Penn State 41, Michigan 31: Your comprehensive guide to Saturday's coverage
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez shakes hands with Penn State coach Joe Paterno after the Nittany Lions' 41-31 win at Beaver Stadium on Saturday night. Paterno won his 399th career game while Rodriguez's record in Big Ten games dropped to 4-16.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
There were two possibilities entering Saturday night's football game in State College, Pa.
A) A porous Michigan defense would finally find an offense -- led by a former third-string, walk-on quarterback -- it could keep in check.
B) A struggling Penn State offense would finally find a defense it could move the ball on.
The answer, decisively, was B.
Matt McGloin, filling in for injured starter Rob Bolden, threw for 250 yards and a touchdown and Evan Royster led a suddenly revived Nittany Lion running game with 150 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries in a 41-31 win.
The Nittany Lions' 435 total yards is more than 100 yards over their season average and the 41 points more than double what the nation's 99th-ranked offense had been mustering.
Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson had yet another monster day for the Wolverines, who cut a 38-17 deficit to 38-31 with 9:25 left in the fourth quarter. He passed for 190 yards, rushed for 191 yards and accounted for all four Michigan touchdowns.
But that fourth-quarter comeback attempt stalled and Michigan (5-3, 1-3 Big Ten) lost its third straight game when Penn State (5-3, 2-2) possessed the ball for more than 10 minutes over the final 15 minutes of play.
AnnArbor.com had reporters and a photographer following all the action in Happy Valley. Here's a compilation of what you can find on our site:
Post-Game Coverage • Scoring summary and boxscore.
• Pete Bigelow's main game story sums the night up like this: "In perhaps its most disappointing performance of a season littered with them, the Wolverines allowed a walk-on quarterback starting his first college game to rip it apart in a 41-31 loss."
• The biggest frustration for the Wolverines' defense is allowing opponents to complete 3rd-and-long situations.
• In our game day notebook, there are items on the Michigan running backs, changes made to the defensive lineup, an injury report and more.
• Mike Rothstein caught up with Denard Robinsin after the game. In this video clip, he talks about the difference between the first and second halves.
• And here's another video clip from a post-game conversation with Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton.
• Penn State coverage is available on PennLive.com.
In-Game Updates • AnnArbor.com photographer Melanie Maxwell's images -- from pre-game to post-game -- are compiled in this slideshow:
• Jim Knight kept a running update file during the game. Check that out here.
• Rich Rezler and Mike Rothstein hosted a live chat during the game. Read that transcript here.
Around the Big Ten (click on score for complete game recap)
Ohio State 52, Minnesota 10: Terrelle Pryor threw for two scores and rushed for another touchdown, as 10th-ranked Buckeyes rolled in Minneapolis. Pryor completed 18 of 22 passes for 222 yards. Dan Herron carried the ball 17 times for 114 yards with a TD for the Buckeyes (8-1, 4-1), who have beaten Minnesota in 24 of the last 25 meetings. Adam Weber connected on 9 of 20 passes for 162 yards and was intercepted once for Minnesota (1-8, 0-5), which lost its eighth in a row.
Iowa 37, Michigan State 6: The previously unbeaten Spartans had rallied from early deficits in the previous four weeks, but Iowa's 30-0 halftime lead was never threatened on Saturday. The Hawkeyes intercepted three Kirk Cousins passes, including one returned for a touchdown, and beat Michigan State (8-1, 4-1) handily at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes (6-2, 3-1) took advantage of two interceptions, four penalties, 114 interception return yards and 239 total yards of offense in the first half to build the big lead.
Illinois 44, Purdue 10: Nathan Scheelhaase completed 16 of 20 passes for 195 yards and four touchdowns and carried the ball 21 times for 118 yards to lead the Fighting Illini to an easy home win. Mikel Leshoure also pitched in on the ground and through the air for Illinois (5-3,3-2 Big 10), as he ran for two scores and had a receiving touchdown, as well. Purdue (4-4, 2-2) quarterback Sean Robinson struggled, completing just 7 of 20 passes for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Northwestern 20, Indiana 17: Dan Persa completed 18 of 28 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with an apparent concussion in the Wildcats' win. Jeremy Ebert caught five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns for Northwestern (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten). Ben Chappell connected on 30 of 54 passes for 308 yards and one touchdown with one interception for Indiana (4-4, 0-4).
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