Highs and Lows: Michigan State

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

As Penn State’s offense struggled to get out of its own way during portions of Saturday’s game, Miles Sanders acted as one of its only bright spots. A pair of huge runs from the running back set up the only two Nittany Lions' touchdowns of the day. Against one of the country’s best defensive fronts, Sanders produced 162 yards on the ground and found the end zone once.

PLAY OF THE GAME:

In the game's defining moment, Penn State's defense finally broke. Along the left sideline with under 30 seconds remaining, Spartan quarterback Brian Lewerke found Felton Davis, who beat Amani Oruwariye in single coverage. Davis hauled in the throw, broke Oruwariye's tackle and walked into the end zone to secure a 21-17 win for the Spartans.

BEST PASS:

Neither quarterback had his best day, but the best throw of the day belonged to Lewerke. The Spartan signal-caller threw a dime right at the goal line to Davis, who was wide open after a Penn State defender had fallen down. Davis hauled in the pass for a touchdown that tied the game at 14 midway though the third quarter.

BEST RUN:

On one play, Sanders picked up more than double the yardage on the ground that Michigan State had been allowing per game coming into the season. With a monstrous hole to work with, Sanders scampered 78 yards before being caught from behind at the Spartan 5-yard line to set up a touchdown on the next play. Michigan State came in allowing just 33.8 rush yards per game.

BEST CATCH:

With Penn State needing a third-down conversion on its first drive of the afternoon, KJ Hamler bailed out his quarterback. Trace McSorley made an off-balance throw that was way out in front of Hamler, but the redshirt freshman snagged it anyway, and moved the chains with an impressive run-after-catch, picking up 23 yards.

WORST DROP:

Garrett Taylor was Penn State’s best player on defense on Saturday, but in one crucial moment, his hands let him down. Taylor had an interception that likely would have sealed the game in his hands with under four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but the veteran defensive back couldn’t complete the catch, and the Spartan drive continued. Amani Oruwariye suffered a similar fate during Michigan State's final drive of the day. An interception that would have ended the game hit Oruwariye right in the torso, but it fell to the ground.

BEST SACK:

With great field position and under a minute left in the first half, Michigan State had ideas about scoring points before halftime. Shareef Miller put those thoughts to an end. Miller came around the right end to bring down Lewerke for a loss of 7 yards, collecting his fourth sack of the season.

BEST INTERCEPTION:

Michigan State was marching down the field, primed to tie the game, when a Spartan wide receiver had a ball bounce off his hand and into the waiting arms of Taylor. He returned the ball 37 yards to the Michigan State 35. Only a shoestring tackle kept Taylor out of the end zone.

BEST HIT:

It didn’t take long for a Nittany Lion to deliver a crushing hit. On the second play of the game, Michigan State wide receiver Brandon Sowards caught a short pass near the right sideline and looked to turn upfield, but he was met quickly by Penn State’s Nick Scott, who drove Sowards into the ground with a power-bomb like tackle to stop him for a gain of just 5 yards.

BEST EFFORT:

Just when it seemed liked a fake field goal might doom Penn State, Taylor added to his career night. With the ball in the hands Raequan Williams, a defensive tackle who is three inches taller than Taylor, the Penn State defensive back managed to reach in and knock it away just in time, causing a turnover on downs.

WORST KICK:

Freshman Jake Pinegar has been unreliable for Penn State, and his shaky start continued on Saturday. With a chance to put the Nittany Lions ahead late in the third quarter, Pinegar pushed a 37-yard field goal off the right post, and Penn State earned no points form one of its best drives of the day.

BEST KICK:

After missing from medium distance on his first attempt of the game, Pinegar came back and gave the Nittany Lions the lead with a 20-yard attempt in the game’s late stages.

BEST RETURN:

The most productive return of the day for the Nittany Lions almost came with a very significant caveat. DeAndre Thompkins returned a Michigan State punt for 15 yards in the second quarter, but stayed on the ground for a few moments after he was brought down. Fortunately for Penn State, Thompkins returned to the game after a trip to the injury tent.

BEST DECISION:

James Franklin was wary of Michigan State’s willingness to try deceptive plays, but that didn’t help Penn State in the first quarter.. The Spartans picked up 26 yards when Mark Dantonio dialed up a fake punt to pick up a first down and set them up in Nittany Lion territory. Michigan State went on to score its first points of the game later in the drive.

WORST DECISION:

Much has been said about CJ Thorpe’s affinity for jawing after the play. It may have cost Penn State seven points on Saturday. After the Nittany Lions had stopped Michigan State on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Thorpe threw a swipe at a Michigan State player and was whistled for a personal foul. It gave the Spartans a first down and they scored on the very next play to tie the game at seven.

MOST TELLING MOMENT:

With a 6-yard completion in the flat to tight end Pat Freiermuth, McSorley took another step into the history books. McSorley became the Nittany Lions’ all-time leader in passing yardage, surpassing Christian Hackenberg’s total of 8,427 yards.