The Michigan–Penn State football rivalry is an American college football game between the Wolverines of the University of Michigan and the Nittany Lions of Pennsylvania State University. Michigan leads the series 16–10.
Series history
Early history and Lloyd Carr era
Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference for the 1993 season. Prior the 1993, the Michigan and Penn State programs had not played a game against each other. In the first game on October 16, 1993, No. 18 Michigan upset No. 7 Penn State, 21–13. In 1994, both teams were ranked in the top five nationally with Penn State prevailing by a 31–24 score; the Nittany Lions finished the 1994 season undefeated and ranked No. 2.
Lloyd Carr replaced Gary Moeller as the head coach of Michigan in 1995. After Penn State won the next two meetings, Carr secured his first win against Penn State a 34–8 win in 1997. Michigan finished that season undefeated on route to winning The Big Ten Conference and the 1998 Rose Bowl and were named national champions by the Associated Press. The 1998 meeting saw Michigan rout Penn State, 27–0, resulting in the first shutout win of the series and Penn State's first shutout loss since 1987.
Penn State had started the 1999 season 9–0 and were ranked as high as second in the AP poll until a 24–23 loss to Minnesota in week ten. Prior to the game against Penn State, Michigan had started the season 5–0 before suffering consecutive losses to Michigan State and Illinois. However, the Wolverines had won two games on the bonce to take their season record to 7–2 before the meeting with Penn State in mid-November. Despite trailing by ten points with less than ten minutes remaining in the game, Michigan came back to win 31–27.
The 2002 edition was the first in the series to go into overtime. With the score tied at 21 after four quarters, Penn State kicked a field goal during its overtime Michigan running back Chris Perry scored a two yard rushing touchdown to secure the 27–24 win for the Wolverines.
After a two season hiatus in the series, the programs faced each other on October 15, 2005. Penn State came into the game undefeated with a 6–0 season record and were ranked at number eight in the AP poll. Michigan headed into the game unranked after accumulating a 3–3 season record. Although Penn State entered the game as favorites, Michigan quarterback Chad Henne threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Mario Manningham in the final moments of the game to claim a 27–25 win for the Wolverines. Despite the loss to Michigan, Penn State finished the season with an 11–1 season record whilst also winning a share of The Big Conference and claimed a win at the 2006 Orange Bowl. The two sides next met in 2006, this time with the Wolverines entering at 6–0. and ranked fourth in the AP poll. Penn State entered the game unranked after starting the season 4–2. Michigan secured a 17–10 win after a strong defensive performance in which they recorded seven sacks. Michigan remained undefeated until a week eleven 42–39 loss to a top-ranked Ohio State, ultimitely finishing 11–2 after a loss in the 2007 Rose Bowl. Michigan won its ninth straight meeting in 2007; after a close opening three quarters, Michigan running back Mike Hart scored a one yard rushing touchdown to seal a 14–9 win.
Head coaching changes at both schools
Carr retired at the end of the 2007 season after spending 13 seasons as head coach of Michigan. He compiled a 9–2 record against Penn State. Former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez was named to replace Carr as head coach of Michigan. Rodriguez' first game against Penn State was on October 18, 2008. Michigan arrived at the game unranked after a rough 2–4 start to the season. Penn State entered the game ranked third in the country after a 7–0 start. Penn State ended their nine game losing streak to Michigan with a decisive 46–17 win. Penn State ended the season with an 11–2 record which culminated in a loss to USC in the 2009 Rose Bowl. Michigan finished the season with a 3–9 record which represented the program's first losing season since 1967 and the most losses for a season in the history of the program.
Penn State had a second straight blowout win in 2009, as quarterback Daryll Clark threw three touchdown passes to wide receiver Graham Zug to lead the Nittany Lions to a 35–10 victory.