from your mistakes and working to get better in practice. You can't have your hair on fire every single minute of every day all week. It's not healthy." The Lions seemed on their way to a comfortable win, but Zach Zwinak's fumble on the first play of the second half was scooped up by Clark Frank and returned for a 24-yard touchdown. It was the end of Zwinak's night, and the Nittany Lions seemed to fade, too. The o c t o b e R SCORING SUMMARY 11:29 PSU PSU 14:50 8:50 MICH MICH PSU 0:28 MICH 10:28 MICH 6:35 PSU 0:27 PSU 15:00 MICH 15:00 PSU 15:00 MICH 15:00 OT MICH 4:21 4TH MICH 7:06 3RD PSU 0:49 2ND 9:39 8:19 1ST PSU Felder, Brandon 12-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 3 plays, 14 yards, TOP 0:50.........................................................................0-7 Funchess, Devin 59-yard pass from Gardner, Devin (Gibbons, Brendan kick) 3 plays, 86 yards, TOP 1:13.........................................................................7-7 Gibbons, Brendan 47-yard field goal 5 plays, 23 yards, TOP 2:49.......................................................................10-7 James, Jesse 20-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 1 play, 20 yards, TOP 0:08......................................................................10-14 Felder, Brandon 24-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 10 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:39..................................................................10-21 Clark, Frank 24-yard fumble recovery (Gibbons, Brendan kick)................17-21 Gibbons, B. 23-yard field goal 5 plays, 19 yards, TOP 1:52....................................................................20-21 Ficken, Sam 45-yard field goal 10 plays, 50 yards, TOP 4:25...................................................................20-24 Gallon, Jeremy 16-yard pass from Gardner, Devin (Gibbons, Brendan kick) 9 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:47....................................................................27-24 Funchess, Devin 37-yard pass from Gardner, Devin (Gibbons, Brendan kick) 5 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:41....................................................................34-24 Ficken, Sam 43-yard field goal 12 plays, 49 yards, TOP 3:53...................................................................34-27 Hackenberg, Christian 1-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:23....................................................................34-34 Gibbons, Brendan 25-yard field goal 11 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00....................................................................37-34 Ficken, Sam 36-yard field goal 11 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00.....................................................................37-37 Gibbons, Brendan 40-yard field goal 11 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00.....................................................................40-37 Belton, Bill 2-yard run 11 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00.....................................................................40-43 Wolverines took control of the game after their quick touchdown, outscoring the Nittany Lions 24-3 before Hackenberg, who finished with 305 passing yards and three touchdowns, spearheaded their fourth-quarter rally. "Both teams hung in there, both teams fought hard, O'Brien said. "Thankfully, " Penn State came out on the winning end, and it says a lot about our kids. They're a resilient bunch. " Next up for Penn State: an off-week, followed by a trip to Ohio State. The off-week should bring a welcome respite after two dramatic weeks of Big Ten competition. But the trip to Ohio State? That definitely won't be a respite of any kind. The Nittany Lions are 2-8 in Columbus since joining the Big Ten, and while they won their most recent game at the Horseshoe – 20-14 in No1 2 , 2 0 1 3 2 vember 2011 – that seems like a lifetime ago. Still, after their thrilling victory over the Wolverines, anything seems possible. A road upset against the fourth-ranked Buckeyes would be a really big deal, but for now, the Lions aren't thinking too far ahead. They're just reveling in one of the more satisfying moments of the past few seasons. "It's a big win for us. It means a lot," O'Brien said. "We beat a really good Michigan team that was 5-0, and we were 3-2 coming off a bad loss. I think it says a lot about these kids and it says a lot about this coaching staff. The coaches came back to work on Sunday and tried to put together a good game plan, and these kids tried the best they could to execute it. I've never been in a game like this, so this is a first for me. " b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m

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