NCAAF Game Recap - Penn State at Michigan State
Sat Oct 26, 2019 3:30 PM EDT

Ark
7
Bama
48
F
Aub
20
LSU
23
F
Wisc
7
OSU
38
F
BC
7
Clem
59
F
Okla
41
K St
48
F
PSU
28
MSU
7
F
ND
14
Mich
45
F
WaSt
35
Oreg
37
F
Cal
0
Utah
35
F
Tex
27
TCU
37
F
SMU
34
Hou
31
F
MD
10
MIN
52
F
Iowa
20
NW
0
F
App
30
SoAl
3
F
OkSt
34
IASt
27
F
AzSt
32
UCLA
42
F
USC
35
Colo
31
F
BGSU
10
WestMI
49
F
MissSt
30
TxAM
49
F
Lib
34
Rut
44
F
Ill
24
Purd
6
F
MiaFL
16
Pitt
12
F
SJSU
34
Army
29
F
SMiss
20
Rice
6
F
Ohio
34
Ball
21
F
NEV
3
Wyo
31
F
W Ky
23
Marsh
26
F
NMS
7
GaSo
41
F
Akr
0
NIU
49
F
E Mi
34
Toled
37
F OT
MiaOH
23
Kent
16
F
C Mi
20
Buff
43
F
Tows
10
JMU
27
F
Tul
38
Navy
41
F
Ariz
31
Stan
41
F
Ind
38
Neb
31
F
FLInt
17
MidTN
50
F
FlAtl
41
OD
3
F
UConn
56
UMass
35
F
UVA
21
Lou
28
F
Syr
17
FlaSt
35
F
NorTx
38
UNCC
39
F
SoFL
45
ECU
20
F
Murr
12
JacSt
14
F
Hawaii
45
NM
31
F
SCar
21
Tenn
41
F
Duke
17
UNC
20
F
SamHu
25
C Ark
29
F
TxSt
14
ArkSt
38
F
Troy
33
GASt
52
F
Mem
42
Tuls
41
F
UCF
63
Temp
21
F
TxTch
34
Kans
37
F
ColSt
41
Fres
31
F
MIZ
7
KY
29
F
LT
42
UTEP
21
F
UtSt
7
AF
31
F
SDSU
20
UNLV
17
F

Oct 26, 2019, 3:30 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

(6) Penn State (8-0)

7

14

7

0

28

Michigan State (4-4)

0

0

7

0

7

No. 6 Penn State handles Michigan State 28-7
Sat Oct 26, 2019 9:19 PM

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) Pat Freiermuth scored the game's first two touchdowns.

Turned out that was all No. 6 Penn State really needed against Michigan State's anemic offense.

Freiermuth and the Nittany Lions would add more points later, and unbeaten Penn State beat the Spartans 28-7 on Saturday. Sean Clifford threw four touchdown passes on a rainy day, and the Nittany Lions avenged close losses to Michigan State from each of the past two seasons.

"I'm very excited that we're undefeated still, and that's the only goal I've had all season and I plan on going through the whole season doing that," Clifford said.

The Spartans (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) wrapped up a dreadful stretch in which they lost to Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State by a combined score of 100-17.

Penn State (8-0, 5-0) moves on to a surprising matchup of undefeated teams Nov. 9 at Minnesota. The Nittany Lions had lost five of their previous six against Michigan State.

Clifford's first touchdown pass to Freiermuth, a 16-yarder, opened the scoring in the first quarter, and those same two players gave Penn State a 13-0 lead with a 19-yard strike in the second. KJ Hamler's 27-yard TD catch with 1:20 left in the half - plus a successful 2-point conversion - made it 21-0.

A fumbled punt by Michigan State set up Clifford's 6-yard touchdown toss to Freiermuth in the third quarter. Then the Spartans finally scored for the first time in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 2 seconds of game time. Brian Lewerke found Cody White for a 49-yard pass, and Anthony Williams scored on a 4-yard run.

"From my perspective, we need to execute better," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "There are things that we can do from a call situation, but we've got the same - a lot of the same plays are the same plays that other people run as well, timing and who to go to and those type of things. But we'll look at everything."

THE TAKEAWAY

Penn State: The Nittany Lions haven't won the Land Grant Trophy that often lately, but they had an easy time Saturday. Last weekend, Penn State nearly let a 21-point lead slip away in a win over Michigan. The Nittany Lions had no problems holding on to their big advantage against the Spartans.

