Micah Parsons' career day pushes Penn State's defense to dramatic end vs. Michigan

STATE COLLEGE — Micah Parsons produced his best performance on the most important night yet.

It turned out that Penn State needed every one of his career-best 14 tackles to hang on against Michigan. 

The Harrisburg linebacker seemed to fire on most plays with a different level of speed and force than at any time this season or last, when he led the Nittany Lions in tackles as a true freshman.

He made one tackle on the desperate defensive hold in the final two minutes that preserved Penn State's 28-21 victory in sold-out Beaver Stadium. He made two more stops on the drive before where the Wolverines were forced to use nine plays to barely score the closing touchdown — inching across the goal line on fourth down.

But, after it was over, Parsons said it was more than just his on-field numbers that mattered most.

A save of a victory that keeps the Lions undefeated and drives them toward the Top Five in the nation.

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"I think I grew as a leader, man," Parsons said. "Seeing guys' heads down on the sideline saying, 'Get up! We got to make this stop, it's on us. We got to do the big-boy work.

"I just got to keep growing into a leadership role."

Parsons leads his team in tackles again this season with 45 while fellow linebacker Cam Brown is next with 38.

Brown was second against Michigan with 10 stops. Defensive backs Garrett Taylor and Tariq Castro-Fields each added eight tackles. 

Taylor, a safety, actually earned the only sack of the night for one of the nation's top defenses.

Despite leading 21-0 early, Penn State's fate came down to a final goal-line stand by this defense. Michigan had a first down on the 7-yard line late, looking for the tying score.

"We're telling (each other), 'I got you, you got me, let's get this stop,'" Parsons said. "Goal line is not the time to panic, it's the time to get up. It's the time to get it going, it's not time to get nervous.

"We knew we were going to get a stop."

On that fateful play with two minutes left, the Lions' defense got just enough pressure on quarterback Shea Patterson who rushed a low throw that his receiver couldn't hold in the end zone.