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Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from brutal loss to Penn State

By James Costanz

Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown talks to players during a timeout during the first half against Penn State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020.
Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown talks to players during a timeout during the first half against Penn State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. /
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Michigan football fell to Penn State 27-17 in Ann Arbor. As their disappointing season continues, the Wolverines’ focus shifts to Jim Harbaugh’s future.

Coming into the season, both Penn State and Michigan had relatively high hopes for their respective teams. But for both squads (and many others), this 2020 season has been a disaster that can’t end soon enough.

The Nittany Lions came into Saturday looking for their first win, as they are the first team to enter the season ranked in the AP top 10 and be winless through five games. For Michigan, it has not been much better as they are 2-3 after a triple-overtime win over Rutgers.

Today’s game was competitive as both teams fought for pride and the chance to make a positive in what seems to be lost seasons.

Penn State got off to a quick 7-0 start after a 75-yard opening drive, led by Keyvone Lee who had seven carries for 39 yards and the touchdown. Michigan was able to tie it up two drives later, but were very stagnant on offense for the majority of the day. This allowed Penn State to rely on their ground game, dominate time of possession, and pull out the 27-17 victory.

Cade McNamara had a nice breakout game against Rutgers last week, but was brought down to earth very quickly. McNamara only had one completion of 20 yards or more, and that did not come until the end of the third quarter. Hassan Haskins was able to pick up a lot of the slack, finishing with 101 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

Michigan just could not pick up any type of momentum as six of their 10 drives finished in either a punt or a turnover on downs.

At the end of the day, Penn State’s offense was just a better unit. The rushing attack was on full display as the Nittany Lions as a team rushed for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Sean Clifford was not making big time throws, but he was accurate and played mistake free football. Clifford tacked on 73 rushing yards on just nine carries.

What did we learn from these struggling Big Ten teams?

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