Penn State uses late touchdown and safety to get by Indiana 33-24
It wasn't pretty but No. 10 Penn State rebounded from their first loss of the season on Saturday to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers 33-24.
The Nittany Lions would come slow out of the gates on Saturday, falling behind by seven points twice in the first half but also had to rebound from seeing a 10-pint second-half lead be erased by the Hoosiers.
Here's how Saturday's Big Ten matchup played out a Beaver Stadium.
THE MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
- It was an ugly defensive performance for Penn State on Saturday afternoon, allowing 349 total yards in the game. The first half was especially ugly in which the Nittany Lions allowed a 90-yard touchdown and a 69-yard touchdown in the first half. Overall, Indiana totaled 45.5% of their total yards in the game on those pair of scores. Do what you would like with that information.
- Drew Allar bounced back well from his poor performance at Ohio State, completing 20-of-31, for 210 yards and three touchdowns. He did have an extremely bad interception late in the fourth quarter but responded on Penn State's next series with a 59-yard touchdown pass with a perfectly placed pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
- Sophomore running back Kaytron Allen ran the ball well on Saturday with 18 carries for 81 yards.
- Sophomore defensive Dani Dennis-Sutton stepped up back in the second half with Chop Robinson out this week. He had an especially big second half which included a strip sack of Indiana quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the final minutes that resulted in a safety to put the game out of reach.
Nittany Lions find themselves trailing early...twice
One of the major talking points coming into this week's matchup was centered around Penn State's past tendencies of struggling when coming off their first loss of the season. The Nittany Lions have frequently faced challenges in such situations, and despite James Franklin's assurance that the team had been practicing well after the loss and was moving past it, the game on Saturday suggested otherwise.
While Penn State's defense started strong in their first two defensive drives, posting back-to-back, three-and-outs, the Nittany Lions would then allow a 90-yard touchdown pass from Indiana quarterback Braden Sorsby to wide receiver Dequece Carter who burned safety Zakee Wheatley before winning the foot race to the endzone.
The defense would concede a second long touchdown in the first half when Sorsby found Donovan McCulley wide-open due to a defensive breakdown to give Indiana a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Apart from these two plays, the Nittany Lions' defense performed well in the first half, forcing three three-and-outs, a turnover on downs, and an interception. Nevertheless, given the defense's strong track record this season, it was surprising to witness them surrender not just one but two long passing touchdowns.
Offensively, the Nittany Lions offense started off very slow and showed much of the issues that plagued them last week in Columbus. The playcalling remained conservative and lacked creativity, the offensive line had trouble blocking, and the wide receivers struggled to find separation for most of the afternoon. During their first three drives, Penn State managed just 23 total yards. They were able to garner a touchdown on their fourth drive, albeit on a short field situation after a muffed Indiana punt.
After their first touchdown, the Nittany Lions had drives of four plays for 16 yards and seven plays for 16 yards, with the second drive culminating in a 51-yard field goal miss by Alex Felkins.
Penn State did manage to score on their final two drives of the first half, covering 59 yards in nine plays, with Nicholas Singleton punching it in for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14. Following a Jaylen Reed interception on the ensuing Indiana drive, the Nittany Lions reached the Hoosiers' red zone before an intentional grounding penalty by Drew Allar pushed them back. Alex Felkins redeemed himself with a 50-yard field goal, giving Penn State a 17-14 lead going into halftime.
Overall, it was an underwhelming first-half performance by both the Penn State offense and defense. Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions managed to secure a halftime lead, which at the time felt like a win for Penn State.
Offense starts the second half hot but struggles for both the offense and defense return
In the second half, it looked like Penn State was going to use their two scores prior to halftime as momentum and pull away from the Hoosiers.
On the first drive out of the break, the Nittany Lions put together an extremely strong and efficient scoring drive, going 75 yards on 12 plays taking 6:21 off the clock. The drive was capped off with an 18-yard touchdown reception by Theo Johnson who made a contested one-on-one catch in the endzone to give Penn State a two-score lead.
At that moment, it appeared the Nittany Lions were about to cruise to eventual victory but the offensive and defensive struggles would return immediately after.
The Nittany Lions' defense on Indiana's first offensive drive of the half would allow the Hoosiers to go 56 yards on 14 plays before a missed field goal attempt bailed the Nittany Lions' defense out. The Penn State offense having the chance to make it a three-score game would go three-and-out on their next possession before Indiana would have an offensive answer of their own.
The Hoosiers after starting at their 20-yard line went 80 yards across 12 plays before Sorsby found Omar Cooper Jr across the middle for what appeared to be a first down. However, Cooper would bounce off not just one but two Penn State defenders and reached the endzone, narrowing the score to 24-21. An air of nervous tension descended upon the already subdued crowd at Beaver Stadium following Cooper's touchdown.
This nervous energy would escalate further just a few minutes later.
Drew Allar's first interception could not have come at a worse time
After being pinned deep in their territory and in need of a long drive, Penn State's offense looked to be on the verge of another three-and-out when Drew Allar who has made the smart, safe decision all season, tried to force a ball to his receiver.
While under pressure, Allar threw the ball in the vicinity of Dante Cephas as well as tight end Theo Johnson. The pass, however, sailed on Allar, landing in the hands of Hoosiers defensive back Josh Sanguinetti, giving Indiana possession at Penn State's 21-yard line.
With Penn State's defense already allowing long drives of 75 and 56 yards in the second half, there was uncertainty that the Nittany Lions would be able to stop the Hoosiers from taking a lead late in the fourth quarter. Credit to Manny Diaz's unit, however, as they kept the Hoosiers to just four yards on the ensuing possession, forcing a 35-yard field goal that would tie the game.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Allar rises to the moment after first career interception.
After throwing his first career interception, it was fair to wonder how Allar would respond to the adversity. How would Penn State's offense respond to adversity? After all, they were suddenly tied at 24-24 and the offense had been sputtering since taking a 24-14 lead coming out of halftime.
Allar and the Nittany Lions rose to the occasion, leading to what would become the pivotal moment of the game.
That play came just four plays after his first interception as he threw a perfectly placed pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 56-yard touchdown with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Allar placed the ball perfectly into Lambert-Smith's breadbasket who was able to create a sliver of separation against an Indiana defensive back, allowing the speedy wide receiver to take it for the score, giving the Nittany Lions a 31-24 lead with 1:46 remaining.
It was a big-time throw by the quarterback who up until that moment hadn't been able to showcase such ability during the first seven games of the season. Whether or not it's a play that allows Penn State's passing attack to begin to become more dynamic remains to be seen but for Penn State fans, it was a much-welcomed moment that was a long time coming.
Dani Dennis-Sutton calls game
Again, big-time players, make big-time players. On Indiana's first play of their ensuing possession, Penn State sophomore defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton who may be the most physically gifted pass rusher for the Nittany Lions called game.
Coming off the edge, Dennis-Sutton effortlessly beat Hoosiers' tight end James Bomba before strip-sacking Brendan Sorsby. Multiple Nittany Lions would attempt to scoop up the loose football but were unable to as it continued to bounce and roll for over 15 yards, ultimately reaching the back of the endzone, resulting in a safety, making it a 33-24 game.
Next Up
Penn State, now 7-1 on the season and 4-1 in Big Ten play will take on the Maryland Terrapins who have now lost three-straight games after a 5-0 start. The Terrapins fell to Northwestern in Evanston on Saturday 33-27.
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