Northwestern Wildcats vs Penn State Nittany Lions Match Player Stats On Oct 06, 2012

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 6, 2012

Penn State 39, No. 22 Northwestern 28: Matt McGloin scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 2:37 left as the host Nittany Lions erased an 11-point deficit to win their fourth straight game and deny the Wildcats their first 6-0 start since 1962.

Penn State (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten Leaders) trailed 28-17 after Northwestern's Venric Mark returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. McGloin's second touchdown pass to Allen Robinson with 9:49 remaining and a two-point conversion run by Michael Zordich preceded the game-winning, 15-play, 85-yard drive.

Zordich's 25-yard scamper set up his 3-yard touchdown run with 1:30 left for the final points. McGloin, who was 35-of-51 passing for 282 yards, connected with Robinson for an 8-yard score to cap a 12-play, 80-yard drive and give Penn State a 17-14 lead with 7:47 to go in the third quarter.

Mark also had a rushing touchdown for the Wildcats (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten Legends), who gained only 247 yards one week after racking up a school-record 704 against Indiana. Sophomore quarterback Trevor Siemian was 21 of 36 for 135 yards and a touchdown.

Penn State led 3-0 after one quarter, when it owned a 12:00 to 3:00 time of possession advantage and kept Northwestern off the scoreboard in the first period for the first time this season. The Nittany Lions increased their lead to 10-0 in the second quarter after Zach Zwinak dove in from the 1-yard line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Penn State sophomore K Sam Ficken, who was 2-for-8 on field goals entering the game, made his only attempt - a 21-yarder in the first quarter - after the drive was kept alive when the Nittany Lions converted on fourth-and-1 from the 10. ... Northwestern junior K Jeff Budzien is 73-for-73 on extra point attempts. ... The Nittany Lions have outscored opponents 52-0 in the first quarter this season.