Penn State Football Report Card Breaks Down Another Breakdown vs. Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Michigan | Penn State coach Matt Campbell vowed again Saturday night to turn around this season. He's getting tired of saying it, and no doubt Nittany Lions are tired of hearing it.

But it's the refrain he will play until Penn State wins a Big Ten game. Michigan extended Penn State's losing streak to four games, winning a 21-18 game at Michigan Stadium that turned on three quarterback turnovers and a quarterback change, One did not follow the other.

Yes, Penn State (3-4, 0-4 BIg Ten) was close Saturday. But the team also still feels very far away. Grading it comes with the need to understand both.

Penn State offensive grade vs. Michigan: C

How do you grade an offense that produced a receiver who caught 11 passes for 151 yards and a quarterback who turned over the ball three times? Penn State got into several grooves, which quarterback Rocco Becht ultimately derailed.

For parts of the game, Becht was excellent. He completed his first seven passes (three each to Sowell and Andrew Rappleyea) and was 15-for-19 in the first half. Yet he led the Nittany Lions to just three points, which tripped his frustration wire and caused him to intensify. When he does that, Becht is erratic.

His second half consisted largely of Yolo balls to Sowell that worked and two egregious throws that didn't. Becht for some reason thought a well covered Brett Eskildsen, with a safety behind him, was a good target. Interception No. 1.

Then he thought rifling a ball to tight end Gabe Burkle, instead of wating one second and floating him a touchdown pass, was the right choice. Interception No. 2. Even running would have been a better idea, which he conceded.

The sack-fumble resulted from a safety blitz that Becht didn't feel or hear. Turnover No. 3, all of which led to Michigan touchdowns.

"The defense did their job today, and we didn’t help them out," Sowell said. "Creating two turnovers is hard in this league, and we just gave it right back to them. That’s on me. I’ve got to be better in that position and we’ve got to be better for that defense, because they’re playing their butts off."

Sowell (11 catches, career-high 151 yards) has become the No. 1 receiver he planned to be when transferring from Iowa State. Sowell has bled for this season: He has fought through several seasons of injuries, essentially being cut by Deion Sanders at Colorado and rehabbing his career at East Carolina. The last two week, Sowell has limped off the field in the second quarter to return in the third. Now, he's blooming into an NFL draft pick.

Unfortunately for Penn State, the run game isn't blooming anywhere. The Nittany Lions ran for 65 yards on 30 carries, and the backs averaged 3 yards per carry. The left side of the offensive line continues to be unhelpful.

Penn State put the ball in Becht's hands, a pre-game suggested strategy, and it didn't work. And despite all that, Penn State still had an onside kick late in the fourth to potentially tie the game.

Penn State defensive grade: B-

Penn State couldn't have played a much better first half defensively. The Nittany Lions held Michigan to 80 yards, intercepted Bryce Underwood twice and forced the Wolverines to punt three times.

They appeared to force a safety in the first half, though the play was whistled over at the 1-yard line (Penn State coach Matt Campbell said an official admitted the play was stopped too early). The Nittany Lions even convinced coach Kyle Whittingham to make a quarterback change, going from Bryce Underwood to Tommy Carr to start the second half.

But when its offense dances on a constant edge, Penn State's defense can't afford a single misstep. Michigan generated its two longest runs of the season in the second half. The first, a 43-yard touchdown run by Bryson Kuzdzal, woke up the Michigan Stadium crowd.

The second, a 41-yarder by Savion Hiter, got Michigan out of its end-zone shadow to midfield. The Wolverines didn't score but flipped field position, and Becht fumbled on the next series. Carr sealed the win with a 12-yard touchdown run.

Freshman cornerback Josiah Zayas made a miraculous interception, safety Zion Tracy made a supremely savvy one and linebacker Tony Rojas was all over the field again (12 tackles, two for losses). But even two mistakes can be extremely costly.

Penn State special teams grade: B

Punter Nathan Tiyce can't flip the field (he averaged 38 yards per attempt) but did pin the Wolverines inside their 10-yard line twice. Little things elsewhere: Cornerback Daryus Dixson was called for a block in the back on a punt, causing Penn State to lose 8 yards and start a possesion inside their own 10-yard line. Ryan Barker made another chip-shot field goal on Penn State's first possession.

Penn State coaching grade: C

Campbell hasn't lost his team but also hasn't elevated it to winning "when it's hard," as he likes to say. This wasn't the defense-and-field position failure of Wisconsin or the preparation failure of Northwestern or the outcoached failure of USC.

Michigan wasn't the better team Saturday but made better plays in friction moments. Everything is details for Penn State right now, and those are the coaching staff's responsibility. They weren't bad Saturday; they were just behind.

Penn State overall grade: C+

That's what Penn State is entering the bye week: a C+ team with a few guys playing great and others looking out of place. Campbell again Saturday pointed to the enormous change the program underwent this offseason, a line of reasoning whose window is closing.

Asked how long it will take to turn these incremental improvements into wins, Campbell stood firm.

"I thought we were a lot closer tonight, and I think that’s really frustrating from our end that we weren’t able to put together the second half that we wanted to put together," he said. "From our end, we are doing everything in our power to get there as fast as we possibly can."

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