ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In a year when everything seems so unusual and different, Penn State at Michigan felt particularly strange.

No fans, no buzz — and not much to feel good about these days for either team.

“We drive up to the Big House, and there’s not a car on the road,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said. “There’s nobody giving you the middle finger on the ride up to the stadium like you normally get at every place. The parking lots are empty.”

What was also empty was Penn State’s win column coming into Saturday’s matchup, but that changed when the Nittany Lions beat Michigan 27-17. Penn State never trailed in this matchup of proud programs that have stumbled their way through this pandemic-shortened season.

Even if there had been a normal crowd at the game, it would have felt different with both teams coming in under .500. For one day at least, the Nittany Lions (1-5, 1-5 Big Ten) could celebrate. However strange the circumstances, this was still a victory in Ann Arbor, where Penn State had lost three in a row.

“That was a battle of two very, very respected programs, in a very unique, challenging and weird year,” Franklin said.

Sean Clifford threw for 163 yards and scored one of Penn State’s three rushing touchdowns. Keyvone Lee and Will Levis also ran for TDs. Hassan Haskins ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns for Michigan, but the Wolverines (2-4, 2-4) never found much of a consistent rhythm offensively.

It was the 899th victory for the Penn State program, and the Nittany Lions had to wait a while for this one. This was the first time they’d started a season 0-5, but three impressive touchdown drives were enough to hold off Michigan.

Penn State led 20-17 in the fourth quarter before producing a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard scoring run by Levis.