"We were able to score enough early on in the first half before things got too messy to be able to get a win. I'm pleased with that," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "The bye week is coming at a tremendous time for us."

Michigan State: The Spartans might not be as bad as these past three opponents made them look, but they're struggling just to reach a bowl, and the offense is showing no signs of being able to function effectively against good teams.

EJECTION

Penn State defensive tackle Antonio Shelton was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions had nine penalties for 104 yards.

ROUGH STRETCH

The was the third time in school history that Michigan State played three straight games against teams in the AP top 10. It didn't go any better the previous two times. In 1970, the Spartans lost 29-0 to Notre Dame, 29-0 to Ohio State and 34-20 to Michigan. The 1972 Michigan State team lost 51-6 to Southern California, 16-0 to Notre Dame and 10-0 to Michigan.

"We just got to loosen up," Michigan State linebacker Antjuan Simmons said. "We carry a lot of pressure, put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We want to be the best. It kind of wears on you. We had to go back to the basics, just have fun, just trusting our job. Second half, I feel for the most part, we did that. We competed."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

No. 5 Oklahoma's loss to unranked Kansas State gives Penn State a chance to move up.

UP NEXT

Penn State: The Nittany Lions are off next weekend before traveling to play Minnesota.

Michigan State: The Spartans also have an open date - their second in three weeks. They host Illinois on Nov. 9.

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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

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This version has been corrected to show Michigan State went 2 hours, 11 minutes, 2 seconds of game time without scoring.

Passing

PSU Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
S. Clifford 32 18 56.3 4 189 38 1 100.1
MSU Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
B. Lewerke 34 16 47.1 0 165 49 1 49.3
T. Day 3 2 66.7 0 12 8 0 74.3

Rushing

PSU Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Brown 12 45 3.8 11 0
D. Ford 6 25 4.2 16 0
MSU Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
E. Collins 17 53 3.1 9 0
B. Lewerke 8 22 2.8 12 0

Receiving

PSU Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
P. Freiermuth 5 60 12.0 19 3
K. Hamler 5 57 11.4 27 1
MSU Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
C. White 3 66 22.0 49 0
T. Mosley 4 37 9.3 14 0

Fumbles

PSU F FL
K. Hamler 1 0
MSU F FL
B. Sowards 1 1
B. Lewerke 2 1

Returning

PSU KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
K. Hamler 2 22.0 0 24 1 6.0 0 6
J. Dotson 0 0 0 1 9.0 0 9
MSU KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
B. Sowards 0 0 0 4 1.8 0 6
J. Barnett 1 19.0 0 19 0 0 0

Punting

PSU Punt Yds Avg LgPu
B. Gillikin 8 354 44.3 58
MSU Punt Yds Avg LgPu
J. Hartbarger 7 217 31.0 44

Takeaways

PSU Int Yds InTD
M. Wilson 1 0 0
J. Brisker 1 29 0
MSU Int Yds InTD
D. Dowell 1 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

PSU MSU
Points For 28 7
Total Yards 302 265
Rushing Yards 113 83
Passing Yards 189 182
Passing Completions / Attempts 18/32 19/43
Turnovers 1 4
Interceptions Thrown 1 2
Fumbles - Lost 2/0 4/2
First Downs 18 18
Penalties - Yards 9/104 4/31
Time Of Possession 40:40 20:20
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 4/14 5/17
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/1 2/2
Punts - Average Yards 8/44 7/31

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter PSU MSU
PSU 08:06 TD Pat Freiermuth 16 yd pass from Sean Clifford (Jake Pinegar kick) 7 0
2nd Quarter PSU MSU
PSU 00:30 TD Pat Freiermuth 19 yd pass from Sean Clifford (missed kick) 13 0
PSU 13:40 TD KJ Hamler 27 yd pass from Sean Clifford (SEAN CLIFFORD 2pt run) 21 0
3rd Quarter PSU MSU
PSU 04:50 TD Pat Freiermuth 6 yd pass from Sean Clifford (Jake Pinegar kick) 28 0
MSU 07:26 TD Anthony Williams Jr. 4 yd run (Matt Coghlin kick) 28 7
4th Quarter PSU MSU
No scores this quarter

Game Information

Stadium: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
Attendance: 70,298
Game Time:
Weather: