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Trace McSorley needed to stay upright against a Michigan defense that was de- termined to blow up every play before it got going, and he needed to give his re- ceivers an opportunity to make plays against a confident and aggressive Michigan secondary. At no point was Michigan's plan a secret, nor was it something the Wolverines were willing to move away from even as the Nittany Lions started to unravel it. "When you play that style of defense – and they've had success against everybody – you have to be able and willing to hit the go balls, the fade balls, the inside fade by number two," coach James Franklin said. "Typically, people can't hit them enough to make them pay for playing that style of defense. Tonight, we were able to do that. "In my opinion, it was the biggest dif- ference in the game. When you're able to complete long balls, shots down the field against a team that is trying to sack your quarterback and trying to play man coverage, you're going to be diffi- cult to deal with. We were able to do that tonight at a fairly consistent rate, as well as get some pass interferences or holds as well which factored in, too." Penn State's receivers were the second part of that equation, and they came through, too, as DaeSean Hamilton, Mike Gesicki and Juwan Johnson all had their moments. Hamilton ended with 115 yards on six catches to lead the Lions. Penn State finished the night with seven explosive plays in the passing game and another seven on the ground to more than match their goal of 10 explo- sive plays per game. Gesicki, Hamilton, Barkley and Brandon Polk all had at least one chunk play in the passing game. MOMENTUM SWINGSThe story of the first half was obviously the momentum swing following McSorley interception. Gesicki described it as a "miscommuni- cation." Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead seemed unhappy with Mc- Sorley when the quarterback returned to the sideline. Franklin said the play was one of the evening's few disappointing moments. "We really had a good thing going there, and we turn the ball over. We gave them momentum," Franklin said. "I didn't think we handled, defensively, sudden change well. That point aBer that turnover, they kind of got some momentum and moved the ball more than in any drive they had up to that point." –NATE BAUER Big plays in passing game help lift Lions to victory O c T O B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 11 G A M E N O T E B O O K

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