It was an ugly game all around for Penn State, as the Nittany Lions came out flat against a tough Northwestern team. Despite turning it on in the second half and holding a slim lead in the final minutes, a failed conversion on third and one doomed Penn State’s chances of a victory. Northwestern used a last-second field goal to escape with the 23-21 victory.
Penn State sleepwalked through the first half in Evanston and trailed 20-7 at halftime. After a dominating 39-0 win over Illinois a week earlier, the Nittany Lion offense regressed back to the ineffective version that was around at the beginning of the season.