Mistake Prone Hoosiers Fall Short in Happy Valley 33-24

Written by: TJ Inman

Happy Valley has not been a place of joy for the Indiana Hoosiers. IU entered today’s contest at #10 Penn State 0-12 all-time in Beaver Stadium and 30-point underdogs to the Nittany Lions. The Hoosiers performed admirably and made Penn State work but special teams miscues doomed IU to a 33-24 defeat that dropped Tom Allen’s team to 2-6 and keeps them winless in the Big Ten heading into the final month of the season.

On IU’s second possession of the game, the Hoosiers struck gold with a nice pass from Brendan Sorsby to DeQuece Carter. The Fordham transfer made a strong catch, evaded a defender and ran for a 90-yard touchdown. It was the third-longest pass play in Indiana football history. The Hoosiers forced a punt by the Nittany Lions and had momentum but quickly squandered success as Camden Jordan muffed the punt and PSU took over at the IU 32-yard line. The Nittany Lions capitalized on the mistake with a touchdown on fourth and inches as Drew Allar found his tight end wide open on a crossing route to tie the game. The teams traded punts and Indiana’s offense again hit a big play on one of the nation’s top defenses. Penn State brought a cornerback blitz that was read expertly by Brendan Sorsby. The Nittany Lions did not rotate on defense and Donaven McCulley was left wide open for a simple 69-yard touchdown to take the lead back. Nicholas Singleton returned the ensuing kickoff to the 50-yard line but IU’s defense halted the drive before it got going and Alex Felkins narrowly missed a 51-yard field goal. IU came up short on a fourth down attempt, despite a great effort from Sorsby and Penn State had good field position. They again took advantage and Nicholas Singleton plunged in for a two-yard touchdown to make the score 14-14 with 2:09 remaining in the fisrt half. IU was able to get a couple of first downs but disaster struck as Brendan Sorsby tried to make a play rolling out of the pocket. He threw back across the middle of the field and it was intercepted by the PSU defense. The Nittany Lions were kept out of the end zone but managed to hit a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

The Nittany Lions had the ball to begin the second half and marched down the field for a 16-yard touchdown to Theo Johnson to make it 24-14. The Hoosiers appeared down for the count after a sustained drive ended with a 37-yard missed field goal for Chris Freeman. The Indiana defense did not get the memo though and kept fighting. Penn State was forced to punt and the IU offense responded with another strong drive, mixing the run and the pass. Brendan Sorsby completed a slant pass to Omar Cooper and the redshirt freshman broke a tackle to get into the end zone to make it 24-21 with fewer than ten minutes to play. Both teams were forced to punt and PSU took over with less than seven minutes remaining. Drew Allar was pressured and about to be sacked and he lobbed the ball into the middle of the field. Josh Sanguinetti picked off the pass, the first of Allar’s collegiate career. IU had the ball at the PSU 21-yard line with 5:02 left. The Hoosiers faced a third and long and chose to play it conservatively, running it up the middle and settling for a field goal attempt. Chris Freeman connected from 35-yards out to tie the game at 24 with 2:58 left in the contest. Penn State took over with 2:56 remaining and Kaytron Allen got a first down on a short pass. Allen then churned forward for a first down on the ground. Allar finally connected on a deep pass, throwing behind IU’s defense for a 57-yard score to KeAndre Lambert-Smith with 1:46 remaining. Indiana’s dreams were quickly dashed as Sorsby was sacked on first down with the ball coming out for a fumble. It was batted around and nearly recovered a few times before rolling out of the back of the end zone for a safety. That effectively ended the game as IU came up short.

Stats to Know

-Indiana gained 349 yards against the vaunted Penn State defense. That is by far the best offensive performance for IU this season.

-Sorsby was 13-19 for 269 yards with three touchdowns.

-Penn State had the ball for 36 minutes of the game, controlling the ball for long stretches. That was particularly true in the first half.

Quick Hitters

-This was the most fun I’ve had watching an IU football game in quite a long time. That’s a low bar but Indiana cleared it today.

-Brendan Sorsby was not perfect but he played quite well and has seized the quarterback position moving forward. He was decisive, used his legs well, showed toughness and gave Indiana a shot on the road.

-Indiana clammed up after the Josh Sanguinetti interception and it cost them a chance to win.

-IU’s special teams is a major problem. The Hoosiers muffed another punt and missed a field goal that proved costly. This unit has become a consistent problem for the Indiana Hoosiers.