Win No. 7 looked like several other losses by Penn State in big games

 

Penn State is 7-0, ranked No. 6 in the country and has a pair of victories over Top 25 ranked teams this season.

Those are the cold, hard facts and they are not up for debate.

This is a very good Nittany Lions football team. It’s flawed offensively big-time, but Penn State is still a legitimate contender on many levels.

And Nittany Lions fans have a good reason for possessing so much angst after a huge win over Michigan Saturday night.

There was a clear-cut pattern to this game we’ve seen before under James Franklin. It’s a pattern that doesn’t normally end well for the Nittany Lions.

Part of what was going on Saturday night was about USC in the Rose Bowl, it was about Ohio State the past two years and it was about Michigan State in 2017.

Huge games against quality opponents and every single one started the same and ended the same.

Penn State comes out with its hair on fire and leads by double digits. Then all that offense evaporates, the defense is sucking wind and can’t get off the field or make a play to stem the tide.

And Penn State loses the game.

It’s been a trend. And I can’t exactly put my football finger on why it happens. The players are talented, the aggressive approach doesn’t go away and this coaching staff isn’t short on experience in tight spots.

There is one difference this time, though. Even though it looked liked all the others, it didn’t happen. Michigan’s wide receiver dropped the ball in the end zone.

If that catch is made and that game goes to overtime, admit it Penn State backers you fully believed Michigan was going to win that game. It’s because had the whiteout been extended to extra time, the Wolverines on that night were much better equipped to play in a 25-yard box offensively than Penn State.

While the second half looked identical in many ways to USC in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State the last two years and Michigan State in 2017, the dropped pass by Michigan made Penn State 7-0 instead of 6-1.

It didn’t happen this time.