How Penn State football breaks epic slide at Michigan State with Kaytron Allen
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EAST LANSING, Mich − Nothing could possibly come easy for this Penn State football team.
Every time they seemed primed to take over momentum, and Saturday’s game, they’d find a way to stall out.
Maybe that’s why they had beaten a Big Ten opponent all season.
Because just when they finally made a big pass play downfield …
Just when Kaytron Allen was pinballing and dragging defenders for first downs …
When their defense was pressuring Michigan State’s quarterback on nearly every pass play …
Alas, these Lions still had to grind and strain and fight for every thing earned in breaking their epic six-game losing streak in Spartan Stadium.
Finally, that bludgeoning running game and that defensive pressure would hold on and win out in the final five minutes.
Finally, the Lions were victorious for the first time in two months.
“I am just so happy for our guys. They’re an emotional group,” Terry Smith told CBS on the field, after it was over. “They’ve worked hard through all of this turmoil. They deserved victory before this, but they went out and earned a victory today.”
Here are the grades from Penn State 28, Michigan State 10:
Offense: B
The Lions were the better team at scrimmage and finally took advantage, even if they waited much longer than expected.
Credit to Ethan Grunkemeyer for his big pass play early and some judicious runs late on the game-clinching touchdown drive. Kaytron Allen bullied the Spartans throughout and finally wore them out. He finished with a career-high 181 yards on 25 carries and two scores.
Defense: A-
Relentless pressure for the second straight week paid off big.
Eight tackles for loss, five sacks and continual hits on freshman QB Alessio Milivojevic kept the Spartans in check.
Special teams: B-
An unusually poor punting start for Gabe Nwosu, the big man came up big in the second half with a 68-yarder to flip the field and then downing one inside the 5.
Coaching: B
The Lions knew they owned the better team at scrimmage, so kudos for sticking with the game plan to run Allen and Nick Singleton and pressure up front on defense − even when it wasn’t paying dividends as they should for much of the day.
They certainly did something to rejuvenate rush-end Dani Dennis-Sutton (two sacks, blocked punt) the past two weeks, and that has been huge.
Overall: A-
Any victory at this point, no matter how produced or who against, earns a top grade.
Much deserved for this group to stick together through so much turmoil, bad breaks and poor performances.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football, Kaytron Allen break epic slide at Michigan State
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