Penn State and Michigan meet again. These are the Top 5 moments in the rivalry’s history

Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993, and since then, its rivalry with Michigan has become one of the marquee matchups the conference has to offer every year.

The Nittany Lions and Wolverines have met 25 times, and Michigan leads the all-time series, 15-10, a record that includes nine consecutive wins from 1997 to 2007.

No. 10 Penn State, fresh off of a bye week, is a touchdown underdog at No. 5 Michigan for Saturday’s game (noon, FOX). The winner Saturday will stay alive in the Big Ten East race and be on track for a potential College Football Playoff spot. Both teams still have No. 2 Ohio State on their schedules.

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Penn State and Michigan have provided many great football memories in their 25-game rivalry, but the last seven matchups have only seen two one-score games.

Here are the top five moments in Penn State-Michigan history, and the barometer for drama Saturday’s game would have to live up to.

The Nittany Lions were on a roll heading into Michigan Stadium. They had wins over two ranked teams, and for a good chunk of this game felt like they were going to have another.

But the 10th-ranked Wolverines tied the game at 21 late in the fourth quarter and then forced a Penn State field goal to start overtime. Chris Perry, a future All-American who Penn State had held in check most of the night, was able to get into the end zone from three yards out to end what was the first overtime game ever at Michigan Stadium. (Click ahead to the 28-minute mark to see the winning score.)

Ol’ Trick Play Joe Paterno, that’s what they called him, right? Not quite.

But on a fourth-and-goal situation late in the fourth quarter in Happy Valley, Penn State decided to take its three-point lead and put the game away rather than hand the ball back to Michigan with a chance for the Wolverines to take the lead.

The ball was spotted at the 3-yard line. Joe Nastasi, the holder, was at the 10. He took the snap and ran through a huge hole on the right side to seal a 27-17 Nittany Lions victory.

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The game was tied, 24-24, with roughly four minutes in the fourth quarter. No. 3 Penn State was trying to avenge a 1993 home loss the year before. The Nittany Lions led 16-3 at halftime, but the fifth-ranked Wolverines roared back and set up a thrilling finish.

On 3rd-and-11 from the Michigan 16-yard line, quarterback Kerry Collins delivered a perfect strike to receiver Bobby Engram to put Penn State ahead, 31-24, and send what was then the largest crowd in Michigan Stadium history home with disappointment. (Click ahead to the 30-minute mark to see the touchdown.)

That win helped Penn State stay undefeated. The Nits finished 12-0 and won the Rose Bowl.

This one probably still stings for some Penn State fans.

A back-and-forth game at The Big House had a wild final few minutes. After converting a critical fourth down earlier in the drive, Penn State’s Michael Robinson scored from nine yards out and gave the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions a 25-21 lead with 53 seconds on the clock.

But Michigan got a big return from Steve Breaston and, armed with two timeouts, quarterback Chad Henne got the Wolverines down near the goal line. With one second on the clock, Michigan ran a final play from the 10-yard line.

Mario Manningham found a hole in Penn State’s zone coverage and caught a touchdown pass that sent Michigan Stadium into a frenzy.

It was Penn State’s only loss of the 2005 season.

The highlight of the Bill O’Brien era? You bet.

No. 18 Michigan entered Beaver Stadium undefeated. Penn State was 3-2 and coming off a blowout loss to Indiana. The Nits had an 18-year-old quarterback, Chrisitan Hackenberg, and it was unclear how he and the rest of the team would respond to the loss the previous week and handle the lights and the ESPN spotlight.

It became clear that Hackenberg could handle it. The freshman helped Penn State take a 21-10 lead into halftime. But Michigan turned it on in the second half and eventually had a 34-27 lead late in the game.

Michigan punted into the end zone, setting up one final chance for the Penn State offense. There were 50 seconds on the clock and Penn State had no timeouts. Hackenberg hit Allen Robinson on the sideline for an incredible catch on first down to get the drive moving. Two plays later, from the 37-yard line, Hackenberg launched the ball deep to Robinson, who rose over a Michigan defender to make an amazing catch that set up a tying touchdown.

No one knew it then, but the night was far from over. Penn State would prevail in four overtimes.

Saquon Barkley was too good at Penn State to not make an appearance on this list.

In 2017, No. 19 Michigan came to Happy Valley to face No. 2 Penn State looking to play spoiler. But Barkley had other ideas. On the second play from scrimmage, Barkley took a direct snap, faked a handoff to quarterback Trace McSorley and went 69 yards, untouched, for a score.

Penn State raced out to a 14-0 lead and rolled to a 42-13 victory.