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Spartans’ late TD upsets Penn State

Nittany Lions’ fourth-quarter lead fizzles

Sentinel photo by CHRISTOPHER SHANNON
Penn State’s Micah Parsons (top) and Jan Johnson tackle Michigan State’s La’Darius Jefferson for a loss during the Nittany Lions’ 21-17 upset loss to the Spartans Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State’s staggering inability to close out tight games continues to be the single biggest problem for a football program that has made so much progress but will not make anymore until it can finally solve that frustrating and heartbreaking issue.

It happened yet again Saturday, for the second straight game and fifth time in two years. The Nittany Lions had a lead in the fourth quarter, only to squander it and go home with a sick feeling in their stomachs.

And this one hurt badly, because it ended any hopes the Nittany Lions had for this to be a special season.

“We had a chance to put away a proud program, a good program and a very good football coach,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We had a chance to put them away several times … and we didn’t do it. We let them stay in the game.”

For the second straight year, Michigan State went from hanging around to pulling off the upset in the final seconds. The Spartans scored a go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds left to stun No. 8 Penn State, 21-17, at Beaver Stadium.

Just a couple hours earlier, the Lions’ hopes to reach the College Football Playoff appeared strong. Pitt was leading Notre Dame in the fourth quarter — an Irish loss would have opened the door to the playoff — and Penn State was up 14-7 at the half.

Just a short time later, though, Penn State’s lofty goals for the season vanished. Now, there certainly will be no CFP berth, no Big Ten title, no Rose Bowl appearance.

It still can be a good season for the Lions (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten), but they have a lot of emotional baggage to overcome following losses to the Spartans and a 27-26 defeat to Ohio State two weeks ago.

“Right now is the time where we’re going to really figure out the kind of team that we have,” quarterback Trace McSorley said. “It’s easy when you have one loss and you can still talk about things you maybe have to look forward to.

“But when you go through back-to-back losses, tough situations at home and we’re in the Big Ten schedule and we’ve got a lot more Big Ten games to play, we’ve got to come together. … What we need to do right now is come together, be stronger together now than ever.”

The Lions’ last five losses, going back to the Rose Bowl at the end of the 2016 season, have been by a total of 12 points. They led each of those games in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got to be able to finish,” Franklin said.

The coach tried putting a positive spin on things when he said, “Although they are painful, I’d rather be in a situation where you’ve lost five games by 12 points than other places that are trying to figure out how to not lose games by larger margins.”

Be that as it may, if Penn State is ever going to become an elite program, as Franklin said two weeks ago, it simply cannot keep giving away games late.

Penn State grabbed a 14-7 lead late in the first half, but McSorley and the offense struggled mightily, and Michigan State tied it midway through the third quarter.

The Lions reclaimed the lead but missed a golden opportunity to make it bigger early in the fourth quarter. They had first-and-goal at the 6 but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Jake Pinegar that made it 17-14 with 9:21 left to play.

Miles Sanders gained four yards on two carries from the 6, but on third-and-goal at the 2, offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne made a bizarre call that had McSorley try a fade pass to Juwan Johnson. The Lions rarely run that play, and it didn’t come close to working, so they settled for the field goal.

Michigan State (4-2, 2-1) moved down the field on its next possession before stalling, facing fourth-and-10 at the Penn State 22. Instead of trying a tying field goal, Spartans coach Mark Dantonio went for a fake, with quarterback Brian Lewerke, the holder, throwing the ball down the middle to Raequan Williams, a defensive tackle in for the gimmick play.

The trick nearly worked, but Penn State’s Garrett Taylor broke it up, keeping the score 17-14.

The Lions had the ball with 5:19 left and a chance to eat some clock, but they went three-and-out. Michigan State took over with 4:09 to go but got only to their own 35, and Penn State failed to capitalize when Taylor dropped an interception deep in Spartan territory.

Still, Penn State was in great position to win when it took over at its own 28 with 1:46 to go. Michigan State still had all three timeouts, though, so the Lions would have to get one first down to seal the deal.

They failed. And not only did they fail, they botched the end of the series, and it came back to haunt them.

McSorley gained three yards on first down before Sanders was stuffed for a one-yard loss on second down. On third-and-8, McSorley kept the ball and took off to the right. He wasn’t going to get the first down, and instead of hitting the turf inbounds, he allowed himself to be tackled out of bounds.

That mistake, by a senior quarterback who has had a sensational career, wound up being very costly.

It stopped the clock, and Michigan State didn’t have to use its final timeout. So, when the Spartans took over at their own 24 with 1:19 to go, they could run their plays knowing they still had one more chance to stop the clock if the needed to for a tying field goal.

None of it would have mattered, though, had Penn State made one relatively easy catch. On Michigan State’s second play, Lewerke threw a pass to the left that hit Penn State cornerback Amani Oruwariye right in the arms for what should have been a game-clinching interception.

Oruwariye dropped it.

Lewerke hit some big passes to move the Spartans down the field, and they could take their time knowing they still had a timeout and a good field goal kicker. As it turned out, they didn’t need either.

On third-and-2 from the Penn State 25, Lewerke fired to Felton Davis III down the left sideline. The receiver beat Oruwariye for the catch inside the 5 and took it in for the winning score.

Sanders had 162 yards rushing on 17 carries including a 78-yard run and a highlight-reel 48-yard TD. But McSorley struggled, completing 19-of-32 passes for just 192 yards against one of the nation’s worst pass defenses.

“I didn’t execute properly. I wasn’t accurate enough. That’s on me. That’s all I can say about that,” McSorley said. “I’ve got to be better.”

For the second game in a row, Penn State looked like the better team for much of the contest, only to see it all slip away at the end.

The Lions now must find a way to regroup for the rest of the season.

“We can’t get defensive. We can’t start pointing fingers,” McSorley said. “We can’t start looking at anything else but ourselves when we’re criticizing. We’ve got to come together and support each other more than ever right now.”

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