Penn State suffered a stinging 42-7 loss against Michigan on Saturday and really failed to get anything going on offense. On top of an inability to make a real impact on the game, James Franklin’s squad made a number of mistakes that made proceedings even more difficult against a talented team in a hostile environment. 

The Nittany Lions have been prone to making mistakes this season. Giving up two safeties against Iowa in the first quarter comes to mind, and so does the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a successful goal-line stand against Michigan State. That penalty gave the Spartans a first down and led to a touchdown in their 21-17 victory at Beaver Stadium. Muffed punts and a poorly-timed timeout allowed Indiana a chance to beat the Nittany Lions a few weeks ago.

In the first quarter against Michigan, Penn State was nearly penalized for a delay of game on a punt, before Franklin called a timeout, as well as a delay of game on the first play of the next drive. Later in the quarter, Trace McSorley slid down after a gain of about 10 yards, but was marked short of the first-down marker. McSorley’s decision to slide was a strange one in the first place, but Franklin’s decision not to challenge was equally confounding. 

Penn State seemed to get some momentum when Nick Scott blocked a field goal that Garrett Taylor returned for a touchdown in the second quarter, but the play was brought back due to an illegal block below the waist. On the ensuing drive, McSorley and Sanders botched a handoff, which led to a fumble that Michigan recovered.

Later in the quarter, an offside on 3rd and 7 gave Shea Patterson and the Wolverines 3rd and 2 to work with, which they converted en route to a touchdown on the drive. McSorley later missed a wide-open DeAndre Thompkins for what would’ve been an easy touchdown to make it 14-7 in favor the Wolverines. 

Finally, Tommy Stevens’ confusing pass that went directly into the hands of Brandon Watson — who returned the interception for a touchdown with just 9 seconds remaining in the third quarter — was the cherry on top of a mistake-riddled performance for the Nittany Lions. 

It’s impossible to know exactly what’s causing these problems, but it’s probably not a lack of caring. After beating Iowa, Penn State had a New Year’s Six bowl in its sights. Taking down Michigan in Ann Arbor would’ve almost certainly solidified a spot in a major bowl game, barring a horrible collapse in the final weeks of the season.

Maybe some of the mistakes have to do with inexperience. However, delay of game penalties — or Franklin not challenging the spot on the field but calling a timeout to avoid a delay of game — certainly don’t have anything to do with inexperience.

Both McSorley and Stevens made surprising mistakes, but they’ve been around for quite some time. I’m not entirely sure what to even make of that.

And that leaves coaching. At some point, these mistakes have to be pinned on the coaching staff. You’d think that a team like Penn State would be prepared for crowd noise when heading to Michigan Stadium, but those delay of game incidents prove the opposite. After fumbling an RPO play against Iowa, you’d think the staff would’ve figured out a way to keep that from happening for a second-straight week. 

Penn State is still far from elite, and that’s abundantly apparent given the Nittany Lions’ ability to beat themselves.