Blue White Illustrated

N O V E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 3 just as the Lions and Spartans kick off at 3:30 p.m. But regardless of the circum- stances, the Michigan State game will give the Lions a high-profile stage on which to complete a spectacular bounce- back regular season. The Spartans were eliminated from postseason contention two weeks ago with a 31-27 loss to Illinois, but it's clear from their past two games that they haven't given up on their season. They thrashed Rutgers last week, 49-0, and gave second-ranked Ohio State all it could handle yesterday, losing 17-16 a?er failing to complete a two-point conver- sion attempt following a fourth-quarter touchdown in a no-guts-no-glory bid to win the game in regulation. The loss to the Buckeyes dropped Michigan State to 3-8 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten. Those are surprising and un- sightly numbers, to be sure, but on Sat- urday, the Spartans looked highly competitive against one of the Big Ten's best teams. They held the conference's most productive offense to 310 total yards, albeit in wintery, defense-friendly field conditions, and sacked J.T. Barrett three times a?er totaling only seven sacks in their first 10 games. So while the Spartans are peaking too late to earn a bowl trip, they are peaking. Their upcoming trip to Penn State will be their bowl game, essentially, so the Nit- tany Lions can expect to meet at least as much resistance as Ohio State met in East Lansing. With that in mind, Franklin used his postgame presser to put out a call for all students, alumni and football lettermen to descend on State Col- lege this week, noting that the dorms will be open for students returning early from Thanksgiving break. "We're tough to beat at home when that stadium is rocking with 107,000," Franklin said. "We're going to need that on Saturday." Stevens came on in relief of McSorley and scored the Nit- tany Lions' final touchdown on a 12- yard run. Photo by Steve Manuel

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