Recap: Lions defeat Hoosiers, move to 9-1 on season

Penn State put together an epic fourth-quarter touchdown drive and exploited a couple of Indiana mistakes in the kicking game, and the combination helped propel it back into the win column.

Rebounding from last week’s disheartening loss at Minnesota, the Nittany Lions took a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter when Sean Clifford crashed into the end zone to cap a nine-minute, 18-play drive. And although the final seconds were a little more tense than anyone on their sideline would have liked, they held on for a 34-27 victory.

“The game was a battle,” James Franklin said. “That’s a good football team. You can see they’ve gotten better every single year.”

Penn State struggled at times, and even after taking a double-digit lead into the final minute, its victory wasn’t assured until Jesse Luketa recovered an onside kick attempt with 13 seconds to play. The Hoosiers had turned it back into a one-score game with a 46-yard fourth-down completion and a short field goal.

Nevertheless, the Lions improved to 9-1 and 6-1 in the conference and remained in contention for the Big Ten East Division title heading into next week’s trip to Ohio State.

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

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THE GOOD

• The Nittany Lions did a nice job of capitalizing on two critical special teams gaffes. The first was an early punt that apparently grazed Hoosiers return man Whop Philyor and was ruled a fumble. The Lions pounced on the loose ball and turned the miscue into six points on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Nick Bowers in the first quarter.

The second big mistake Indiana made on special teams was to attempt a fake punt early in the third quarter on fourth-and-inches. The whole stadium was on high alert for a fake, but the Hoosiers tried it anyway. After taking the short snap, upback Peyton Hendershot lost 4 yards, giving Penn State possession at the Indiana 40. Two plays later, the Lions were back in the end zone on a 35-yard Journey Brown run.

• Penn State kept its cool after Indiana trimmed its lead to three points in the fourth quarter. The Lions took over at their own 25-yard line after the kickoff and powered their way downfield. Of their 18 plays, 16 were runs. They converted two third downs and two fourth downs, the last of which was a 1-yard touchdown run by Clifford, his second rushing TD of the afternoon.

“We have more sophistication in our running game [than in previous seasons], so we’re able to run a more traditional four-minute offense,” Franklin said. “And I think it helps our defense as well, because our defense sees things from our offense that it’s going to see throughout the year.”

• Brown rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, his second consecutive 100-yard game. With Noah Cain still out of action with an injury, Brown got most of the carries. Devyn Ford finished with eight attempts for 38 yards, while Ricky Slade carried once for 1 yard.

• The special teams had their best day in a while. Jake Pinegar hit field goals of 47 and 27 yards, Blake Gillikin pinned Indiana inside its 20-yard line on two of his three punts, and Jordan Stout had six touchbacks on seven kickoffs.

• The Lions had only one penalty, a nice return to form after some sloppier outings in recent weeks.

THE BAD

• After getting lit up by Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan last week, Penn State surrendered 371 passing yards to Indiana’s Peyton Ramsey. The redshirt junior went into the game with a 67 percent career completion rate, the best in school history, and he improved on it vs. the Nittany Lions, hitting 31 of 41 attempts. He threw one touchdown pass and should have had a second, but Donovan Hale dropped a pass in the end zone, forcing a field goal attempt.

The Lions expected to face a lot of short passes against Indiana, and they did. But they also gave up a few deep throws, including a 46-yard catch by Ty Fryfogle on fourth-and-long on the Hoosiers’ final possession – a completion that prolonged their comeback bid until the very end of the game.

“We’ve got to get better, there’s no doubt about it,” Franklin said. “But I’ll also say, that team has done that to everybody. They’re leading the conference in passing, have one of the best passing offenses in the country. They did a really good job. … Can we get better there? There’s no doubt about it. … But the most important stat was that we found a way to get a win.”

• K.J. Hamler left the game in the first half after getting bowled over on a kickoff return and appearing to land on his head. He did not return to action, and Penn State subsequently relied more heavily on its run game. Despite missing most of the game, Hamler still finished as the team’s leading receiver with 52 yards on two catches.

“Did it morph us a little bit? Yeah, probably,” Franklin said. “But I don’t know if it was necessarily that K.J. wasn’t there, or because we were able to run the ball. I think the depth that we have at the running back position has been helpful, and the depth at the receiver positions has been helpful. We didn’t have K.J. for the rest of the game, but the feedback we’re getting is pretty hopeful that we’re going to have him next week.”

LOOKING AHEAD

The Nittany Lions’ next opponent needs no introduction. Ohio State has been the most dominant team in college football this season. Heading into its game on Saturday against Rutgers, the Buckeyes had not been challenged for four quarters by any opponent. Since surrendering 21 points to Florida Atlantic in their opener, they haven’t given up more than 14 to anyone. Meanwhile, on offense, only two opponents – Michigan State and Wisconsin – have managed to hold them below 40 points.

Ohio State is second in the CFP rankings and is on the verge of returning to the playoff for the first time since 2016. Beating the Buckeyes in Columbus was going to be an uphill battle no matter what, and that hill got even steeper a few days ago when Big Ten sack leader Chase Young was ruled eligible for the Penn State game after sitting out two games due to an NCAA rules violation.

Still, with two games to go in the season, Penn State is still in the mix for the Big Ten title. That’s not an accomplishment that should be discounted given the extent of the Lions’ overhaul, particularly on offense, heading into the season.

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