Highs & Lows: Penn State outmuscles Spartans for road victory

By Nate Bauer

Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith said earlier this week that his team was going to Michigan State to win the game. Stuck in a six-game losing streak, nothing short of a victory would suffice for a group mired in the wilderness of moral victories.

On Saturday afternoon, the Nittany Lions got it.

Locked in a tight contest for three quarters, they used a defensive burst and a bruising, game-sealing touchdown drive to earn a 28–10 win. In the process, they snapped their winless Big Ten stretch with two games remaining.

Here’s what stood out:

Player of the Game

Dani Dennis-Sutton
Dennis-Sutton hadn’t produced the type of season many expected, but he changed some minds with a dominant outing. In a year the defense missed Abdul Carter’s game-wrecking presence, Dennis-Sutton delivered it on Saturday, consistently pressuring the quarterback, recording sacks, and blocking a punt.

Kaytron Allen
The Nittany Lions’ featured running back can’t go without mention here, too. His 181 yards on 25 carries were boosted by a huge second half in which the offense turned heavily to the run to turn out the lights on the Spartans.

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Play of the Game

Really, there were two of them in back-to-back sequence. First, Dennis-Sutton flat-out beat his man late in the third quarter to blow up a deep shot for the Spartans. Moments later, on the first snap of the fourth quarter, he followed it with a second sack in as many plays to extinguish the critical possession.

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Best Pass

The play-action worked to perfection. Ethan Grunkemeyer faked to Allen on first-and-10 from the Penn State 25 midway through the second quarter, stood patient in a clean pocket, and fired deep to Devonte Ross for a 75-yard touchdown — the longest pass of Grunkemeyer’s career and the longest play of PSU’s season.

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Best Run

Michigan State’s Elijah Tau-Tolliver needed only one carry to make an early impact. Taking a handoff from the Spartans’ 43 at the 12:56 mark of the first quarter, he sliced through the line, broke an arm tackle, and sprinted untouched for a 57-yard touchdown.

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Best Catch

Penn State leaned heavily on the run in the windy conditions, but Devonte Ross still gets a nod. He hauled in the wide-open 75-yard touchdown, then added a 4-yard shovel-pass score in the fourth quarter.

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Worst Drop

Grunkemeyer made an unforced error on Penn State’s first third down of the game. He couldn’t handle Nick Dawkins’ shotgun snap, bobbled it to the turf, recovered, and was promptly sacked.

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Best Sack

Beyond Dennis-Sutton’s back-to-back sacks, another moment stood out. After gifting Michigan State excellent field position with two roughing-the-passer penalties, Penn State rebounded when Zion Tracy blitzed and hit Alessio Milivojevic, forcing a fumble that Daryus Dixson recovered to seal the game.

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Best Hit

Nicholas Singleton looked as though he was going to pick up the first down on momentum alone, but Michigan State’s Quindarius Dunnigan met him squarely on a third-and-2 pitch in the second quarter and stopped him cold.

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Best Effort

He did it again. Following his 75-yard touchdown and a defensive three-and-out, Dennis-Sutton delivered another highlight by blocking Ryan Eckley’s punt. A swim move through Michigan State’s protection and an outstretched arm were enough to set Penn State up at the Spartans’ 42.

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Best Kick

Gabe Nwosu salvaged a stalled opening possession of the second half. After a third-down sack backed Penn State up, he launched a 68-yard punt to flip the field and pin Michigan State at its own 18.

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Best Decision

Facing fourth-and-2 at the Michigan State 45, Terry Smith kept the offense on the field — a move that paid off when Grunkemeyer hit receiver Trebor Peña for 7 yards on a screen pass. Penn State marched the final 38 yards, capped by Kaytron Allen’s 8-yard touchdown run.

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Worst Decision

Smith’s aggressive mindset backfired late in the first half. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Michigan State 22, Penn State opted to go for it after the two-minute warning instead of attempting a 37-yard field goal. Grunkemeyer was sacked, and the Lions came away empty-handed.

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Most Telling Moment

Penn State and Michigan State played to a third-quarter stalemate. But after Dennis-Sutton’s 2 sacks opened the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions delivered a defining sequence: a 13-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that spanned 9:05 and put Penn State ahead 21–10. With just 4:32 left, it was the decisive blow in a long-sought win.

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