Indiana Penn State 34 – Indiana 27 Volume 82, Issue 10 Nov
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Indiana Penn State 34 – Indiana 27 Volume 82, Issue 10 Nov. 18, 2019 After the heart-breaking loss in Minnesota that dropped Penn State from the short list of undefeated teams, the Nittany Lions could have lost their focus and finished out the regular season with three losses, like the second-ranked 1999 team did. Though they dropped four places to No. 9 in the polls, the 2019 Lions quickly got back on track with a 34–27 victory over No. 24 Indiana on a crisp, sunny Saturday just made for football in Beaver Stadium. Both teams treated the 106,323 fans to an exciting game that wasn’t decided until the Lions recovered Indiana’s onside kickoff with just 13 seconds left. The 7–2 Hoosiers, who last week climbed into the Top 25 for the first time since 1994 and boasted the Big Ten’s top passing team, outgained Penn State, 462 to 371 yards in total offense, but fell seven points short on the scoreboard. While the visitors relied heavily on their patented short to mid-range passing attack, the Lions countered with a more balanced offense, buttressed with more explosive plays that led to one more touchdown and in turn raised State’s record to 9–1, while Indiana’s slipped to 7–3. Thus, again, the Lions hold their destiny in their own hands. If they can win out against Ohio State and Rutgers, then capture the Big Ten title in Indianapolis on Dec. 7, they still would be a very viable contender for a spot in the College Football Playoffs. More easily said than done, of course, as the Lions are already a two-touchdown underdog to the unbeaten Buckeyes in Columbus next Saturday. A loss to Ohio State would most likely put Penn State in a Florida Bowl game. It took a determined effort by the Nittany Lions, who put aside last week’s hurt and focused on their remaining objectives. It took a winning battle along the line of scrimmage. It took relentless, never-say-die play by both offense and defense. Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey, who played against Penn State QB Sean Clifford, when they were in high school in Cincinnati, directed the Hoosiers passing attack with crisp efficiency, completing 31 of 41 passes for 371 yards, 192 more than the Lions gained on Clifford’s 11 completions in 23 attempts. But the home team gained 101 more yards than the visitors on the ground, including Clifford’s 38-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Journey Brown’s 35-yard TD blast in the third. True, Ramsey himself tallied twice on one-yard QB sneaks, but his pass completions covered most of the yardage in his team’s scoring drives. For the home team, Brown’s second straight 100-yard rushing game, plus Clifford’s 55 net yards rushing, Devyn Ford’s 38 on eight carries and Will Levis’ five yards from the Wildcat position were critical to the Lions’ scores. While the Hoosiers were racking up more yardage than the Lions, they only led on the scoreboard (14–10) for two and a half minutes late in the first quarter. After Clifford nullified that lead with his breakaway 38-yard run to the end zone, the Lions held the advantage the rest of the way. Penn State capitalized on an Indiana turnover just a minute and 10 seconds into the game, when Jan Johnson recovered a punt muffed by Hoosier returner Whop Philyor at the IN-27. Clifford ignited the Lions’drive with an 11-yard pass to KJ Hamler on a 3rd-and-seven situation and concluded it two plays later with a 12-yard strike to tight end Nick Bowers in the end zone. Ramsey ignited his team’s first drive with a 24-yard completion to Ty Fryfogle on a 3-and-8 call. It ended in dramatic fashion, when a Lion safety blitzed, and Ramsey deftly passed to Fryfogle, dashing through the area vacated by the safety and catching Ramsey’s aerial for a 38-yard uncontested touchdown and a tie score. Clifford’s second pass to Hamler was a 41-yarder down the right sideline, which highlighted a seven-play 58- yard drive, culminating in Jake Pinegar’s 47-yard field goal for a 10–7 Lion lead. Penn State’s top receiver exited the game with an apparent injury after just two catches. Ramsey matched Clifford with a 42-yard toss to Whop Philyer to spark a seven-play 63-yard countering drive capped by Ramsey’s first 1-yard touchdown plunge. And Indiana had a short-lived 14–10 lead. Just over two minutes