College Football
Penn State Escapes Indiana With Victory
Penn State football narrowly escaped from Bloomington, Indiana with a victory on Saturday. However, nonetheless, a win is a win in many ways. Penn State escapes Indiana with victory.
How the Game Went Down
Penn State came out on its first drive and drove straight down the field. K.J Hamler got the drive started during the kickoff with an electrifying return that gave Penn State great field position. Trace McSorley proceeded to connect with running back Miles Sanders for a 29 yard pass. Subsequently, Sanders powered forward one yard for the touchdown. Not long after Penn State got the lead, Hoosier running back Stevie Scott rushed for a touchdown and this game was tied.
This game was close throughout. Penn State escapes Indiana with a 33-28 victory. In fact, this game was closer than it should’ve been. But give Indiana credit where credit is due. There are some interesting things that occurred more on that a little later.
Penn State
There were certain special teams plays Penn State tried to make that the Nittany Lions didn’t and the Hoosiers capitalized on. Such plays were when Penn State punted at fourth and ten. However, Indiana’s A’Shon Riggins was guilty of roughing the kicker and therefore added five yards so then Penn State punted on fourth and five and Blake Gillikin was stopped in his tracks by Indiana’s Hendershot.
Penn State also had a few fumbles on special teams. However, they were able to recover those. On the day, Trace McSorley again provided most of the offense for Penn State in both passing and rushing. Passing wise, McSorley completed 19 of 36 for 220 yards. Likewise, McSorley had his consecutive games with a touchdown pass streak snapped today. The streak was at 34 consecutive games.
Rushing wise, on 19 rushes McSorley gained 127 yards along with two touchdowns on the ground. Miles Sanders had 15 rushes for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Indiana
The Hoosiers came into this game with a chip on their shoulder. The losers of two straight and three of their last four, they desperately needed a win. They almost came out with the victory Saturday. Indiana played an interesting game from the offensive side of the ball on Saturday.
The Hoosiers used both of their quarterbacks on Saturday but the thing that surprised me was starter Peyton Ramsey played the first set in the first quarter. Then in came backup Michael Penix who played the rest until the half. It was an interesting combo to say the least, something that even I wasn’t expecting.
However, late in the game Penix got injured and had to be helped off the field. Peyton Ramsey would finish the game. On the day, Ramsey completed 26 passes of the 36 he attempted. He threw one touchdown and one interception. Likewise, Penn State defense got to him as the Nittany Lions defense sacked the Hoosiers quarterback six times.
Rushing for the Hoosiers was a plus as Stevie Scott rushed 26 times for 138 yards and collected two touchdowns.
Conclusion
This game was close. Penn State escapes Indiana with victory, but barely. Penn State should have won this game by more then just five points. Many aspects could point towards why this game was so close to begin with. Special teams mistakes, just to name one. The past couple games, it’s no secret that Penn State has struggled to close out games and finish. It’s also no secret that James Franklin has been somewhat conservative when it comes down to the winding down minutes of the fourth quarter. Penn State is home this week to face Iowa with a 3:30 kickoff.
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Photo Credit to Penn State Alumni Association via Flickr
