Five Takeaways From No. 24 Indiana's 34-27 Loss at No. 9 Penn State

Image: Matthew O'Haren

Written by Andrew Walker

So close. Indiana Football fell to the Penn State Nittany Lions 34-24 on Saturday. Indiana’s occasional poor decision making and poorly timed blown coverage on a few plays led to their downfall. The Hoosiers played tough today, but it just wasn’t enough. Despite the late push, the Hoosiers couldn’t make it happen. Let’s take a look at five takeaways from Indiana’s unfortunate loss. 

1. This isn’t “same old Indiana”

Through this entire 2019 season, I’ve seen my fair share of “same old Indiana Football” rhetoric online. That’s just downright not true. This team hasn’t lost to any team it shouldn’t have lost to, and two of the three losses are games had a chance to win. Normally, I’d be indifferent about losing to Penn State on the road, but this season is different. I felt disappointed. I, along with a lot of other Hoosier faithful, thought this game was winnable. That’s a feeling we can get used to. 

2. Peyton Ramsey played as well as he could’ve

Facing a defense that has over thirty sacks on the season has to be at least somewhat intimidating. Peyton Ramsey didn’t think so. He played with poise and made plays happen. He was exceptional at getting the ball out quick to the check down and when he had to go deep, he was able to read the coverage well. Especially on the first TD of the game for Indiana, going deep to Ty Fryfogle with no Penn State defenders even in the same zip code. Ramsey went 31/41 for 378 yards and one TD on the day. 

3. Penn State ran all over the Hoosiers

Just looking at the total rushing yards numbers from both teams, there wasn’t a chance for Indiana to win on the ground. The Nittany Lions ran for 192 total yards, to the Hoosiers’ 91. PSU’s Journey Brown made up 100 of those by himself, thanks to two breakaway runs that put Penn State into the red zone. Stevie Scott came away with 54 yards for the ground attack, with Ramsey coming in second with 31 yards and two rushing TDs. Quite an impressive day for running QBs.

4. Let’s talk about the fake punt

When the most “Colts-ish” play call of a fake punt on 4th and 1 happened, all I could think about was how many yards for loss this tackle was going to be. I can respect the guts and grit to call that play, but the outcome was anything but pretty. Regardless of whoever’s fault it was, it needs to be a point of emphasis for self discipline. Two plays later, Journey Brown ripped up the seam for a TD off the turnover on downs. Out of all the missed opportunities, this obviously sticks out as the biggest one.

Allen said postgame that “we had a true freshman long snapper that made a mistake. Sean’s had a great season. Awesome kid. As you noticed Peyton (Hendershot) was surprised to get the ball. He wasn’t supposed to. So it was just a mistake.”

5. Indiana’s passing attack continues to be the best in the Big Ten

With Ramsey throwing so well today, there’s still no doubt that the Hoosier passing game is the best. We still know that the Hoosiers can make games competitive through the air, and with Indiana’s size advantage at the receiver position, it’s going to be hard for a lot of defensive backs o make defensive plays. One thing is for certain though. There’s still light at the end of the tunnel for the Hoosiers to possibly win nine games. 1967 was the last time that happened.