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Penn State Football: Position grades versus Indiana

By Dylan Burd

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers in the fourth quarter of the game at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers in the fourth quarter of the game at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 20: Robert Windsor #54, Ryan Bates #52 and Yetur Gross-Matos #99 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate as they leave the field after the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 20: Robert Windsor #54, Ryan Bates #52 and Yetur Gross-Matos #99 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate as they leave the field after the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Penn State football won its first game since September 21 on Saturday, as they beat Indiana in 33-28.

It’s been a brutal last few weeks for Penn State football fans, as losses to Ohio State and Michigan State likely ended the Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff hopes. However, that two-game losing streak was snapped on Saturday with a win at Indiana in a game that was definitely closer than Penn State would have liked it to be.

After a back-and-forth three quarters, Penn State finally pulled away by 12 points in the fourth quarter. Despite the seemingly safe 12-point lead that Penn State had, the Hoosiers didn’t go down easy. Indiana scored with 49 seconds left to pull within five points after Memorial Stadium had almost completely emptied out.

Following the touchdown, Indiana recovered an onside kick and gained nine yards on three plays before running out of time. It wasn’t pretty, but Penn State got out of there with the win.

With the 45 mph winds, Penn State struggled to get much going through the air, but managed to score three touchdowns on the ground. They also won the turnover battle, which was a key to the victory.

A main cause for concern going into next week’s game vs. Iowa is the Penn State defense, who allowed 554 yards to Indiana, a team that’s in the bottom half of the Big Ten in terms of talent level. The win moved Penn State to 5-2 on the season, and 2-2 in conference play.

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