After what has been a dismal season, Penn State followers have been considering of 2016.
Sitting at 3-5, Penn State’s personal title hopes had lengthy vanished, with losses to Oregon and UCLA dropping the preseason No. 2 out of the Prime 25, and a subsequent loss to Northwestern costing James Franklin his job. However on Saturday, interim head coach Terry Franklin welcomed Indiana — now the crew ranked second within the preliminary Faculty Soccer Playoff rankings — to Beaver Stadium.
And the Penn State trustworthy have been considering upset.
The Nittany Lions scored 17 unanswered factors within the second half to take a 24-20 lead late within the recreation, placing Indiana on the ropes. It was harking back to a recreation from 2016, when the then-unranked Nittany Lions welcomed No. 2 Ohio State to Beaver Stadium and shocked the Buckeyes with a 24-21 win over their rivals. In that recreation, Penn State’s Grant Haley returned a blocked discipline objective 60 yards for a landing with beneath 5 minutes within the recreation, because the Nittany Lions scored 17 unanswered factors within the fourth quarter for the win.
Nonetheless, the ultimate whistle had but to blow, and the Hoosiers weren’t carried out.
Indiana had an opportunity late, forcing a punt from Penn State to take over on their very own 20-yard line with beneath two minutes to go, and with none timeouts. Their scenario went from unhealthy to worse, as Fernando Mendoza was sacked on the primary play of Indiana’s possession. They confronted 2nd and 17 on their very own 13-yardline, a scenario that’s not identified to be conducive to success.
However the Hoosiers moved down the sphere from there, with Mendoza connecting with Omar Cooper Jr. to start out the drive. Then, a giant completion to tight finish Riley Nowakowski moved the ball into Penn State territory.
Then got here an unimaginable catch from Charlie Becker on a vertical route alongside the left sideline, on a excessive, contested throw. It was Becker’s seventh catch of the sport, for 118 yards.
Becker entered the day with seven profession catches for 158 yards and a landing.
At that time, Indiana confronted 1st-and-goal on the Penn State 7-yard line with beneath 50 seconds remaining. A Mendoza throw on first down was deflected on the line of scrimmage, and with the Nittany Lion trustworthy roaring, a blitz off the left edge rocked the Indiana quarterback on second down, leaving the go to flutter harmlessly to the turf.
Third down, nevertheless, was a unique story.
Penn State blitzed once more, and Mendoza hung within the pocket within the face of stress to ship a excessive throw over the center to Cooper, who leapt into the air and never solely caught the soccer, however maybe saved Indiana’s season. Cooper by some means, a way, pulled the soccer out of the sky and managed to get a toe down in the long run zone because the defender shoved him out of the again of the tip zone.
Within the FOX Sports activities sales space, Gus Johnson went ballistic, as Joel Klatt referred to as the throw a “borderline throwaway” and the perfect catch he had seen all season. After a video assessment, the landing was upheld.
Here’s a take a look at the reception:
On the drive, Mendoza was 5-of-8 for 87 yards and a landing.
Penn State had an opportunity, with 36 seconds remaining on the clock and one timeout at its disposal. The offense drove simply previous midfield, however with simply 5 seconds left, Penn State confronted a Third-and-5 scenario on the Indiana 28-yard line.
It was, as Johnson mentioned within the sales space, Hail Mary time.
Ethan Grunkemeyer’s throw fell incomplete.
“Refuse to lose, principally,” mentioned Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti after the sport. “This was an unbelievable win. I’ve seen numerous stuff in my days … I’ve by no means seen something like this.”
The win moved Indiana to 10-0, reaching ten wins for simply the second time at school historical past. The primary ten-win season got here a 12 months in the past, in Cignetti’s debut 12 months on campus.
Whereas the Hoosiers made the Faculty Soccer Playoff final 12 months, they’re dreaming of larger issues right here in 2025.
