PSU - Michigan GameDay

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Greetings everyone. It's almost time for kickoff. Kevin and I (Corey) will be providing some play-by-play and commentary throughout the game. Yes, we know it's being nationally broadcast, but we're here so we might as well provide our perspective. As always send along emails with any comments during the game to cpm167@psu.edu and kjh5017@psu.edu.

Michigan has won the toss and deferred to the second half. Penn State will receive.

3:37 p.m. - Kickoff

Lions first offensive possession wasn't very good. Anthony Morelli was tackled for no gain on a third and long. After a Jeremy Boone punt, Michigan will get the ball for the first time at the PSU 42.

UM's first two plays were, not surprisingly, hand offs to Mike Hart for a gain of four yards total. On 3rd and five, after a Michigan time out, Ryan Mallett was sacked on his first pass attempt by Tyrell Sales. Zoltan Mesko's punt goes in the end zone. PSU ball at its 20. PSU - 0, UM - 0, 10:36 left in the first.

...In the UM student section, an inflatable shark...

PSU begins its second drive in a five-wide set. Morelli is hit and fumbles. Recovered by UM on the PSU 10. First and goal. Mallett's second pass is to Mario Manningham for no gain. Mallet drops back again on second down, fakes a pass right then scrambles left for a touchdown.
UM - 7, PSU - 0, 9:35 left in the first.

A.J. Wallace returns the kickoff to the PSU 28. Austin Scott in the backfield directly behind Morelli with three wideouts. Scott gains one yard. Morelli completes his first pass to Jordan Norwood on an out pattern. On 3rd and four, Morelli completes a pass to the normally surehanded Norwood for a first down, but then Norwood fumbles.

Upon review, the play is reversed. PSU first and 10 at its 48. Replays showed, to me, that Norwood lost the ball just before his back made contact with the ground. UM - 7, PSU - 0, 8:04 left in first.

A nice screen pass to Scott on the next play puts PSU at the UM 39. A reverse to Derrick Williams gains five on the first down. PSU picks up another first on a delayed run to Scott up the middle. PSU at the UM 25. Morelli sacked with five wideouts again on the field. 2nd and 16. Morelli incomplete to Scott, and on 3rd Morelli tried to find Andrew Quarless but it was broken up by UM safety Jamar Adams. Boone boots a coffin corner out of bounds at the UM 3. UM - 7, PSU - 0, 5:26 left in the first.

You have to think PSU defense is thinking safety here with the way the offense has struggled so far, especially when it has tried to spead UM out.

Hart runs for a gain of three on first down. UM backup tailback Brandon Minor rips of the longest run yet for the Wolverines out to the UM 17 for a first down. Mallett play action pass to tight end Carson Butler to UM 33 for another first. I may have a bad memory but I think that was the first successful play action pass against Penn State this season. After short run on first, Mallett pass goes incomplete in the arms of Justin King, who is covering Manningham. On third down, Mallett is tackled by Dan Connor and UM punts to Williams. Fair catch at the PSU 34. UM - 7, PSU - 0, 2:35 left in first.

Morelli hands off to Rodney Kinlaw -- We have a Kinlaw sighting! -- for a gain of one. Kinlaw picks up three on the next play. On third and long, Morelli incomplete to Norwood. PSU goes three and out. UM begins at its 31.

King clearly interferes with Manningham on a slant on UM first play. Yellow laundry everywhere on the field. Oh, that's cause there was an ineligible man down field, too on UM. Penalties offset . Still, first down on UM 31. Hart runs for a gain of 13. Hart stopped for no gain. Josh Gaines bats Mallett's second down pass away. 3rd and 10. Mallett with a 18-yard slant to Manningham with Lydell Sargeant on the coverage. Ball at PSU 38.

As we head to the second quarter, Kevin is taking over. Enjoy! End of first - UM - 7 PSU - 0

Hey guys, Kevin here. Shoot me an e-mail -- kjh5017@psu.edu -- if you're following the game along with us today.