later, Clifford climaxed a five-play, 72-yard drive with his surprising 38-yard slant through the Indiana defense to give State a 17–14 advantage it would not relinquish. In the second quarter, Clifford moved his troops 52 yards on this Military Appreciation Day, until he was sacked and fumbled. Michael Ziemba recovered for the Hoosiers at the IN-24. But two plays later the visitors returned the favor, when Lion freshman corner back Marquis Wilson stripped the ball from the hands of Philyor and recovered it on the IN-38. On the ensuing possession Clifford was sacked twice for losses totaling 14 yards and punter Blake Gillikin booted a 44-yarder that went out-of-bounds at the IN-8. On State’s next possession Brown accumulated 14 yards on four rushes and caught a 14-yard pass from Clifford. The sophomore Lion leader tossed a 21-yarder to Jahan Dotson, but ultimately State had to settle for Pinegar’s second field goal of the half—a 27-yarder that extended the Lion lead to 20–14 at halftime. After a stirring performance by the Blue Band, honoring veterans of all five U.S. military branches, Penn State had to kickoff to Indiana to start the third quarter. The Hoosier advance was halted at the IN-44, where, on 4th-and-1, Indiana attempted an ill-advised fake punt. Antonio Shelton and Garrett Taylor nailed the intended runner for a four-yard loss, and the Lions took over at the IN-40. On State’s first play of the second half, Brown rushed for five yards. On the second play, he scorched the Indiana defense with a 35-yard run to paydirt, and the Lion lead stretched to 27–14. Ramsey marched his team 68 yards on 14 plays, peppered with a 14-yard pass to David Ellis, a 10-yarder to Nick Westbrook, an 11-yarder to Fryfogle and a 9-yarder to Peyton Hendershot, sandwiched around an 11- yard rush of his own. But when the Penn State defense stopped the march on a fourth-and-goal from the PS-7, the visitors had to settle for Logan Justus’ 25-yard field goal, cutting State’s lead to 27–17. Indiana worried the Blue-and-White fans, when it mounted an 11-play 91- yard touchdown drive to pull within three points of Penn State. Key plays on the drive were Ramsey’s pass completions of 12 yards to Hendershot, 39 yards to Ellis, and 11 yards to Donavan Hale, leading to Ramsey’s rush of seven and sneak of one to narrow State’s lead to 27–24. But then came the defining drive of the game. With the Lions’ dominant offensive line pounded the tiring Indiana defensive front, Penn State methodically marched 75 yards on 18 plays, while eating nine minutes off the clock and pushing the Lions’ lead back to 10 points. Brown rushed for 13 yards, Clifford ran for 10 on a 3rd-and-nine situation. Clifford passed to tight end Pat Freiermuth for 15 and another first down. Freshman Devyn Ford gained eight yards in two carries and back-up quarterback Will Levis banged three yards up the middle on a 4th-and-one. Brown rushed for seven yards, then two more. Clifford ran for six on a 3rd-and-one. Brown and Clifford carried three more times to a 4th-and-goal at the IN-1. After taking a timeout to give its offensive line a breather, then milking another 40 seconds off the clock, Clifford made a determined blast up the middle to the final touchdown and a 34–24 count on the scoreboard. With just 1:44 left, Ramsey rapidly resumed his passing parade, hitting Ellis for 11 yards, Hendershot for 10 and Westbrook for five, until Shaka Toney got Penn State’s second sack of the day. On 4th- and-six Ramsey made a desperation heave, which Fryfogle pulled down for a final 46-yard gain to the PS-4. But when the clock ran down to 13 seconds, Indiana had to settle for another short Justus field goal. Then came the onside kick that sealed the Lions’ victory and put Penn State back on track. “Indiana has one of the best passing offenses in the country,” said Coach James Franklin. “We have improved at offensive line and tight end, which we can use like a fullback as a lead blocker or second blocker in the counter game. We can also line them up like wide receivers.” “We have more sophistication in our running game,” he said. “We were able to wear them down as the game went on with our running game,” Franklin added. The coach noted that Penn State won the critical statistics: Field Position (average start at the PS-36, compared to Indiana’s average start at the IN-22). Points off of turnovers (7–0).