Perfect Record Spoiled!

Penn State 28, Michigan State 10

On a windy day in East Lansing…

Nah, I’m not going to lead in to this story with that trite bullshit. Penn State spoiled its perfect 0-6 Big Ten season with a somewhat unexpected win over Moo U., ending its longest losing streak in 20 years. Sanguinarians unite! There is hope!

Hope for what, I don’t know. With two games remaining for a rudderless ship captained by a temp employee and a vestigial staff that has proven itself incompetent through most of the season, a merciful end is the best hope. Oh, well, maybe Kaytron Allen taking a shot at eclipsing Evan Royster’s rushing record will give us some excitement.

But PSU can no longer aspire to being the worst winless team in the Big 10. Moo U. and Purdue will compete for that distinction.

The Game

I almost forgot to write about a mostly forgettable game. The offensive brain trust decided to run on a Moo U. defense that had proven itself ineffectual against the run, largely eschewing the unproductive, albeit expensive receiving corps. Evan Grunkemeyer threw only thirteen passes all day, completing eight, including a 75-yard TD toss to a wide-open Davonte Ross. Kaytron Allen ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns, while Nick Singleton added 56.

Meanwhile, on defense against Moo U.’s incompetent offense, Dani Dennis-Sutton showed signs of life with two sacks, two solo tackles, two TFLs, and a punt block. The usually docile Penn State pass rush recorded five sacks on hapless Alessio Milivojevic, a game warrior who had the shit kicked out of him regularly and often.

The Celebration

As the clock ticked down to the final seconds with a win assured, happy chaos ensued on the Nittany Lion sideline, including a purple Gatorade bath for Terry Smith. Happy and relieved players carried Smith off the field as if they had just won the national championship trophy as the culminating moment in the perfect campaign of all those pre-season expectations. In reality, they had just won the god-awful Land Grant Trophy, elevating their dismal record to 4-6, sublimating their disappointing asses out of the Big Ten basement with their only conference victory.

What lies ahead is a winnable game against Raiola-less Nebraska back home at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium, followed by Thanksgiving weekend in Piscataway, a dream destination that could possibly spell the difference between a losing season and dubious bowl eligibility. Now that Lions suddenly reacquainted themselves with the joy of victory after two months of the agony of defeat, the sky’s the limit.

That sky might be a gray, mid-December Bronx sky facing Clemson in a frigid Pin-Stripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium. Or not.

---

I’ll be back mid-week to assess the Nittany Lions chances against Big Red.