That game went exactly how most people would have expected. It was tough for Penn State to get anything going offensively, but Michigan was dealing with some of the same challenges.
The two schools knew that if they wanted to get a win Saturday afternoon, it would have to be with a stout defense and patience with the offense. That’s exactly what the Wolverines did, holding the Nittany Lions to 18 points and forcing three turnovers.
It was a frustrating game from start to finish, and it marked the fourth straight loss for Penn State. After sprinting out to a 3-0 start, the program is now under .500 and searching for any source of positivity, but unfortunately there are none right now.
Here are five of the biggest takeaways from the 21-18 loss to
Michigan.
Benched
This has almost nothing to do with Penn State, but it’s not every day you see a five-star quarterback get benched. Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham saw enough of quarterback Bryce Underwood and inserted backup Tommy Carr at the start of the second half.
Michigan obviously had high hopes for Underwood, but the offense hasn’t improved much in the season and a half that he’s been starting. He is still a 19-year-old sophomore whose journey is far from over. But he has a lot of work to do if wants to regain the trust and confidence of his coaching staff.
Rocco Becht
As tired as you are of reading about quarterback Rocco Becht’s struggles, it’s equally as tiring writing about them each week. Once again, the game was completely flipped on its head once he began turning the ball over. Every single Michigan scoring drive came after a Becht turnover.
I don’t want to pile on the Iowa State transfer, but he has been putting the team behind the eight-ball for a month’s worth of games now.
Rock Bottom
These are depths that Penn State hasn’t sunk to in a long time. The program is still winless in Big Ten play, and if it can’t beat Purdue after the bye week then there’s no telling when the next Nittany Lions win might come.
A Bowl Game seemed like a foregone conclusion when they were sitting at 3-0, but now they are in serious jeopardy of not making one. We knew it would take some time for head coach Matt Campbell to find his footing in the Big Ten, but he was not supposed to struggle this badly. A nightmare season for Penn State just continues to get worse.
Freshman Phenom
It’s beginning to look like linebacker Josiah Zayas is simply a star who flew under the radar in his recruitment. He was in on his third takeaway in the last four games in the second quarter, when he had a spectacular interception on a pass intended for Wolverines wide receiver JJ Buchanan.
Oddly enough, his only other interception this season was also one-handed. As a true freshman, it’s safe to assume that this is the worst version of Zayas we’ll see. He has a real chance to become a national star if he continues developing at this rate throughout his career.
Double trouble
Nittany Lions wideout Koby Howard emerged as a potential star earlier this season, but unfortunately, he’s missed the team’s last four games. However, fellow receiver Chase Sowell has emerged during his absence, and he’s improved by leaps and bounds in each game without his teammate.
His connection with Becht looked as good as we’ve seen in it against Michigan, and it begs the question of whether Penn State will have two No. 1 receivers when Howard returns. Sowell wasn’t very involved early in the season, but his recent play should make the offense less reliant on Howard’s excellence and give them another viable receiving threat.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: 5 major takeaways from Penn State’s frustrating loss at Michigan
