Game Recap: Sloppy play dooms Nittany Lions in 36-35 loss to Indiana

The game was all but won. Eighth-ranked Penn State had the ball and the lead and needed to run some clock to finish off an improbable comeback victory at Indiana.

But then a lot of other improbable things happened. In a desperate bid to get the ball back, Indiana allowed Devyn Ford to score untouched, and that 14-yard touchdown run set off a chain of events that sent the game to overtime, where the Hoosiers won it, 36-35, on another two-point conversion.

The winning play, a lunging sprint to the pylon by quarterback Michael Penix Jr., was reviewed at length, as the nose of the ball appeared to hit the turf just before Penix touched the pylon. But the officials let the call on the field stand, giving Indiana its first victory over a top-10 opponent since 1987.

Penn State had been leading by a point, 21-20, in the last two minutes and had just stopped Indiana on fourth down. The plan was to get a first down but stop short of the goal line if Indiana wasn’t going to defend its end zone. Ford seemed to hesitate, but then crossed in for the touchdown. The ensuing extra point gave Penn State an eight-point lead but also gave the Hoosiers possession with 1 minute, 42 seconds remaining.

“We went through that situation this week. We went through that situation on the sideline,” Franklin said. “Obviously, we could have handled it better, and I could have handled it better. … What we wanted to do is get as much as you can and get down. That situation, we covered it, we went through it during the game, but there were a bunch of situations that came up.”

Franklin said afterward he didn’t want to dwell on that one play, and indeed, the Lions had their share of self-destructive moments throughout the game. For example, on the final play of the first half, they missed a 25-yard field goal that would have changed the late-game strategy completely. In the end, Penn State outgained Indiana handily, 488 yards to 211, but they were hampered by penalties, turnovers and an assortment of missed opportunities.

Said Franklin, “Give Indiana credit. They played well and we didn’t. Not a good combination.”

Here’s a look at the good and the bad:

Not a Subscriber? Join us With Our FREE 30-Day Trial

• Sean Clifford bounced back from a shaky second quarter with a solid second half. In the fourth quarter, he had a 35-yard touchdown run get Penn State back in the game and a 60-yard scoring pass to Jahan Dotson to give the Lions a late lead that seemed likely to hold up.

“I didn’t feel like we were comfortable on offense or in a rhythm in the first half, and obviously a lot of that was the quarterback. It’s the nature of playing football and the nature of offensive football,” Franklin said. “But I thought he did settle down as the game went on. I also thought that when he became a more aggressive runner – that’s a big part of Sean’s game – then other things fell into place for him.”

• After taking the opening kickoff, Penn State held the ball for nearly half of the first quarter, putting together a 13-play touchdown drive featuring 10 running plays. The Nittany Lions, who played most of the game without starting running back Noah Cain, rushed for 250 yards, with Ford and true freshmen Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes all seeing carries.

• Pat Freiermuth didn’t waste any time setting the school record for most touchdown receptions by a tight end. He scored Penn State’s first TD of the season on a 2-yard fourth-down catch to cap the opening drive. The junior finished with seven catches for 60 yards. The touchdown was his 16th at Penn State.

• The defense clamped down hard on Penix and company for most of the game. The Lions gave up only 170 passing yards and 41 rushing yards. A pair of Shaka Toney sacks on Indiana’s next-to-last offensive possession in the fourth quarter seemed to seal the deal. One of the standouts was redshirt freshman cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who made a big first impression on his first series, sacking Penix on a third-down corner blitz.

• Both teams were coming off long layoffs, but Penn State was a lot sloppier than Indiana. Clifford threw interceptions to Jaylin Williams and Jamar Johnson in the second quarter, leading to 10 Hoosier points. Then Clifford’s backup, Will Levis, fumbled on his only play of the first half, scuttling a drive that had reached Indiana’s 11-yard line.

As harmful as those miscues were, things could have been worse. The Lions were fortunate to avoid another turnover when a teammate got tangled up with Dotson, leading to a muffed punt that Indiana would have recovered had Micah McFadden not been ruled out of bounds when he touched the ball. Also, Holmes nearly fumbled on the first carry of his career but was ruled down before the ball came loose.

• Penn State committed 10 penalties for 100 yards in losses. Included in that total was a targeting foul on Jesse Luketa in the fourth quarter. The flag not only negated a fumble recovery by P.J. Mustipher but will force Luketa to miss the first half of next week’s game.

• The special teams were a big part of the problem for Penn State. After the Lions were gifted a chance for a 25-yard field goal when Stevie Scott III fumbled just before halftime, Jake Pinegar bounced the kick off the left upright. Penn State’s kickers missed two subsequent attempts, albeit both from long range, and PSU also had difficulty in the return game. The Lions were forced to start a drive on their own 5-yard line after Lamont Wade tried to take off with the ball when Ford bobbled it at the goal line. And PSU also picked up a 15-yard kick catch interference penalty.

• Cain’s afternoon consisted of three carries for 13 yards. His status going forward was not addressed by Franklin afterward.

The Nittany Lions have an impending date with one of the Big Ten’s hottest teams, a team that on Saturday jumped all over a traditional college football power and coasted to a comfortable victory, raising hopes that this will be a season to remember.

But enough about Rutgers; Penn State isn’t set to visit Piscataway until December, when it will face a Scarlet Knights team that began its new coaching era with a 38-27 victory over Michigan State in East Lansing. The Lions’ next game is against the other Big Ten East Division team that opened its season by overpowering a down-on-its-luck college football powerhouse. That team would be Ohio State.

The Buckeyes looked pretty much as advertised in their 52-17 romp over Nebraska. Justin Fields was unstoppable, completing 20 of 21 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns while adding 54 yards and another TD on the ground. Trey Sermon and Master Teague III combined for 89 rushing yards and two more TDs, and Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave together totaled 13 catches for 233 yards.

They’ll be heavy favorites in Beaver Stadium next week, especially with Luketa set to miss the first half. Maybe the Lions got all the hiccups and miscues out of their system at Indiana, but even if they did, they’ll have their hands full trying to avoid an 0-2 start.

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98

• Like us on Facebook