The Penn State Nittany Lions broke a six-game losing streak Saturday as they defeated Michigan State in East Lansing. Running back Kaytron Allen ran for a career-high 181 yards and two touchdowns. The Nittany Lions will next face the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Beaver Stadium Saturday.
Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith earned the first victory of his stewardship at Happy Valley as the Nittany Lions defeated the Michigan State Spartans 28-10 in East Lansing.
For the Nittany Lions, the win ends a six-game losing streak and sets them up for a showdown next Saturday with the Nebraska Cornuskers at Beaver Stadium. The contest will be the final home game for Penn State seniors.
Senior running back Kaytron Allen ran for 181 yards and scored two touchdowns as Penn State romped to victory. This was the third 100-yard game for Allen this season and 11th of his impressive career.
Edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton chimed in with two sacks and a blocked punt. Dennis-Sutton led the defensive charge that held the Spartans to one touchdown all afternoon.
It did not start well for Penn State in the first quarter.
Penn State fell behind early as the Spartans scored on their first offensive play of the game. After a Penn State punt, Spartans' running back Elijah Tau-Toliver ran away from the Nittany Lions defense and scored from 57-yards out.
Nov 15, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Penn State running back Kaytron Allen (13) celebrates a touchdown at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn ImagesThe Nittany Lions would get their first score on a 12-play, 75-yard drive which ended with Allen bursting into the end zone from eight yards out. The score was tied at 7.
Michigan State took the lead once again, after the teams exchanged turnovers on downs. Freshman quarterback Alessio Lilivojevic fired a 32-yard pass to Tau-Toliver which put them in field goal position. Martin Connington knocked the 24-yarder through the uprights to give the Spartans a short-lived 10-7 lead.
Immediately thereafter, Penn State would take the lead for good.
Quarterback Ethan Grunkmeyer hooked up with DeVonte Ross for a 75-yard catch and run and Ross found the end zone. With the extra point, the Nittany Lions would take a 14-10 lead and never look back.
Dennis-Sutton then blocked his third punt of the season giving the Grunkmeyer and the offense a short field to work with. Unfortunately, the block did not translate into points as Grunkmeyer was flushed from the pocket on fourth down and turned the ball over.
Smith opted not to go with a Ryan Barker field goal attempt and the score remained 14-10, Penn State.
The third quarter was a bit of a yawner as the teams traded punts. However, in the fourth quarter the Nittany Lions had a nice, ball-controlled drive that took more than nine minutes off the clock. Ross scored his second touchdown of the day on a four-yard reception from Grunkmeyer and Penn State widened their lead to 21-10.
Finally, Allen would gain 62 yards on two carries on the final scoring drive for Penn State. With 2:07 left he punctuated the victory with a 26-yard rushing touchdown to give PSU their 28-10 lead.