I know it is late, but I've been busy.
Some thoughts:
1. With the exception of Bell, Michigan's wide receivers are not good. I almost bought into the hype. However, after seeing them again, I'm more sure than ever. They must have dropped at least 8 passes. Bell is the only receiver that is able to improvise and help the QB. Bell is also excellent at getting yards after the catch. The other guys--not so much. Hopefully Bell isn't getting too much grief for his lone dropped pass at the end of the game, in which he had to improvise and come back to the QB as Shea was running for his life.
2. The refs were NOT good, but this time it benefited Penn State. (Except for maybe the QB sneak on 4th down, that looked pretty short to me.) Other than that, PSU got a disproportionate number of calls in their favor.
3. Penn State seemed to run their offense through KJ Hamler. He's a great football player and it makes sense to get him the ball, but they need to target the other wide receivers more. Dotson and Freiermuth were open quite a bit, but it was as if Clifford wasn't looking in their direction.
4. The white out atmosphere is real. Michigan was probably the better team, but they spotted PSU 21 points in the early going. I have never seen a time out called before the first play of the game before..
5. Shea Patterson was good all night, but he was REALLY good in the second half. I don't think he's nearly as horrible as some Michigan fans have made him out to be.
6. That was the best Penn State's offensive line has played all season.
7. Clifford is still a young QB, and it shows. He gets happy feet when he's rattled. But he is getting better...
8. I don't think that Penn State is the 2nd best team in the conference.. Would you really favor them if they played Michigan again at home? Or against Wisconsin? Heck, even this game at Michigan State is a coin flip, IMO. Most predicted Penn State would finish the year with 3 to 4 losses, and with the brutal schedule they have, it is still quite likely.
9. Penn State has a LOT of injuries in the secondary. Franklin doesn't talk about injuries, but they have burned the redshirts of two freshman now. Maybe that's not a huge problem against Michigan State, but it certainly means that the upcoming Indiana game is more of a concern.