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Penn State Notebook: Nittany Lions come up small in red zone

Letter to the Editor: Wilkes University campus far safer than you have been led to believe, student says

<p>STATE COLLEGE &#8212; As the Big Ten season wears down, the chink in Penn State&#8217;s armor &#8211; special teams &#8211;has continually been exposed. Whenever it found itself on the ropes, Michigan exploited Penn State&#8217;s main vulnerability.</p><p>Poor special teams play by Penn State allowed two touchdowns in a 28-16 loss Saturday in Big Ten play.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s some issues,&#8221; Penn State coach James Franklin said. &#8220;No doubt about it. We have to get it cleaned up. It&#8217;s everything. It&#8217;s coverage. It&#8217;s kicking. It&#8217;s kicking location. We are very, very inconsistent in those things right now.&#8221;</p><p>Both special teams&#8217; gaffes stymied Penn State when trailing by less than five.</p><p>The biggest flub came on a botched punt return deep in the Nittany Lions&#8217; zone. DeAndre Thompkins mishandled a punt that arguably should have been waved for a fair catch. Thompkins coughed it up at the Lions 8-yard line and it was recovered by the Wolverines&#8217; Jehu Chesson.</p><p>Three plays later, Sione Houma ran it into the end zone for a 21-10 lead with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter.</p><p>&#8220;We had started to kind of get momentum, fought to get back into it, and then we have a turnover deal in our own territory,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;It puts our defense in a real bad spot.&#8221;</p><p>Penn State recovered, thanks in large part to an uplifting fumble caused and recovered by Brandon Bell, for six consecutive points on a pair of field goals. Tyler Davis just barely made an 18-yard kick to cut the Nittany Lions&#8217; deficit to 21-16 with 8:05 remaining in the game.</p><p>The Lions&#8217; prospects of a comeback were short-lived when Jourdan Lewis returned a kickoff 55 yards to the Penn State 40. It set the stage for a 10-play drive lasting over four minutes that culminated in a De&#8217;Veon Smith score that all but sealed Penn State&#8217;s fourth loss of the year.</p><p>Franklin blandly elicited his frustration on the coverage following the pair of field goals.</p><p>&#8220;We let them start on our side of the field,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Lewis told Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh to expect a great play in the huddle prior to the return.</p><p>&#8220;(Lewis) said, &#8216;I&#8217;m going to break their back right here,&#8217; and I said, &#8216;Go ahead,&#8217;&#8221; Harbaugh said. &#8220;It was a phenomenal return. He was just competing like a maniac through that return and refusing to go down. It was fantastic.&#8221;</p><p>The dismal second half fogged the memories of a first half that saw improvements to the much-maligned unit that came into Saturday&#8217;s game ranked 110th in Division I in Special Teams Efficiency.</p><p>Walk-on Von Walker, a Centre County product from nearby Mill Hall, was a bright spot for the Lions on two separate occasions. Walker bull-rushed up the middle and blocked Michigan punter Blake O&#8217;Neill with his right hand. O&#8217;Neill stood little chance of getting the boot off with Saeed Blacknall also breaking through the line.</p><p>It was Penn State&#8217;s first block since Matt Hull blocked Ohio State for a touchdown in 2012.</p><p>The punt block set up Penn State&#8217;s only touchdown of the game. Blacknall caught a 25-yard catch down the sidelines to give the Nittany Lions a 10-7 lead with 1:57 left in the first half.</p><p>After Blacknall&#8217;s touchdown, Walker saved a large return, perhaps even a touchdown, when he tackled Lewis at the Michigan 30.</p><p>&#8220;We made a play on a blocked punt, which was huge, but we gave up two big plays,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;So those things are challenges.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Michigan wide receiver Jehu Chesson (86) catches a pass between Penn State safety Marcus Allen (2) and linebacker Jason Cabinda (40) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in State College Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Michigan-Penn-St-Foot_Sopr1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Michigan wide receiver Jehu Chesson (86) catches a pass between Penn State safety Marcus Allen (2) and linebacker Jason Cabinda (40) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in State College Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jay Monahan</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table class="mceItemTable" style="border:none;width:98%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;">6mxYmuSEq-w</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;">YOUTUBE</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mxYmuSEq-w</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Penn State head coach James Franklin talks about special teams play.</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Jay Monahan | For Times Leader</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Special teams stalls Penn State’s momentum, again