STATE COLLEGE – No. 11 Penn State withstood a determined effort by Michigan State to beat the Spartans 35-16 to end its 10-game regular-season streak Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions (6-2 Big Ten, 9-2) led 21-3 before Michigan State (3-6, 5-7) cut it to 21-16 on Peyton Thorne’s 2-yard keeper with 10:52 left. until the end.
Penn State responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Sean Clifford’s 12-yard touchdown pass to running back Nick Singleton with more than 6.5 minutes left on the clock.
Less than a minute later, Kaylen King intercepted Thorne’s pass for the Spartans’ 35th. On the next play, Clifford found KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a touchdown with 3:56 left.
The Lions posted their first 10-win season in three years and fourth in seven years, their first since 1993-99. They also strengthened their case for the New Year’s Six Cup and reclaimed the Land Grant trophy.
Clifford completed 19 of 23 passes for 202 yards and four touchdowns in his last home game.
Lambert-Smith caught five passes for 83 yards and one touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to tight end Theo Johnson in the second quarter.
Keytron Allen rushed 21 times for 78 yards and Singleton, a former Gov. Mifflin star, had 78 yards on 17 carries.
Penn State took a 14-3 halftime lead that could have been bigger if not for two missed field goals by Jake Pinegar of 38 and 27 yards.
In the first quarter, Clifford threw an 11-yard touchdown to Johnson in the face of a total blitz on third down. Early in the second quarter, after a 16-yard pass to Singleton, Clifford threw a lateral to Lambert-Smith, who hit wide to Johnson for a 48-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
After Pinegar missed a field goal for the second time, Michigan State went from 20 in the final 90 seconds of the half to Penn State’s 34. From there, freshman Jack Stone kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired to cap it. 14-3 at the half.
The Lions dominated the half, outgaining the Spartans 245-128 and holding them to 8 yards. But they could not remove them.
