Penn State earns a much needed win over Indiana

It wasn’t always pretty, but Penn State survived and avoided a third consecutive loss.

Penn State didn’t play their best game, actually they looked awful at points, but the Nittany Lions were able to defeat Indiana on a windy afternoon in Bloomington 33-28.

Special teams were a huge part of the game, with a 94-yard Jonathan Thomas return to set up a touchdown, and a Jonathan Sutherland forced fumbled on a fourth quarter kickoff being the two key plays in a much needed win.

The strong special teams play began early, with a blazing 58-yard return on the games opening kickoff by KJ Hamler. The Nittany Lions capitalized when Miles Sanders punched it in from a yard out to put Penn State up 7-0 just two minutes in.

Indiana wasn’t phased, and answered two minutes later with a Stevie Scott five-yard touchdown run. The Hoosiers relied heavily on their speed in the first quarter, and the Nittany Lions looked extremely sluggish on defense.

Peyton Ramsay started the game at quarterback for Indiana and played the first two series before coach Tom Allen decided to go with freshman Michael Penix Jr. Neither quarterback was exceptional through the air.

Indiana was able to go up 14-7 on a Ronnie Walker Jr. 30-yard run, which came following a strange fake punt decision by Franklin. Blake Gillikin needed to pick up five yards for a first down, but couldn’t fool Indiana as he found no running room to his left. Indiana was able to take advantage of the good field position.

Penn State, in need of a jumpstart, went to their Lion, Tommy Stevens.

Stevens first served as a decoy, enabling Trace McSorley to break a 44-yard run. Two plays later, Stevens took the snap and hit freshman tight end Pat Freiermuth for a 23-yard score, knotting the ballgame at 14-14.

Penn State scored next on a Jake Pinegar field goal making it 17-14, a lead which they took into the locker room.

Indiana received the ball to open the second half, and easily moved through the porous Penn State defense before a Ronnie Walker fumble at the Penn State 26. The Nittany Lions recovered, and turned the turnover into a field goal to take a 20-14 lead.

Once again, Indiana would not go away and drove down the field to score on another Stevie Scott touchdown run with 4:01 left in the third. On the drive, Michael Penix was injured during a play in which Garrett Taylor was flagged for targeting and ejected. Peyton Ramsay checked back in for the Hoosiers.

Scott finished the day with 138 and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

Penn State desperately needed a big play, now trailing 21-20, and it came from an unlikely source.

Jonathan Thomas received the kickoff and took it 94-yards before his foot slipped out of bounds at the 5. McSorley walked in for an easy rushing touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but the Nittany Lions took a 26-21 lead into the fourth quarter.

McSorley was 19/36 for 220, and a pick. He saw his 34 game passing touchdown streak come to an end. Penn State receivers struggled to get open all day, and had some costly drops, but McSorley was able to be effective with his legs.

He ran for 107 and two touchdowns on 19 attempts.

McSorley tallied his second rushing touchdown of the game after Jonathan Sutherland forced a fumble on Indiana’s kick return to give Penn State a 33-21 lead.

Penn State gave up a late touchdown making it 33-28 with 49 seconds left. Indiana set up for an onside kick and were unsuccessful on their first attempt, but Franklin called for timeout just before the ball was kicked. On the second attempt, you guessed it, Indiana recovered.

It wouldn’t be a Penn State game if it didn’t get your heart rate up, but Indiana wasn’t able to generate a touchdown on the drive and Penn State escaped.

The Nittany Lions still have plenty of room for growth and improvement, but a win is a win and they certainly don’t come easily on the road in the Big 10.