Michigan QB Shea Patterson says Penn State player gouged his eye on sneak attempt

Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson disappeared into a mass of bodies during a fourth quarter touchdown sneak on Saturday night. And while he was in the middle of that pile, Patterson said a Penn State defender had his finger in his eye.

“I’ve never been in a pile as violent as that one,” Patterson said Tuesday night. “Got the touchdown but that wasn’t fun.”

Patterson cut Penn State’s lead to seven points in the Wolverines’ 28-21 loss to the Nittany Lions with a fourth down keeper with under nine minutes remaining. The touchdown was a tad controversial; officials belatedly ruled that Patterson got into the end zone but there was no camera angle that proved he did or didn’t score on the play because he was buried under so many players.

Patterson said he didn’t know the identity of the Penn State player who had his finger in his eye, though he said the finger poke was not brief.

“Dude had his index finger in my eye,” Patterson said. “In my eye socket for a whole — like I said, for like 10 seconds. That wasn’t good.”

Patterson’s TD was reviewed but that review was futile. As would be any attempt to try to figure out which player allegedly had his finger in Patterson’s eye. Just look at this insanity.

Offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr. said Patterson even had tears running down his face after he emerged from the pile after scoring the TD. Nefarious things can happen in piles. Sometimes, in the case of Kentucky LB Kash Daniel, cameras will catch the nefarious acts. Other times, like what allegedly happened here, they don’t.

“Shea played lights-out that game,” Runyan said via the Detroit Free Press. “I loved his composure. His leadership. Even on the touchdown, the QB sneak, I can’t believe it, but we were down there, and we were in the pile — I wasn’t in it — but Shea was getting his eyes gouged out in the scrum. He was still fighting, people were getting in his eyes. He came to the sidelines, tears all in his eyes. It was ridiculous that people were trying to gouge his eyes out. But he kept fighting for us and I appreciate it. He’s an awesome leader.”

Michigan had a chance to tie the game after Patterson’s TD, but a fourth-down pass attempt to wide receiver Ronnie Bell fell incomplete and Penn State stayed undefeated.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports

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