Never in the history of Penn State Football have the Nittany Lions lost to the Indiana Hoosiers (IU). That has all changed after the Hoosiers dominating performance against the Nittany Lions today with its high tempo offense. Indiana produced 486 yards of total offense and shockingly had over double the amount of rushing yards as Penn State(PSU) did!(150-70). Penn State's offensive play calling had a hand in the matter as Christian Hackenberg attempted 55 passes, and while he put up good numbers ( 30-55, 340 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT) Penn State could not establish any momentum as they continued to go through the air, which lead to short possessions and even a few three and outs. It would not be hard to argue though that the only reason Hackenberg had decent numbers was due to another incredible performance by PSU Wide Receiver Allen Robinson, who hauled in 12 catches for 173 yards and 2 TD's and was accountable for two of Hackenberg's Touchdown(TD) passes.
Penn State only ever led once during the entire game when it took a 14-13 lead after Robinson's second TD grab, a lead that would last for only 82 seconds as Indiana's Tevin Coleman would score a TD on a 44 yd. run and Tre Robinson successfully completed the two point conversion to give Indiana a 21-14 lead. Penn State would cut the lead down to four after a Sam Ficken FG, but Indiana's offense would answer right back when Tre Robinson capped off an 11 play 75 yard drive with a 2 yd. TD run and expanded the Hoosiers lead to 11. Minutes later, IU Quarterback Nate Sudfeld(who finished the day 23 of 38, 321 yards 2 TD 1INT) found Kofi Hughes in the air for a 36 yd. TD hookup. On the ensuing kickoff, Penn State fumbled the ball which Indiana recovered inside the PSU 10. Tre Robinson would put the final nail in the coffin, scoring a TD on the first play off the turnover to give the Hoosiers a 42-17 lead. After giving up a late TD pass, the Hoosiers forced a safety and Penn State suffered its first loss at the hands of Indiana for the first time ever in the programs history by a final of 44-24.
Bill O'Brien and the Penn State coaching stuff will have to answer many critics due to questionable playcalling. Indiana's run defense ranked 117th in the nation, yet O'Brien continued to call for Hackenberg to go through the air. On defense, Penn State's secondary is non-existent and did not apply much pressure or coverage to the IU receiving corps. If Penn State cannot address these problems quickly, it will be in for a long Big Ten schedule!
Notes:
-Penn State won the time of possession ( 35:11- 24:49)
- Indiana had more offensive yards (486-410)
- Penn State hosts Michigan next week, while Indiana travels to Michigan State
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