With 13:37 left in the fourth quarter and holding a 14–10 lead, Penn State’s offense took the field having done next to nothing all game. It ran the ball first with quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. Then it ran the ball again with running back Kayton Allen, and again with running back Nick Singleton. Penn State kept it on the ground, running 12 straight times and methodically driving into the red zone, where it scored to extend the lead to 21–10. Not only did the Nittany Lions score, they also bled nine minutes off the clock.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow, not being able to get the job done,” junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren said. “They had good running backs. They’re hard runners, and we knew that. We just needed to rally some more guys to the football.”

In that drive – which effectively put away the game – MSU’s defense seemed helpless. Defenders didn’t close gaps, tackles were not made, and one-on-ones were not won. It was a drive that was atypical of how MSU had played all night. 

What was typical was a defensive unit that featured grit, motivation, tenacity and a willingness to get off the field. For three quarters, Penn State was limited to only 14 points and 224 total yards, going 1-for-9 on third downs and 2-for-4 on fourth downs. It was an effort that kept the Spartans in the game.

“Proud of our defensive effort,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. “Fourth down stops kept us in it throughout the night. [Our players] really battled to keep it within striking distance.”

The start of the game went about as perfectly as MSU could have dreamed it to go. 

On Penn State’s inaugural drive, it didn’t gain an inch. Three plays and MSU’s defense forced a punt. The Spartans followed this defensive stop up by scoring on its first play from scrimmage, with senior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver outracing Nittany Lion defenders enroute to a 57 yard touchdown run, giving MSU a 7-0 lead in its only touchdown of the game. 

Tau-Tolliver statistically played his best game of the season. The speedy back finished with six carries for 79 yards and a touchdown. He was also the leading receiver with eight catches for 73 yards. 

Penn State would answer MSU’s one play score with a methodical, 12 play drive that stretched 75 yards. The Nittany Lions balanced attack bent the Spartan defense until it could bend no more, and Allen found the endzone on an eight yard run that tied the game 7-7.    

Three drives later, Penn State would take the lead in one play, with Grunkemeyer finding his open wide receiver Devonte Ross for a 75 yard touchdown on the first play of scrimmage.

Grunkemeyer would finish the game going 7-for-11 with 123 yards and one passing touchdown. He was sacked two times. 

On the ground, the two-headed monster of Allen and Singleton combined for 40 rushes for 277 yards with two touchdowns. 123 of these yards and one of these touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. 

“We played solid defense, and it kept us in the game,” Smith said. “But they began to lean on [the running game], and that’s a credit to Penn State. They have some good backs and a good offensive line.”

Other than these two Nittany Lion scoring plays – one of which was a busted play caused by a miscommunication in the secondary – the first three quarters saw an MSU defense that didn’t flinch. Stop after stop, whether by forcing a punt or forcing a turnover on downs, the Spartans got off the field. But like how the past few games have gone, MSU couldn’t keep at it. In the fourth quarter, it couldn’t limit the offense, it couldn’t stop the run, it couldn’t get to the quarterback, it couldn’t retain momentum and it couldn’t finish the game with a victory. 

With seven consecutive losses and now mathematically ineligible for a bowl game for the fourth straight season, MSU will attempt to keep motivation as it travels to Iowa next Saturday.