Hoosiers Fall to No. 4/4 Penn State on the Road

Saturday, September 30

University Park, Pa.

3:30 p.m.

Indiana University

2-2 , 0-2

Penn State

5-0 , 2-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Indiana

Penn State

Hoosiers Fall to No. 4/4 Penn State on the Road

9/30/2017 10:22:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes Photo Gallery DiPrimio | Penn State Aftermath has IU Positioned for a Fix

Scales collects career-best three sacks

By Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Christmas came about three months early to Happy Valley.

But it might have looked more like Halloween at times for Indiana's Hoosiers.

Penn State's No. 4-ranked Nittany Lions roared to a 28-0 first-quarter lead. And all four touchdowns basically gift-wrapped in what became a 45-14 PSU win on a sun-dappled Saturday afternoon.

That final score supplies no real inkling as to how IU's defense played, though, and the Hoosiers showed resiliency by cutting that first quarter deficit in half by halftime.

None of which made the final result much easier for Indiana coach Tom Allen to swallow.

"It was extremely frustrating," Allen told Don Fischer in a post-game radio interview. "Very disappointing. You can't be on the road against the fourth-best team in the country (and) turn it over four times – and I count five, when you add the roughing-the-punter (a call that led directly to PSU's fourth first-quarter TD).

"Three huge special teams mistakes in the first half. You just can't play that way. That's on us. We played poorly on special teams and it bit us. Just very frustrated with that. Not good enough. We've got to get that fixed."

PSU Heisman Trophy candidate running back Saquon Barkley began and ended his day in special fashion. Indiana's defense largely shut him down in the interim, especially on the ground, where he gained just 56 yards on 20 carries (2.8).

But it took just 14 seconds for Barkley to take the opening kickoff back 98 yards for a TD.

And it came on a kick that looked relatively routine to cover, too, with Griffin Oakes getting some hang time and sticking his boot into the corner at the 2.

"We went with the deep-right kick," IU safety Chase Dutra recalled. "They pretty much sealed us all in and had a nice wall set up (but) we busted on that one. It was disappointing we didn't do our jobs. Simple as that."

Further disappointment ensued quickly for the Hoosiers as even plays that initially went well ended up going awry.

True freshman running back Morgan Ellison took IU's second snap from scrimmage right up the gut for 18 yards before PSU tacklers stripped him for a fumble recovered by linebacker Jason Cabinda (who would have a big day, overall, with a game-high 14 tackles).

That set PSU up at the Hoosier 38 and, six snaps later, Nittany Lion quarterback Trace McSorley scored on a 1-yard keeper to make it 14-0 with just 3:19 elapsed in the game.

After an Indiana drive produced three first downs but no points, the Hoosier defense stopped Penn State, but disaster then arose again via the kicking game.

J-Shun Harris II, already twice named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for his spectacular returns, fielded the punt. But he was quickly tackled, sustained an injury, and lost a fumble that resulted in a scoop-and-score for PSU's Nick Scott.

And so it was 21-0 with 6:34 still left in the first quarter.

Then, after both sides recorded sacks to thwart drives, IU was undone via a kicking sequence again – this time by a roughing-the-punter call that kept Penn State's drive alive (when a running-into-the-punter call would have not given the Lions a first down, the personal-foul variety of the call did.)

A superb 1-handed catch and run for 36 yards by Barkley proceeded to set up an 8-yard scoring pass from McSorley to DaeSean Hamilton (another Lion destined for a big game) that made it 28-0 at 0:41 of the first.

But Indiana's defense was already showing signs of bottling up Penn State's running game.

"They were loading the box up on us to stop Saquon Barkley, which makes sense," PSU coach James Franklin told BTN's Elise Menaker after the game. "It's a good plan.

"They're good up front and they have a great scheme. Coach Allen does a great job. They were stemming the front, mixing the front, over-loading the box. If they do that, then you have to make plays in the passing game … there is no doubt about it, because that second quarter and third quarter were not the way we like it to go."

The Hoosiers did the rest of the half's scoring.

IU quarterback Richard Lagow, after a 5-of-6 start that went for naught in the first quarter, escaped pretty in the pocket by rolling right and threw a perfect strike on the run to tight end Ian Thomas, who rolled for 54 yards.

That set up a 3-yard Ricky Brookins TD run to get the Hoosiers on the board with 14:01 left in the half.

After Penn State changed a play call at the line, a late shift by Indiana's defense seemed to confuse McSorley on a 3^rd-and-1 and he threw an interception to IU's Jonathan Crawford at the Hoosier 40.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Peyton Ramsey then came in for Lagow and engineered a six-play touchdown drive. It was capped by a back-shoulder throw to Simmie Cobbs Jr., who shook tacklers for an 18-yard TD.

By intermission, the Hoosiers appeared to have momentum.

Indiana was down by a pair of TDs, but had 209 total yards to Penn State's 145 at that juncture, including 146-22 in the second quarter. PSU had just 14 first-half rushing yards and McSorley had sustained four sacks.

And Indiana was set to get the ball to start the third quarter.

But then the second suboptimal start of a half on the day arose for the visitors. Ramsey, who would play the entire second half, started with an incompletion, then completed a throw to the wrong team, specifically Amani Oruwariye, whose interception gave PSU the ball at the IU 21.

The Hoosier defense held and PSU missed a chip-shot field goal, but PSU's defense stiffened and slowly regained the momentum.

Tyler Davis hit a 45-yard field goal for Penn State at 5:50 of the third and then IU's fourth turnover, a Devonte Williams fumble, set up a 52-yard scoring drive that ended with a 24-yard TD toss to Hamilton (the referees initially called offensive interference on the play but then picked up the flag.)

Hamilton made a great grab between a pair of Hoosier defenders in the fourth quarter for his 180^th career catch, a PSU record, and then scored the final TD on his third scoring catch of the day.

It came from 18 yards out on an option pass from Barkley.

That last drive helped PSU (5-0 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play) finish with a 370-352 edge in total yards, including a 331-175 advantage through the air. But the Lions managed just a paltry 39 yards on 37 rushing plays. Ramsey and Ellison ran for 53 yards apiece for IU, averaging 4.4 and 5.9 per carry respectively.

Franklin felt the final score didn't really quantify the play so much as reflect PSU's special-teams dominance.

"Early on, our special teams were just unbelievable," Franklin said. "(They loaded up against Saquon) but you're going to do that, we've got a lot of playmakers on the perimeter … we've got to take what the defense gives. Saquon is a great player, but we have a lot of guys who can hurt you.

"Overall, that's a good football team (we played) and we're happy to get a win."

Senior All-American linebacker Tegray Scales supplied a team-high 11 tackles (including eight solo stops and three sacks).

"He's a special, special player, and an even better person," Allen said of Scales. "So proud of him. He cares so much. He played so hard. Several guys did. It wasn't an effort issue today. We just made mistakes. You cannot make mistakes like we did against that caliber of team. You can't survive it and we didn't.

"The thing that's frustrating is that we did all that (early), played that poorly, and still had a chance in the third quarter. Things that are fixable will be fixed."

Including, as the Hoosiers head toward Saturday's 3:30 p.m. home matchup against Charleston Southern, not offering up such easily unwrapped special teams gifts. And keeping the ball under wraps when in possession.