Penn State-Michigan State takeaways: Passing game, defense can't do enough in win; familiar problems pop up, more

East Lansing, Mich. — Penn State has finished the regular season at 7-5.

The Nittany Lions dropped a 30-27 contest at Michigan State on Saturday in the snow. The Spartans outplayed the visitors in most facets throughout the contest. The margin was made close due to a late Sean Clifford touchdown toss to Parker Washington, but the Lions made too many mistakes to win.

Here are our takeaways.

1. Where was the passing game?

It will be interesting to see if James Franklin blames the weather or something else for this.

Entering the game, it was no secret that Michigan State had the worst passing defense in the country. And, yet, the Lions ran just about as often as they threw. In fact, prior to a late fourth quarter drive while trailing by 10, they had called 23 passes to 24 runs. This was the case despite averaging 14.1 yards per completion compared to three per carry.

On many occasions, Jahan Dotson ran himself wide open. He finished with seven catches for 114 yards and two scores. For whatever reason, Mike Yurcich didn’t feel comfortable dialing up the pass in bulk, and it was one of the many things that cost the Lions in this one.

For what it’s worth, Michigan State threw it 30 times in the contest.

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2. Familar Penn State problems pop up again

What if I told you Penn State missed tackles, took costly penalties, had inconsistent kicking, lost two fumbles, and struggled in short-yardage situations and upfront overall?

You’d probably tell me what else is new.

The Lions were 5 of 13 on third down, where they needed an average of 6.1 yards for a first down. Keyvone Lee was stuffed on 4th and 2 deep in Michigan State territory, and Penn State averaged just three yards a rush. Safety Ji’Ayir Brown missed an opportunity for a stop on the Spartans’ first scoring drive. Corner Joey Porter Jr. was also flagged for two defensive pass interference penalties (only one accepted).

One positive was that the ground game sort of got going. But, the Lions still surrendered three sacks and seven tackles for loss. Keyvone Lee lost a fumble, too, in the fourth quarter. So did John Lovett on a kick return after MSU took a 30-20 lead.

In many ways, it was a fitting end to the season, as so many of the problems that were seen all year were again evident today.

3. Penn State defense wasn’t its reliable self

This film will not be fun for Brent Pry and his Penn State players to watch.

The Lions’ defense was not its usually reliable self at Spartan Stadium. Credit Daequan Hardy for a second half pick six that briefly gave Penn State the lead, but this was not a good effort overall.

Michigan State had far too many easy-access throws and Penn State was not good in the red zone as it’s been all season. Star Spartans back Kenneth Walker III frequently found plenty of room to run through despite entering the game with a bad ankle. Receiver Jayden Reed, whose status was also questionable prior to this one, had six catches, including one for a touchdown. MSU also was 9 of 18 on third down and 3 of 4 on fourth down.

Michigan State had over 451 yards of offense. It’s true that the Penn State defense has been asked to do a lot this season. This time, it couldn’t hold up as it has for most of the year.

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4. The weather was peak Big Ten

Who doesn’t like a snow game in late November at Spartan Stadium?

Conditions were not ideal for every part of football, as two misses for Jordan Stout and a failed PAT try by Spartans’ backup kicker Evan Johnson indicated. Winds swirled for most of the game (though the first half was worse than the second) and white precipitation fell the entire game. Temps were under 30 degrees at kickoff and it only became colder from there.

5. Odds and ends

–Michigan State was said to have flu issues entering the game. But, that apparently was not as big of a problem as it was made out to be.

–The Land Grant Trophy returns to Michigan State for the first time in a few seasons.

–It will be interesting to see if James Franklin makes any changes now that the regular season has concluded.

Penn State will learn its bowl game and opponent next week.