No. 24 Indiana Falls on the Road at No. 9 Penn State, 34-27

Saturday, November 16

University Park, Pa.

Noon

Indiana University

7-3 , 4-3

Penn State

9-1 , 6-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Indiana

Penn State

No. 24 Indiana Falls on the Road at No. 9 Penn State, 34-27

11/16/2019 3:33:00 PM | Football

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Indiana Hoosiers didn't blink amid Penn State football fervor Saturday afternoon.

Adversity?

You'd better believe it.

Injuries?

Sure.

Previous Cream & Crimson teams had buckled in the face of 100,000-plus-fan Beaver Stadium intimidation. They had never won here.

These guys fought.

It wasn't enough in a 34-27 defeat, and for this there was pain, pride and, well, this:

"This is a tough team," head coach Tom Allen said about the Hoosiers to the Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during his post-game radio show. "We got down early and our guys kept fighting back. We have a ton of character, a ton of toughness, a ton of grit. We'll be back."

No. 24 IU (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) made some mistakes, but made enough plays to upset a national power.

It overcame a pair of fumbles, a spoiled fake punt and a dropped touchdown pass to nearly upset a top-10 team for the first time since 1987. The No. 9 Nittany Lions (9-1) are very much alive to make the College Football Playoffs.

Still …

"We came here to win," Allen told Fischer. "Being close doesn't mean anything. We didn't get the job done. Our kids played hard and competed at a high level. We just didn't finish.

"We've very disappointed."

Quarterback Peyton Ramsey was 31-for-41 for 371 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 31 yards and two touchdowns.

"He does a great job," Allen told Fischer. "Some of those runs were just gritty. A couple he could have been sacked, but got first downs. That led to some scores, extended some drives.

"He knows where to go (with the ball). His preparation shows. How he studies film.

"That's a really good defense. They do a lot of things to make it hard. They have a lot of speed. If you make a mistake, they can make you pay."

Big-play receiver Whop Philyor was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with a helmet-to-helmet hit. He fumbled on the play.

Philyor, rated among the Big Ten's best receivers, finished with two catches for 50 yards.

On most teams, losing a player of his caliber would have been devastating.

For IU, it was time to do what it did best -- throw to everybody.

Nine Hoosiers caught at least one pass, including true freshman David Ellis (who took over for Philyor and grabbed 7 passes for 85 yards) and junior Ty Fryfogle (5 catches, 131 yards, 1 touchdown).

IU, which came in with a four-game winning streak, finished with more total yards (451 to 362), more first downs (23 to 21) and was 7-for-13 on third downs against one of the nation's best defenses.

"They have a great defense, some great athletes," Allen told Fischer. "We did some good things on offense."

Kicker Logan Justus was 2-for-2 on field goals, making him 14-for-14 for the season. That's one field goal behind Austin Starr's mark for consecutive makes.

"I would have liked to have seen us get touchdowns instead of field goals," Allen told Fischer, "but that was a good team we played. We did some good things. It was back and forth. We showed we belonged. We're a good team."

As far as the fake punt attempt in the third quarter that led to a Penn State touchdown, Allen said that was not what was called.

"That's unfortunate. That was not the call. He's done a great job. He's not made any errors. When it happened … it was not what we wanted."

IU opened the game on defense and got a three-and-out. But Philyor was ruled to have fumbled the punt return. The Nittany Lions recovered and scored a touchdown for a quick 7-0 lead.

The Hoosiers came right back.

Ramsey and Fryfogle connected on a key third-down pass for a first down, and then for a 38-yard touchdown.

The score was tied at 7-7.

After a Nittany Lions field goal, Ramsey drove IU close before sneaking in from the 1-yard line and a 14-10 Hoosier lead.

Penn State scored 10 straight points to take a 20-14 halftime lead.

The Hoosiers were on offense to start the second half, and drove to midfield. On fourth and short, they went for the fake punt. It didn't work, and Penn State quickly scored on a run up the middle for a 27-14 lead.

IU came back with a Justus 27-yard field goal.

The Hoosiers forced a Penn State punt. Ramsey drove them for a touchdown, scoring on his second 1-yard run, to make it 27-24 with basically 10:45 left.

IU needed a defensive stop.

It didn't get it.

The Nittany Lions drained away most of the remaining minutes during an 18-play touchdown drive to go back ahead by 10.

IU drove for a Justus field goal, and then went for the on-side kick. If successful, the Hoosiers would have had time for one shot at a Hail Mary pass.

It wasn't successful.

The Hoosiers will get another shot at a ranked team next week when they host No. 14 Michigan.

"It's a big one, a big one, a big one," Allen said. "We'll get back to work."