Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
Post-Game Notes: Penn State
10/14/2018 1:12:00 AM | Football
• In the 33rd meeting between Michigan State and Penn State, the Spartans rallied to defeat the Nittany Lions, 21-17, before a crowd of 106,685 at Beaver Stadium . . . MSU leads the all-time series, 17-15-1 . . . MSU has won seven games at Penn State in series history, including three under Mark Dantonio.
• The Spartans have consistently produced wins against highly ranked teams under Mark Dantonio. MSU is 10-5 in its last 15 games against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 10, including a 9-5 record since 2013 (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; beat No. 8 Penn State in 2018). Michigan State has won 14 of its last 22 games played against AP Top 25 opponents.
• The Spartans have won five of the last six meetings against the Nittany Lions, including back-to-back wins over Top 10 Penn State teams (No. 7 in 2017, No. 8 in 2018) to keep the Land Grant Trophy in East Lansing.
• Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio improved to 6-3 against Penn State during his tenure at MSU, including a 3-2 record in Beaver Stadium.
• Under Mark Dantonio, the Spartans are 21-26 in 47 games played against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25; however, MSU is 20-17 against ranked teams since 2010 and 14-9 since 2013. The 21 wins over AP Top 25 teams rank second among head coaches in MSU history (Duffy Daugherty with 25 from 1954-72). Dantonio is 10-9 against AP Top 10 teams at MSU (10-5 since 2011).
• Michigan State's nine wins over AP Top 10 teams since 2013 ranks third most in the FBS (Alabama with 14, Ohio State with 11).
• Michigan State has posted 19 fourth-quarter comebacks under Dantonio, including three over Penn State (2007, 2017, 2018).
OFFENSE
• Felton Davis III recorded his first 100-yard receiving game of the season and fourth of his career with eight catches for 100 yards . . . he tied his career high with two touchdown receptions, including the game-winning 25-yard score with 19 seconds left in the game . . . he also caught a 20-yard TD pass from Lewerke in the third quarter that tied the game at 14 . . . Davis now has 14 TD receptions in his career, tied for 11th in school history . . . he has a team-best four TD grabs this season . . . the past two games against Penn State, Davis had 20 catches for 281 yards and three TDs . . . the game-winning TD catch was the 100th career reception for Davis; he is one of 30 players in school history to record at least 100 career catches.
• Brian Lewerke completed 24-of-52 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns, both to Felton Davis III . . . it marked Lewerke's 12th career 200-yard passing game, and the fifth this season . . . Lewerke has thrown for 659 yards and four TDs against Penn State the past two seasons . . . he has engineered four fourth-quarter comebacks in his career (2017: Indiana and Penn State; 2018: Utah State and Penn State).
• La'Darius Jefferson led MSU on the ground with career highs in rushing yards (60) and carries (15) . . . he scored MSU's first TD of the game on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
• Connor Heyward collected 79 all-purpose yards (44 rushing, 20 receiving, 15 kick return) . . . on a fake punt in the first quarter (fourth-and-10 from the MSU 36), he ran for 26 yards to the PSU 40 for a first down . . . two plays later, he threw a 36-yard completion to Cam Chambers, which set up a first-and-goal from the PSU 1 . . . the 11-play, 81-yard drive in 4:03 was capped by Jefferson's 1-yard TD run.
• Laress Nelson recorded career highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (60).
• MSU out-gained Penn State, 418-397, and had 25 first downs compared to PSU's 14.
• MSU had a significant advantage in time of possession, 34:12-25:48 . . . MSU is 83-20 under Dantonio when leading in time of possession.
• Michigan State started its sixth different starting combination along the offensive line (LT Cole Chewins; LG Tyler Higby; C Matt Allen; RG Blake Bueter; RT Jordan Reid).
DEFENSE
• The Spartans held Penn State to a season low in points (17) and first downs (14) . . . the 17 points scored by Penn State were the fewest by the Nittany Lions since scoring 10 in a loss at Michigan on Sept. 24, 2016 . . . the 397 yards of total offense was the second-lowest offensive output for PSU this season . . . MSU also held PSU under 200 yards passing for just the second time this season (179 vs. Pittsburgh).
• Khari Willis led the Spartans with a season-high nine tackles . . . he forced a fumble on Trace McSorley in the first quarter . . . he also recorded a pass break-up.
Kenny Willekes was credited with a 7-yard sack on a fourth-down play in the third quarter . . . Willekes now has a team-leading five sacks and nine tackles for loss this season.
• Tyriq Thompson posted a career-high five stops and recovered a fumble in the first quarter.
• Michigan State entered the game ranked No. 1 in the FBS in rushing defense, allowing just 169 rushing yards all season . . . the Nittany Lions snapped MSU's eight-game streak of holding its opponent under 100 yards rushing with 205 yards on the ground . . . MSU also gave up its first rush of more than 20 yards all season . . . MSU is still holding opponents to 62.3 rushing yards per game (374 total) through the first half of the season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Tyler Hunt punted a career-high 10 times (avg. 40.4) . . . he placed three punts inside the 20.
