Penn State wins, 46-17

Penn State finally shook off the Michigan football demons. Here's some initial thoughts. I'll have the full review tomorrow.

The Good: Everything after halftime. Penn State was on the ropes for the better part of two quarters. But the Nittany Lions overcame two separate 10-point deficits, reeling off 39 unanswered points to crush Michigan. Penn State faced that "adversity" Joe Paterno was harping on, and they came through with the win. I thought the defensive adjustments after halftime were a thing of beauty, since Michigan went from 200 yards in the first half, to only 38 total in the third quarter. Jared Odrick, Maurice Evans and Aaron Maybin really looked night-and-day better after the half, getting into the backfield for really huge stops. The offense had a real Jeckyl-Hyde kind of night. Evan Royster (174 yds (9.7 ypc) 1 TD) is my official nominee for Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. But we can't overlook Daryll Clark. While he wasn't great, he was a leader out there. I think the good coming from this game is that the team adapted to what went wrong in the first half (almost everything), and came out roaring in the second half.

The Bad: Everything (except for the final drive) before halftime. I nearly put a hole in the drywall each time Brandon Minor rushed for another 7-yard pop. The Penn State tackling was the worst I've seen in a long time. They didn't look like they were trying to shed their blocks on defense, and couldn't get a good push on offense. At first, I thought the snap over Clark's head was a fluke, but it was just the beginning of Penn State's execution woes. But let's be fair, the blame should lay with both sides of the ball. I could attack the offense for not scoring more points, but how can I when Michigan had the ball for 12 MINUTES in the first quarter? I think the more frustrating aspect of Penn State's play tonight was the defensive breakdowns–no, meltdowns–versus the Michigan run game.

Overall: Penn State better learn from this win, and learn those lessons quickly. Steven Threet had way too many successful runs against Penn State. What's going to happen when Terrelle Pryor is taking the snaps, and Beanie Wells is getting the hand-offs? Tom Bradley and Joe Paterno have to smack this defense around this week in practice, and ask them if the really want to win a championship. They won't by playing like they did tonight. Penn State can win by wearing down teams with lesser talent, like Michigan, but can't count on it against teams with equal or better talent, like Ohio State. I guess we could take some comfort with one thing: This was by far Penn State's worst game of the season, and still won 46-17.