Penn State's secondary has been doing its job -- for the most part. Ryan Mallett tries to start off the second quarter with a pass toward the sideline, but it is broken up by Tony Davis.

Michigan will have to punt after Mallett gets hit by Dan Connor and loses the football. The refs ultimately rule it an incomplete pass.

Morelli hits Terrell Golden on a 24-yard pass, giving Penn State a first down at midfield.

But the senior quarterback has had to be very aware of Michigan's defensive line today. Morelli is hurried on first down and scrambles for about three yards before getting brought down.

The Lions' offensive is starting to look alive for the first time all day. Rodney Kinlaw busts through the Wolverines' defense for a six yard run -- on the next play, the senior running back follows it up with a three-yard run that gives Penn State a first down.

Yeah, now they're getting into it. Morelli hits Andrew Quarless for a 22-yard pass to get Penn State inside the Wolverines' red zone for the first time all day.

Morelli had Deon Butler quasi-wide open in the end zone, but overthrew him. The Lions will have to settle for a Kevin Kelly field goal.

UM 7, PSU 3 -- 9:14 remaining in the second quarter

Mike Hart, who was limited to 18 yards in the first quarter, picks up eight yards on second down for the Wolverines.

It looks like Hart could get dangerous as this game goes on -- the senior running back picks up six yards on the next play, giving the Wolverines a first down.

And Michigan moves it right along: Mallett hits Adrian Arrington for a first down. A.J. Wallace makes the tackle. After a Mike Hart run, the Wolverines have it at Penn State's 34.

Mike Hart gets it again and finds a running line wide enough to drive a Buick through. On the next play, he gets it again and takes the Wolverines down to Penn State's 11-yard-line.

First and goal for the Wolverines after a short run to the 10-yard-line.

On third and goal, Mallett takes a shot at wide receiver Greg Mathews, but it's over Matthews' head.

Jason Gingell's kick is no good.

Score remains UM 7, PSU 3, with about three minutes to play before halftime.

Penn State goes three-and-out on its next drive. Jeremy Boon punts the ball to the Wolverines' Greg Mathews, and Michigan will take over at its own 27-yard-line.

Mike Hart gets a handoff on the first play, but loses one yard after being brought down by Sean Lee.

On second down, Mike Hart gets the ball -- again -- and is brought down by Jerome Hayes after a two-yard run. A round of boos begins to emanate from the Michigan Stadium crowd as the teams prepare for third down, with nine yards to go.

Mallett finds Mario Manningham wide open downfield. Manningham is brought down at Michigan's 42.

Mallett's next pass is tipped and hovers dangerously in the air, but isn't picked off. On third down, Mallett finds Arrington for a first down at Penn State's 46-yard-line.

The Wolverines call their third and final timeout with 32 seconds left in the second quarter. It's second down, with three yards to go at Penn State's 39-yard-line.

On second down, Mallett is pressured and has to throw it away. On second down, he hits Arrington over the middle to take the Wolverines down to the 24-yard-line, giving the Wolverines a first down.

Mallett spikes the ball to stop the clock on first down. On the next play, he takes a shot toward the end zone, which is incomplete.

His next pass attempt is picked off by Lydell Sargeant, who takes it back to Penn State's 37.

Morell downs the ball to end what has been an up-and-down first half for both teams.

I'll be handing it back to Corey for the second half. Stay tuned.

At halftime, UM still leads PSU, 7-3.

Michigan begins the second half at its 33. Hart starts were he left in the first, gaining nine yards. He moves the chains again on the next play. PSU defense able to get a stop, though, on a third and long. Mesko punts to Williams, fair catch at the PSU 17. 12:32 left, third quarter. UM - 7, PSU - 3.

First PSU offensive play of the half is a Scott run, left side, for a loss of two. Quarless makes a one handed catch but out of bounds on second down. Morelli in the shotgun throws into double coverage on Norwood. Another three and out, for PSU. UM has the ball after the punt at its 37.

