Penn State-Michigan State takeaways: Lions close out regular season with dominating win

DETROIT — Penn State closed out the regular season with a dominating win over Michigan State . The Lions defense was suffocating and the offense moved the ball plenty en route to a 42-0 over the Spartans. It marks the second straight victory for the Lions over MSU.

Here are our initial takeaways.

The Penn State defense was suffocating

Coming into the game, it felt unlikely that Michigan State would score many if any points. And, the Penn State defense made sure that was the case. The Spartans had next to nothing go right on offense. The passing attack was constantly under pressure. MSU was horrendous on third down. Multiple Lions recorded sacks and tackles for loss. With 10 minutes to go, the home team at Ford Field had just 74 yards of total offense. They finished with 68. And, it finished the game with negative rushing yards. In a season full of outstanding performances by Manny Diaz’s defense, this was one of the best.

The co-OCs called a very good game

James Franklin does not want to reveal who is calling plays. But, regardless of whether or not it’s Ja’Juan Seider, Ty Howle, or a combination of the two, both deserve credit for an excellent game plan. Penn State struggled a bit early on by not turning field goals into touchdowns. But, the co-offensive coordinators didn’t let that change their plan. Which was a good thing, because it eventually started working very well.

The Lions eclipsed 500 yards of total offense. Quarterback Drew Allar completed 65 percent of his passes and finished with 292 yards and two touchdowns. Backup Beau Pribula was utilized, too. He accounted for two touchdowns. Penn State used multiple offensive line combinations but surrendered just two sacks and four tackles for loss. The offense looked as cohesive and in rhythm as it has all season in the win. Michigan State is bad, of course. But good teams need to dominate lesser opponents. And, the Lions did that on this night.

Penn State-Michigan State odds and ends

–Hello, Omari Evans . After hardly being used for much of the season, he’s received more opportunities over the last two weeks. On the night, he caught a 60-yard pass on his lone target that set up a Lions touchdown.

–Penn State punt returner Daequan Hardy nearly had his third return score of the season. But, he was stopped after a gain of 38 yards to set up a second half Lions score.

–Ford Field was a fun place for this game to be played. Fans from both sides filled the stadium nicely despite the travel for Penn State fans and a bad Michigan State team.