State College, PA — Omar Cooper Jr.jumped to catch a pass from Fernando Mendoza In the back of the end zone, Penn State turned his inside foot into the field of play to go ahead. 27-24 with 36 seconds remaining and save No. 2 Indiana from its first loss of the season on Saturday.
The underdog Nittany Lions, led by an interim coach and suffering the school’s longest losing streak in 21 years, nearly deprived the Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) of their first Happy Valley win in school history.
Penn State (3-6, 0-6) came back from trailing by 13 points in the third quarter and was just a few points away from the upset. Once the Nittany Lions were forced to punt, they could not respond with their late-game heroics after the Hoosiers left them out. A Hail Mary attempt from the midfield failed.
“It was the most unexpected win I’ve ever been a part of,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. “And there could be no better place to do it.”
The Hoosiers entered Happy Valley accustomed to losing in the massive 107,000-seat Beaver Stadium. Before Saturday, the Nittany Lions had a 25–2 head-to-head advantage, and had won all 13 games on their home field.
“It’s just a rocking crowd. When you hear that silence when you get hit while throwing, you know it’s done,” said Mendoza, who was sacked three times, threw for 218 yards with a touchdown and an interception and also ran in a score.
Penn State took a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter. ethan grunkemeyer is associated with nicholas singleton for a 19-yard score with 6:27 to play.
Penn State punted to Indiana with 1:51 remaining, giving Mendoza the ball back at the 20. He was sacked on first down, but recovered to hit receivers for 22, 12, 29 and 17 yards before finding Cooper at the back edge of the end zone.
After this, smiling Cooper called it the best catch of his career. Mendoza agreed.
kelon black scored a rushing touchdown, and nico radicic Kicked two field goals for the Hoosiers. Charlie Baker There were seven receptions for 118 yards and Cooper finished with six receptions for 32 yards.
Singleton added two rushing touchdowns for the Nittany Lions, who are playing under interim coach Terry Smith and have lost six in a row.
“It’s very humbling,” Smith said. “I miss Joe Paterno and him running on the field. I’ve been in the same position he was in and I’ve got to do better for my guys. We’ve got to taste the win because they deserve it.”
After some limited possessions to start the game, the Hoosiers easily marched down the field on their third attempt when Mendoza hit Baker for a 53-yard pass up the middle. Mendoza broke through Penn State’s defense for an 18-yard touchdown two plays later.
Penn State tied the score at 7–7 with a 10-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a short scoring run by Singleton, but the offense called by Andy Kotelnicki did not get going until the fourth quarter and Indiana led 17–7 at halftime.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
