STATE COLLEGE, Pa. _ The crowd at Beaver Stadium had been buzzing since the dramatic end of the Ohio State-Michigan game, and Trace McSorley made sure that Penn State finished the deal Saturday and qualified for its first-ever berth in the Big Ten championship game.
McSorley threw three long touchdown passes _ two to Chris Godwin and one to Mike Gesicki _ in the third quarter and lifted the No. 7 Nittany Lions to a 45-12 victory over Michigan State and a share of the Big Ten East title.
Combined with No. 2 Ohio State's 30-27 double-overtime victory over Michigan, the Nittany Lions (10-2, 8-1 Big Ten), who won their eighth consecutive game, earned the right to represent the East in the Big Ten championship game next Saturday against No. 6 Wisconsin. The Buckeyes also finished 8-1 in the conference, but Penn State won the tiebreaker thanks to its 24-21 win over them on Oct. 22.
Wisconsin clinched the West on Friday after Nebraska lost to Iowa, and finished its season at 10-2 following a 31-17 win over Minnesota.
The crowd of 97,418 cheered when Ohio State defeated Michigan on a touchdown in the second overtime, shortly after the start of the game here. The Nittany Lions were slow to respond, trailing for most of the first half and 12-10 at halftime, and unable to spring Saquon Barkley, the Big Ten's leading rusher.
But McSorley came out in the second half and found receivers deep downfield, a trademark of the Penn State passing game all season. He completed all six of his passes in the third quarter for 157 yards and the three touchdowns, and finished 17-of-23 for a career-high 376 yards.
McSorley's 34-yard pass down the left sideline to Godwin on the Lions' first possession of the third quarter capped a 52-yard, five-play drive that gave his team the lead for good at 17-12.
Penn State needed just five plays on its next drive, and scored again when Gesicki scored in pretty much the same area that Godwin did on a 45-yard completion. The 6-foot-6 tight end outleaped Michigan State's Montae Nicholson and Darian Hicks to pull the pass in.
After safety Troy Apke recovered a fumbled snap by Spartans quarterback Tyler O'Connor at the Lions 38, McSorley needed just two plays to put another touchdown on the board. He went again to Godwin, who caught the ball at the Michigan State 25, five yards behind the secondary, and scored on a 59-yard play.
Barkley was shaken up in the third quarter and did not return to the game. He rushed for a career-low 14 yards on 12 carries. Andre Robinson replaced Barkley and scored twice in the fourth quarter _ once on a 14-yard run, and again on a 40-yard pass from McSorley.
The Spartans (3-9, 1-8) lost starting quarterback Damion Terry in the second quarter when he took a hit on a run and looked a little woozy as he left the field.
Michigan State kicked field goals at the end of each of its four first-half possessions, with Michael Geiger connecting from 28, 36, 33, and 21 yards to give his team a 12-10 halftime lead. The Nittany Lions scored all their points in the second quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Tyler Davis and Barkley's 1-yard touchdown run.
Penn State was outgained, 256-125, in the opening half, and ran 20 fewer plays than Michigan State's 46.
On Michigan State's first possession, Terry's 39-yard pass to R.J. Shelton and his 10-yard completion to Monty Madaris on third down gave the Spartans a first and goal at the 9, but the drive stalled and Geiger kicked his first field goal.
After losing 11 yards on their next possession, the Nittany Lions punted to Michigan State. Scott rushed for 11 yards on third-and-2, and Shelton, a wide receiver, threw a 15-yard pass to Terry to set up Geiger's next field goal, from 36 yards out.
McSorley then found success with the pass, hitting Gesicki for 19 yards, Godwin for 18, and DeAndre Thompkins for 13 to set up Penn State's first points of the day on Davis' field goal.
After Michigan State got another field goal from Geiger to increase the visitors' lead to 9-3, McSorley again benefited from his talented receivers. DaeSean Hamilton made a leaping grab of a 16-yard completion, Thompkins caught a 25-yard pass, and Saeed Blacknall made a nice move after a short pass for 16 yards down to the Spartans 6.
