Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/608349
N O V E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 3 a 6-yard score, followed by Cox's fum- ble-return TD. Penn State continued to make plays on offense and finally punched it in, as Hackenberg hit Godwin in the end zone for an 8-yard score just before halAime. But Aaron Burbridge spun out of tackles on Michigan State's first drive aAer the break, and his 29-yard touchdown catch opened the floodgates, as the Spartans went on to score five TDs in the second half. The Lions' only real offensive burst aAer the break came on a 77-yard catch- and-run (and fumble recovery) by Saeed Blacknall. And even that nearly went for naught, as Penn State needed a third- down pass-interference penalty in the end zone and the four additional downs it provided to score on a 5-yard slant to Godwin. Penn State will now turn its attention to the postseason. The Lions became bowl-eligible with a victory over Mary- land on Oct. 24, but they've gone 1-3 since then and haven't won a game in nearly a month. Their losses – to North- western, Michigan and now Michigan State – have gotten progressively more lopsided, but Franklin said on Saturday that he is mindful of the big picture. "We're going to keep working, we're going to keep [having] a great attitude, we're going to keep developing our play- ers, we're going to keep recruiting, we're going to keep killing it academically, we're going to keep killing it in the com- munity," he said. "In the bowl game, we're going to have an opportunity to get some things cleaned up. We're going to get healthy, get our full roster back with some time off and then build on it in the future. Next year will be our first oppor- tunity to be back at full scholarships. We obviously have a lot of work to do, but good things are coming. We've shown it in flashes. But when we've played the upper-tier teams in this league and the country, we haven't been able to get it done at that level yet. … The upper- tier teams in this conference – we've got to close the gap on them. There's no doubt about it." BRIGHT SPOT God- win had two touch- down catches and 109 receiving yards for the Nittany Lions. Photo by Steve Steve Manuel