The Sunday Afternoon Quarterback #7: Some White Out Magic & A Sprinkling of Luck

#7 Penn State Nittany Lions 28 – #16 Michigan Wolverines 21

The White Out! A feared name and quite possibly the most electric home game atmosphere in college football. Over 110,000 college football fans clad in all white, energized by all day tailgating create an amazing sight to witness and an even more amazing crowd to be immersed in during a White Out game. I have attended two of these games in previous years. My first White Out game, which was also the very first Penn State game that I ever attended, was in 2008, against Illinois and then again in 2009 against Iowa. Since those first two games, I have attended many more Penn State games but none have matched the White Out game experience. This year, as I settled into my couch to watch the game from home, I swear I could feel the energy from the stadium being transferred through the television straight into my living room.

The Michigan Wolverines received the opening kickoff and couldn’t even snap the ball before calling their first time out as the exhilarated student section made it impossible for Shea Patterson to be heard by his own teammates. Michigan managed one first down in their opening series before punting the ball away. Penn State mirrored the same type of drive by securing one first down before punting back to Michigan.

On their second drive, Michigan netted -1 yard of offense before again punting to Penn State. Starting at his own 34 yard line, Sean Clifford would lead the Lions to the first points of the game, a lead that would not be relinquished, hitting Jahan Dotson for a 37 yard gain and setting Penn State up at the Wolverine 17 yard line. On the next play, Clifford found Pat Freiermuth for a 17 yard touchdown pass that was definitely not getting called back like last week. Penn State 7-0.

On the next series, Michigan moved the ball 50 yards in 11 plays before facing a fourth and three from the Penn State 36 yard line. Head coach Jim Harbaugh elected to go for it but Shea Patterson’s pass attempt fell incomplete, returning the ball to the Nittany Lions. Ricky Slade flipped the field on the very next play, taking the handoff up the middle and breaking it to the outside for a 44 yard gain, setting up the Lion offense on the Michigan 20 yard line. On third and eight, Clifford found ten yards giving the Lions a first and goal at the 8 yard line. After a 3 yard Journey Brown run and back to back offsides penalties by the Wolverine defense, Clifford found pay dirt from two yards out extending the Nittany Lion lead. Penn State 14-0.

The teams traded punts over the next two series before Tariq Castro-Fields jumped a screen pass route and intercepted Patterson. Starting at midfield, Clifford hit his favorite target, KJ Hamler, for an 18 yard gain to the Michigan 32 yard line. Runs by Slade and Clifford moved the ball to the 25. On third down, Clifford lobbed a perfect pass to a streaking Hamler in the end zone. Penn State 21-0.

The White Out was glorious, we were gonna blow Michigan out as I saw memories of the 42-13 White Out loss from 2017. However, the Wolverines had different plans. After a touchback, Shea Patterson finally got the Michigan offense on track engineering an 8 play 75 yard drive and Michigan’s first points of the game. Nico Collins hauled in a 30 yard pass on second down to move into Penn State territory and Zach Charbonnet finished the drive from 12 yards out. Penn State 21-7. The rest of the half saw two Lion punts and a missed field goal by Michigan, leaving the score at the half as Penn State 21-7.

Defense seemed to be the dominant force in the second half as the teams traded punts over the first five series before Michigan took over at their own 35 yard line. Mixing passes with Charbonnet on the ground proved successful for the Wolverines as Charbonnet had 49 yards rushing in this drive alone, including the final carry which was a 12 yard rushing touchdown. Penn State 21-14.

At this point in the game, the texts from my equally die hard Penn State friend starting coming in. “Here we go again.” “The offense has lost rhythm.” “Michigan’s gonna come back.” My response was, “All we need is one more score and the defense will win this game.” It didn’t take Penn State too long to secure that score. Starting at their 25 yard line, the offense needed only six plays to move down the field aided by a defensive holding penalty that gave them a first down on third and eleven. Hamler hauled in his second touchdown of the day on a 53 yard bomb from Clifford. Hamler finished with 108 yards on six catches to go along with his two touchdowns. Penn State 28-14.

But Michigan was not going to go quietly into the night as Patterson again drove them 75 yards for a touchdown. Ronnie Bell picked up the big play on a 35 yard reception to the Penn State 6 yard line. Patterson snuck it in the final yard to keep Michigan alive. Penn State 28-21.

Following a Penn State punt, Michigan would get one more chance to tie the score. Starting inside Penn State territory, the Wolverines converted on a fourth down enroute to a first and goal at the 7 yard line. Two runs and an incomplete pass set up a fourth and goal that saw Ronnie Bell drop the game tying touchdown under tight coverage from Lamont Wade. Penn State took over on their own 3 yard line needing just one first down to put the game away. Sounds simple, right? Just getting that one first down, however, has been tough these last few years. Would we be able to do it two weeks in a row? On third down, over 110,000 screaming fans were about to find out. Putting Hamler in motion to the backfield, he took the handoff and lowered his shoulder like a fullback to gain the first down! Final Score Penn State 28-21.

Penn State is currently 3-2 against Michigan in White Out games and heads on the road next week to visit a Michigan State team who is coming off two straight losses against AP top ten ranked teams. Here’s hoping they make it three straight losses against AP top ten teams as Penn State should move up a spot with the Fightin’ Illini upsetting #6 Wisconsin on a last second field goal. Fingers crossed, Penn State maintains this winning momentum in Michigan.

Until next week, WE ARE…

Keeping it on the edge,

Jeff and Shelbee

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