Post-Game Notes: Penn State
11/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
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• With the 27-24 win over No. 7 Penn State, Michigan State improves to 7-2 on the season and 5-1 in the Big Ten . . . the Spartans are tied for first in the Big Ten East Division standings at 5-1, along with Ohio State.
• The game was delayed for three hours and 22 minutes at the 9:38 mark in the second quarter due to severe weather . . . the delay started at 1:15 p.m. and play resumed at 4:37 p.m. . . . the game started at 12:05 p.m. and ended at 7:03 p.m.
• Michigan State has defeated eight AP Top 10 teams since 2013, second most in the FBS (Alabama) . . . the Spartans are 9-5 in their last 14 games against teams ranked in the AP Top 10 (beat No. 4 Wisconsin in 2011; beat No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Stanford in 2013; lost to No. 3 Oregon and beat No. 4 Baylor in 2014; beat No. 7 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Iowa, and lost to No. 2 Alabama in 2015; lost to No. 2 Michigan, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 8 Penn State in 2016; beat No. 7 Michigan and No. 7 Penn State in 2017).
• Mark Dantonio has nine wins against AP Top 10 teams during his tenure at MSU (9-9 record against AP Top 10 teams) . . . it also marked Dantonio's 19th win over an AP Top 25 team.
• MSU head coach Mark Dantonio is 5-3 against Penn State while coaching the Spartans, including a 3-1 record in Spartan Stadium . . . Dantonio is 5-4 overall against the Nittany Lions (lost at Penn State in 2005 while coaching Cincinnati).
• Michigan State now holds a slim edge in the all-time series, 16-15-1, including a 10-5 record in Spartan Stadium . . . the Spartans have won four of the last five meetings against Penn State . . . MSU also regained the Land Grant Trophy, which has been awarded to the winner of the MSU-PSU game since 1993.
• MSU has posted 17 fourth-quarter comebacks under Dantonio (MSU trailed 24-21 heading into the fourth quarter).
• MSU now has eight walk-off wins (scoring as time expired in regulation or in OT) under Dantonio . . . MSU's last win on the last play of the game in regulation came on Michael Geiger's 41-yard field goal to defeat No. 2 Ohio State on Nov. 21, 2015, in Columbus, Ohio.
OFFENSE
• A week after setting numerous school records at Northwestern, sophomore quarterback Brian Lewerke had another impressive game, becoming the first Spartan quarterback to throw for 400 yards in back-to-back games . . . he threw for a school-record 445 yards at Northwestern, and for 400 against Penn State . . . the 400 yards tied for the second-most yards by a Spartan QB in a single game (Bill Burke with 400 in win over Michigan in 1999) . . . according to BTN, Lewerke is one of just three Big Ten quarterbacks in the last 20 years to throw for 400 yards in two consecutive games (Drew Brees, Purdue, 1998; C.J. Bacher, Northwestern, 2007) . . . Lewerke finished the game 33-of-56 passing . . . he completed six passes of 20-plus yards . . . he also had 425 yards of total offense, second in school history behind only his 475 last week at Northwestern . . . Lewerke was 9-of-14 for 156 yards on third down in the game . . . he also was the holder on the game-winning field goal by Matt Coghlin.
• Felton Davis III recorded career highs in catches (12) and receiving yards (181) . . . the 12 catches tied for fourth most in a single game by a Spartan, and the 181 receiving yards were 13th most by a Spartan in a game . . . the 12 catches matched his season total from last year . . . the 181 receiving yards were the second most by a Spartan receiver against Penn State (Charles Rogers with 191 in 2001) . . . Davis had a diving 33-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter that tied the game at 14, his team-leading eighth of the season.
• Hunter Rison had three catches for 52 yards, with two of the catches coming on back-to-back first downs on MSU's touchdown scoring drive in the third quarter.
• LJ Scott scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter as the Spartans took a 21-14 lead . . . it marked Scott's 22nd career rushing touchdown.
• Michigan State converted 10-of-18 third-down conversions.
DEFENSE
• Penn State junior running back Saquon Barkley came into the game leading the nation in all-purpose yards, averaging 206.3 ypg, but finished with just 111 all-purpose yards (63 rushing, 33 receiving, 15 kick return), his second-lowest total of the season . . . Barkley's school-record streak of 15 consecutive games with a touchdown was snapped.
• Junior safety Khari Willis tied his career high with 11 tackles, including a 9-yard sack.
• Sophomore safety David Dowell recorded two interceptions in a game for the second time this season (vs. Michigan) . . . he has a team-leading four interceptions this season.
• Sophomore linebacker Joe Bachie recorded his second interception of the season and also had six tackles.
• Sophomore defensive tackle Kyonta Stallworth recorded a career-high six tackles . . . he entered the game with four career tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Matt Coghlin connected on both of his field-goal attempts (32 yards, 34 yards), both of which came in the fourth quarter . . . Coghlin's 34-yard field goal as time expired gave MSU the 27-24 victory . . . it marked the first game-winning field goal as time expired for the Spartans since Michael Geiger kicked a game-winning 41-yarder at No. 2 Ohio State in 2015.
