It was a tight game throughout in Happy Valley, but Michigan emerged victorious over Penn St., improving to 9-1 on the year. While Penn St. put up a good fight, they came up just short yet again. Michigan’s offense was led by quarterback Cade McNamara, who threw for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns, and running back Hassan Haskins, who carried the ball 31 times for 156 yards. Meanwhile, the Wolverine defense did just enough to hold Sean Clifford and the Nittany Lions offense at bay and secure their 9th win of the season.

How it All Happened

The slow-paced game opened with a 42-yard field goal by Jordan Stout that put Penn St. up 3-0 early. Michigan would answer with a 21-yard pass from Cade McNamara to Jordan Wilson in the second quarter, and the game would head into halftime 7-6, after Stout added another field goal at the end of the quarter.

Michigan came out swinging in the second half, with a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by yet another touchdown pass from McNamara to Wilson, giving the Wolverines a 14-3 lead. After a combined six scoreless drives, Penn St. managed to tie the game up with a Sean Clifford touchdown pass on 4th and goal from the 2 yard line, followed by a successful 2-point conversion.

Just three plays later, McNamara would be sacked by Arnold Ebiketie, resulting in a fumble recovered by Penn St. deep in Michigan territory. The Wolverine defense would hold strong, forcing a field goal, making it 17-14 Nittany Lions with about six minutes to go.

After the turnover, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh turned to his powerhouse running back Hassan Haskins, giving him five consecutive carries on the ensuing drive. Haskins punished the defense for 28 hard fought yards, but the big play of the drive came on 2nd and 9 from the Penn St. 47. On a seemingly harmless dump off pass, tight end Erick All caught the ball at the line of scrimmage, and simply kept running until he found the end zone. The 47-yard touchdown pass was all the Michigan defense needed, as they shut down the Penn St. offense, forcing a turnover on downs to clinch the game.

What is Next for Both Teams?

It was a huge win for Michigan, as they can not afford another loss. The Wolverines will stay on the road to take on a struggling Maryland squad next week, before they return home for a massive rivalry game against Ohio State. Michigan will need to win out and hope Michigan State loses another game in order to make the conference title game, so they can not take any games for granted.

Penn St., who now drops to 6-4, will lock horns with 5-5 Rutgers in Happy Valley. For James Franklin’s group, there is not much left to play for this season, as they are out of the conference title picture and already bowl eligible. The season finale against Michigan State offers the Nittany Lions a chance to play spoiler and end the regular season on a high note, so finishing the regular season with back-to-back wins would be a morale boost for a deflated group.

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