Hoosiers Fall Apart Late, PSU Wins 45-31

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Despite a dominant performance from Indiana's run defense and a ten-point lead late in the third quarter, the Indiana Hoosiers lost another close game against a top ten opponent, falling 45-31 to the tenth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. 

IU was attempting to defeat their first top ten team since 1987 and reach bowl eligibility for the second straight season but four first-half turnovers and a few missed scoring chances proved too much for the Hoosiers to overcome. The defeat dropped IU to 5-5 on the season and bowl eligibility will likely need to wait until the final week of the regular season. The Hoosiers outgained the Nittany Lions 449 to 411 as Richard Lagow threw for 292 yards with two touchdowns and Devine Redding ran for 102 yards and two scores.

Penn State opened the scoring on the first drive of the game as Trace McSorley scrambled in from ten yards out to give the Nittany Lions a 7-0 lead. The teams traded punts and IU turned the ball over for the first time as Mitchell Paige lost a fumble. PSU was unable to convert and IU evened the score with a Richard Lagow pass to Ricky Jones. IU got a defensive stop but their next offensive possession resulted in another turnover on a muffed exchange between Lagow and Devante Williams. Yet again, the IU defense stood tall as they forced PSU to punt. However, Isaac James mistakenly touched the punt and it was picked up by the Nittany Lions at the six-yard line. They quickly took the lead as McSorley found Chris Godwin to make it 14-7.  Indiana went three and out but then got their first takeaway on PSU's next possession as Rashard Fant picked off Trace McSorley and returned it to the Penn State 32-yard line. The Hoosiers found the endzone as Devine Redding scored from 12 yards out with just one minute remaining in the first half.

The second half began with a great sight for IU fans as Griffin Oakes connected on a 47-yard field goal. The struggling IU kicker had a good day as the kicking game had no issues converting on the field goals and each extra point. Tony Fields intercepted Trace McSorley and the Hoosiers marched the ball to the PSU one-yard line. They opted to go for it on fourth and one but Richard Lagow's pass fell incomplete. The Hoosiers would eventually get that ten-point lead though as Zander Diamont found Camion Patrick on a deep ball and Devine Redding scored his second touchdown of the day on a six-yard run. Penn State refused to go away and quickly responded with a four-play, 70-yard drive ending in touchdown for Chris Godwin that made it 24-21 IU at the end of the third quarter. Penn State used a flea-flicker to connect on a deep pass and Saquon Barkley gave PSU the lead, 28-24. Richard Lagow didn't back down though as he led a long touchdown drive and found Nick Westbrook for a 40-yard score to give the Hoosiers the lead right back at 31-28. Indiana's defense stopped the PSU offense but IU was unable to make the most of their chance. A holding penalty backed IU up and they ended up losing nine yards on the drive, punting to the 43. PSU quickly marched inside the red zone and Saquon Barkley punched in the go-ahead score with just under four minutes left. IU's offense failed to convert on fourth down and PSU hit a 38-yard field goal to make the score 38-31 with just over a minute left. Unfortunately, IU's chances were given a quick death as Richard Lagow fumbled and the Nittany Lions scooped and scored the game's final points. The 45-31 final is in no way indicative of the challenge IU gave the tenth-ranked Nittany Lions but the Hoosiers came up short yet again in a game they had a very real chance of winning against a top ten team. They now must knock off either Michigan or Purdue to get back to a bowl game.