'We Got Our Swagger Back'

Penn State has won three straight games and, unlike some other teams, doesn't sound quite ready to end its season.

Eight Penn State seniors had Beaver Stadium to themselves Saturday afternoon. Safety Jaquan Brisker knelt near midfield. Fellow safety Lamont Wade fell to his back, staring at a blue sky and empty seats.

Defensive end Shane Simmons, who made the first start of his career, draped himself in a "Thank You Seniors" banner that had been hanging outside the tunnel gate. And head coach James Franklin stood there watching in silence.

"Typically, those guys get to walk the stadium and high-five all the fans, and a lot of times the fans will stay and show support for them," Franklin said. "So watching those guys walk around in an empty stadium was emotional."

Here’s how Penn State concluded the 2020 Big Ten regular season. Singing the alma mater in a sunny, empty Beaver Stadium. pic.twitter.com/TdlExxm5xO

— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) December 12, 2020

Penn State capped a chaotic Big Ten regular season with its first comeback win of 2020, stretching past Michigan State 39-24. The Lions, who faced a double-digit halftime deficit for the fifth time this season, outscored the Spartans 29-3 in the second half, riding a red-zone defensive stop, two touchdowns by freshman receiver Parker Washington and a junior who delivered Penn State's longest punt return in 18 years.

After an 0-5 start to 2020, a record players insisted did not reflect their roster, Penn State won three straight, albeit against teams with losing records. The Lions likely will play one more in Game 9 if the Big Ten Champions Week goes off successfully.

But for now, they're proud. And most sound like they want to keep going, however long this season might last.

"We just told everybody, you have to keep investing," Toney said of the seniors' advice. "Anything in life, when you come up short, the first thing some people do is turn and run. But you've got to figure out another way to invest and keep getting better. That's all we did.

"It has been a tough season. This hasn't been our standard. It hasn't been anybody's standard among Penn Staters that bleed this blue. It's not what we expected, but I think people should be proud of the way this team finished. That's all we keep preaching: Keep fighting and keep investing."

This week, Penn State's small senior class (12 players were introduced) was dealt another glancing blow. In a revised set of COVID-19 mitigation protocols, Pennsylvania officials said professional and college teams cannot play in front of fans through Jan. 4. For the first time, Beaver Stadium's stands were empty.

Still, Penn State found a way to shoehorn a Senior Day out of the situation, allowing a small number of parents and family members into the stadium pregame. They watched warmups and took photos with the players, then left the stadium before the national anthem.

It was a jarring moment, one that lingered into the first half, as Michigan State took a 21-10 lead. But Franklin kept his speech tidy ("It's not like I set off fireworks in there or anything"), and the Lions responded with one of their comebacks like those of 2016.

That year, Penn State began its run of rallies after a blowout loss at Michigan. Former quarterback Trace McSorley often referred to that flight home from Ann Arbor as the season's turning point.

Michigan also played a role in this season's turning point. Simmons, who had 1.5 sacks and made a key pass breakup, said the team rounded an emotional corner before that game, which became the first of Penn State's three victories.

Quarterback Sean Clifford on Saturday went even further.

"After the fifth loss, we said we can’t just roll over right now," Clifford said. "Not that we were before, but this is the most crucial point. Everybody is writing us off right now, and when we went to Michigan, we knew that was one of the biggest games in our program’s history, at least up to this date. Just because it was huge for our mental [state]. It’s huge that we can catapult ourselves into bigger and better things. That’s why it’s so crucial we finish off this year the way we want to."

Two teams (Boston College and Pitt) have opted out of bowl games, others have players opting out of any future games and yet Penn State sounds as though it wants to keep playing. Quarterback Will Levis said he's up for it.

"If that's possible, of course," Brisker said. And receiver Jahan Dotson, who scored on an 81-yard punt return, was decisive.

"Definitely," Dotson said. "I wouldn’t want any other thing but to play with my brothers. You only get so many opportunities to suit up in the blue and white. Any time I get a chance to play for those guys in the locker room, I’m going to do it. Absolutely."

What to make of Penn State's 2020 team? It fought out of the deep well of adversity it dug itself the first five weeks, fighting forces both in and outside its control. The Lions lost a few games they shouldn't have, beat three underwhelming teams and never fully hit their stride, particularly on offense.

But the team also found a way to play eight games this season (which only two other Big Ten teams did), claw out of that well and give the seniors a chance to leave Beaver Stadium with a happy, if quiet, memory.

If they're done, Saturday was a fitting end. But they don't sound finished. Not quite yet. As Clifford said, "We got our swagger back."

"We keep talking about how we want to get as many wins as we can this year with next week and whatever happens after that," Clifford said. "But we’re ready to catapult into next season as well."

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