• The Spartans have consistently produced wins against highly ranked teams under Mark Dantonio. MSU is 10-5 in its last 15 games against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 10, including a 9-5 record since 2013 (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; beat No. 8 Penn State in 2018). Michigan State has won 14 of its last 22 games played against AP Top 25 opponents.
• The Spartans have won five of the last six meetings against the Nittany Lions, including back-to-back wins over Top 10 Penn State teams (No. 7 in 2017, No. 8 in 2018) to keep the Land Grant Trophy in East Lansing.
• Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio improved to 6-3 against Penn State during his tenure at MSU, including a 3-2 record in Beaver Stadium.
• Under Mark Dantonio, the Spartans are 21-26 in 47 games played against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25; however, MSU is 20-17 against ranked teams since 2010 and 14-9 since 2013. The 21 wins over AP Top 25 teams rank second among head coaches in MSU history (Duffy Daugherty with 25 from 1954-72). Dantonio is 10-9 against AP Top 10 teams at MSU (10-5 since 2011).
• Michigan State's nine wins over AP Top 10 teams since 2013 ranks third most in the FBS (Alabama with 14, Ohio State with 11).
• Michigan State has posted 19 fourth-quarter comebacks under Dantonio, including three over Penn State (2007, 2017, 2018).
OFFENSE
• Felton Davis III recorded his first 100-yard receiving game of the season and fourth of his career with eight catches for 100 yards . . . he tied his career high with two touchdown receptions, including the game-winning 25-yard score with 19 seconds left in the game . . . he also caught a 20-yard TD pass from Lewerke in the third quarter that tied the game at 14 . . . Davis now has 14 TD receptions in his career, tied for 11th in school history . . . he has a team-best four TD grabs this season . . . the past two games against Penn State, Davis had 20 catches for 281 yards and three TDs . . . the game-winning TD catch was the 100th career reception for Davis; he is one of 30 players in school history to record at least 100 career catches.
• Brian Lewerke completed 24-of-52 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns, both to Felton Davis III . . . it marked Lewerke's 12th career 200-yard passing game, and the fifth this season . . . Lewerke has thrown for 659 yards and four TDs against Penn State the past two seasons . . . he has engineered four fourth-quarter comebacks in his career (2017: Indiana and Penn State; 2018: Utah State and Penn State).
• La'Darius Jefferson led MSU on the ground with career highs in rushing yards (60) and carries (15) . . . he scored MSU's first TD of the game on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
• Connor Heyward collected 79 all-purpose yards (44 rushing, 20 receiving, 15 kick return) . . . on a fake punt in the first quarter (fourth-and-10 from the MSU 36), he ran for 26 yards to the PSU 40 for a first down . . . two plays later, he threw a 36-yard completion to Cam Chambers, which set up a first-and-goal from the PSU 1 . . . the 11-play, 81-yard drive in 4:03 was capped by Jefferson's 1-yard TD run.
• Laress Nelson recorded career highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (60).
• MSU out-gained Penn State, 418-397, and had 25 first downs compared to PSU's 14.
• MSU had a significant advantage in time of possession, 34:12-25:48 . . . MSU is 83-20 under Dantonio when leading in time of possession.
• Michigan State started its sixth different starting combination along the offensive line (LT Cole Chewins; LG Tyler Higby; C Matt Allen; RG Blake Bueter; RT Jordan Reid).
DEFENSE
• The Spartans held Penn State to a season low in points (17) and first downs (14) . . . the 17 points scored by Penn State were the fewest by the Nittany Lions since scoring 10 in a loss at Michigan on Sept. 24, 2016 . . . the 397 yards of total offense was the second-lowest offensive output for PSU this season . . . MSU also held PSU under 200 yards passing for just the second time this season (179 vs. Pittsburgh).
• Khari Willis led the Spartans with a season-high nine tackles . . . he forced a fumble on Trace McSorley in the first quarter . . . he also recorded a pass break-up.
Kenny Willekes was credited with a 7-yard sack on a fourth-down play in the third quarter . . . Willekes now has a team-leading five sacks and nine tackles for loss this season.
• Tyriq Thompson posted a career-high five stops and recovered a fumble in the first quarter.
• Michigan State entered the game ranked No. 1 in the FBS in rushing defense, allowing just 169 rushing yards all season . . . the Nittany Lions snapped MSU's eight-game streak of holding its opponent under 100 yards rushing with 205 yards on the ground . . . MSU also gave up its first rush of more than 20 yards all season . . . MSU is still holding opponents to 62.3 rushing yards per game (374 total) through the first half of the season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Tyler Hunt punted a career-high 10 times (avg. 40.4) . . . he placed three punts inside the 20.
Players Mentioned
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