EAST LANSING, Mich. — Daequan Hardy dove into the end zone, and Penn State looked like it was in business at Michigan State. The cornerback gave the Nittany Lions a three-point lead early in the third quarter, and on an evening where the team was getting mixed results on both sides of the ball.
But Penn State couldn’t use the defensive touchdown as a jolt against Michigan State, and the end result of the season finale was yet another disappointing defeat. The No. 12 Spartans beat the Nittany Lions, 30-27, at Spartan Stadium on a snowy Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.
Here are some notable performances and moments from the game.
Turning point: Keyvone Lee gets stuffed on fourth down. Then, he fumbles.
Early in the fourth quarter, Penn State faced fourth-and-2 at the Michigan State 16 down 23-20. Given the field conditions, coach James Franklin kept the offense on the field instead of going for the field goal, but running back Keyvone Lee got stopped for no gain. With 12:43 left, it was still early, but given how Michigan State had been able to burn clock on some long drives, it was a stop that loomed large for Penn State.
The Penn State defense did its part to get the ball back for the offense, but on third-and-1 at the Nittany Lions 49, Lee fumbled, and it was recovered by the Spartans with eight-and-a-half minutes left in the game. Michigan State sealed the win with a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Payton Thorne to wide receiver Jayden Reed to make it 30-20 with 5:10 eleft.
Offensive game ball: Wide receiver Jahan Dotson
In his final regular season game at Penn State, Jahan Dotson continued to showcase the level of play that has made him one of the better wide receivers in program history. Dotson finished the game with eight catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns. He got the Nittany Lions on the board late in the first quarter with a 27-yard touchdown he caught along the right sideline and stretched toward the end zone to convert. Later, he got loose in the Michigan State secondary for a 30-yard touchdown to bring Penn State into a 14-14 tie.
Defensive game ball: Cornerback Daequan Hardy
Hardy has showcased some timely play over the course of his redshirt sophomore season, and Saturday was no different. The 5-foot-9 Pittsburgh native gave Penn State its first lead of the game when he intercepted Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne and ran it back 17 yards for the touchdown.
Special teams game ball: Kick returner Devyn Ford
Devyn Ford, the former four-star recruit at running back, hadn’t been able to carve out much of a role on either offense or special teams through the first 11 games of the season. But the junior added some juice to special teams Saturday in the kick return game. Ford averaged 24 yards on five returns with a long return of 36 yards.
Turning point: Daequan Hardy puts Penn State ahead in the third quarter.
Penn State’s first drive in the second half sputtered when quarterback Sean Clifford was sacked on third down to force a Nittany Lions punt. But the defense picked up its offense. On a third-and-7 at the Michigan State 10, Thorne threw to his left, but Hardy jumped the route and ran back 17 yards to put Penn State ahead, 20-17, with 11:07 left in the third quarter. It was the Nittany Lions’ first lead of the game.
Offensive game ball: Quarterback Sean Clifford
Clifford has played through pain and sickness over the past couple of weeks, and the redshirt senior quarterback turned in another gutsy outing in what could be his regular season finale at Michigan State. Clifford was 23 of 34 for 313 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against the worst pass defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Clifford took four sacks and was hit three more times, but he still made a couple eye-catching plays, like his fourth-and-24 completion for a first down on the game’s final drive.
Turning point: Michigan State drives 99 yards to make it 14-0.
Jordan Stout and Drew Hartlaub did their jobs to down a Penn State punt at the Michigan State 1 in the first quarter. But the Nittany Lions defense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. The Spartans needed only nine plays to go 99 yards on a drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Payton Thorne to wide receiver Tre Mosley. On the first play of the drive, Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III broke off a 35-yard run, immediately negating the field position advantage.
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for PennLive. He can be reached at dgallen@pennlive.com. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow PennLive’s Penn State coverage on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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