Hart stopped for a loss of two, then a loss of one on two consecutive runs. Good penetration by PSU d-line on the first one. Navorro Bowman made the stop on the second. Mallett throws for a completion on third down but one yard short of the first down. PSU ball at its 19. 9:38 left in the third, UM - 7, PSU - 0.

If Penn State's offense can score a touchdown, or maybe even get a first down, the Lions might have a chance of winning. But right now, the offense isn't looking good at all. The defense looks to have figured out its run stopping problems for the time being.

Morelli quick six yard out to Deon Butler. On second, Scott gains three up the middle. On a key, 3rd and 1, Scott takes it up the middle for gain of 19 to PSU 47. Morelli pass to Matt Hahn out of the backfield for a gain of 10 and a first down. Morelli completes 11 yards to Norwood for another first. Scott gains one. Morelli in the shotgun on second down compeltes to wide out Butler who trash talks UM defensive back Brandon Englemon.

Big game changing play here: Scott fumbles, ball recovered by UM at the PSU 9. Upon review, the play stands. From out viewpoint up here watching the replays on television, it looks like the correct call. 6:09, UM - 7, PSU - 3. Big missed opportunity for PSU there. The offense got going but a turnover killed any momentum it had.

Hart takes three consecutive runs out to the UM 25. 2nd and seven now. Hart slips Chris Baker in the backfield gains a little. Now 3rd and five. Mallett competes to Adrian Arrington for a first, but on next play PSU gets a a turnover. Mallett bobbled the snap and PSU recovers at UM 35.

Morelli incomplete to Hahn. Delay run to Kinlaw for a loss of two. 3rd and 12 here. Morelli completes to Quarless one yard short. PSU going for it on fourth and one. Very big play here. Kinlaw just barely gets the first down. Morelli lofts one up for Quarless near the end zone. Quarless was interfered with and Morelli jumps around like he just threw a touchdown.

PSU ball at the UM 9, and a first down. After a short run, 2nd and goal pass complete to Williams to the UM 2. Kinlaw sweep to the left yields no gain, plus holding penalty. 3rd and goal from UM 12. PSU five wide again. Morelli attempt to Bell is incomplete. Had Bell caught it he would have been stopped short of the end zone anyway. Kevin Kelly knocks his second field goal through. :23 left, UM - 7, PSU - 6.

Kevin will take over now and take you through the fourth quarter until we head down to the field. This one is still to be decided.

Thanks Corey. Here in Ann Arbor, we have something unusual: a Penn State fourth quarter that actually means something. The Lions led Buffalo by 28 points at the start of the fourth quarter last week. They led Notre Dame by 14 at the start of the fourth quarter and, in the season opener, The Lions entered the fourth quarter leading Florida International by 52.

That means the Lions have had a combined lead of 94 points heading into fourth quarters so far this season. This week, they don't have that cushion. Instead, they enter trailing the Wolverines by one point.

Can the Lions handle the pressure of heading into the final quarter trailing their opponent?

Let's find out.

Mario Manningham is the recipient of two Ryan Mallett passes to start the fourth quarter, giving Michigan a nice start.

On second down from Penn State's 41, Ryan Mallett tries a reverse, handing off to Mario Manningham, who picks up three yards, giving the Wolverines a first down.

And Hart's the man who keeps this Wolverines offense going. The public address announcer has just told us that he's set a new Michigan record today -- rushing for at least 100 yards in 23 games as a Wolverine.

Michigan's in the red zone now, and Hart follows some key blocks before he is brought down by Mark Rubin at Penn State's 12.

It will be third down and five at the 15.

Mallett's in the shotgun and hits Greg Mathews for a nine-yard gain, giving the Wolverines a first down and goal at Penn State's six.

It will be first and goal for the Wolverines after a Lydell Sargeant pass-interference penalty.

On second down, Mike Hart rushes for a touchdown.

With 8:52 remaining, UM leads PSU 14-6.

We're going to head down to the field now for the last couple minutes of the game and to talk to players and coaches after the game is over. Check back shortly after the game, when Mark will have a web update on the Collegian's homepage about today's game.