Penn State football can't handle Wolverine pass rush in Michigan loss

Time after time Saturday afternoon, Penn State football allowed the Michigan pass rush to get home.

The Nittany Lions knew they’d face elite opposition in Michigan defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo. Whatever game plan they crafted to slow them down fell short to the tune of seven Wolverine sacks in Penn State’s 21-17 loss.

“We knew their defensive ends were going to be a problem,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We had plans to check them for most of the day, we had plans to screen them as much as we could. And then staying with the run game and not going away from the run game. I thought for the most part we battled, but obviously Sean [Clifford] got hit too many times. But those two defensive ends, you can make the argument maybe the best combination of two defensive ends in the country.”

Michigan’s seven sacks are the most posted by the Wolverines this year, and easily the most surrendered by the Nittany Lions.

The criticism of Penn State’s offensive line for much of the season revolved around the unit’s run blocking issues.

The inverse was true on Saturday. Keyvone Lee ran for 88 yards on the ground, one of the best showings by a Penn State running back this season. Conversely, it seemed like every Clifford drop back carried risk.

Hutchinson sacked Clifford three times. Ojabo got home twice.

Postgame, Hutchinson said the Wolverines identified this as a game where their pass rush could feast. Clifford tends to hold the ball, Hutchinson said, and Michigan knew it could take advantage of that.

Penn State showed early that it wasn’t equipped to handle what the Wolverines threw at them. Michigan sacked Clifford three times on Penn State’s opening drive.

That set the tone for the rest of the game.

“I think it was definitely more in the quarterback’s mind,” Hutchinson said after the game. “He knew we were coming. He knew we were bringing pressure all day.”

It was clear early on that Clifford felt the physical effects of the hits he took as well. Clifford often spent an extra second or two on the turf before bringing himself to his feet.

His performance was certainly gutsy, even if the end result didn’t go in Penn State’s favor.

“They have two of the better defensive ends in the country,” Franklin said. “We have to be able to run the ball more consistently so it takes the pressure off of the passing game. We have to move the pocket and have enough things in the package to move the pocket to change the launch point up as well. All those things are really important.”

Nothing Penn State did to slow the rush had the desired impact.

Running back Keyvone Lee and tight end Tyler Warren both said Penn State didn’t alter its plan much to try to slow down the Wolverine edge rush.

“They’re a great defense overall,” Warren said. “Their D-ends are good. Overall, I thought we did a pretty good job, but it’s going to be up and down. They’re going to make some plays.”