STATE COLLEGE – Penn State stood toe-to-toe with the No. 2 team in the country Saturday, overcame a 13-point deficit and lost on an acrobatic touchdown catch in the final minute.
The Nittany Lions’ gut-wrenching 27-24 loss, their sixth straight, left them wondering how and if they can stop their skid.
“It’s tough,” quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer said. “I just feel for the guys, the seniors who have been here and don’t deserve it. It’s just hard. We just ask why.
“We have to find those answers to get there and finish the game. It’s just tough. It is.”
Penn State (0-6 Big Ten, 3-6) matched its worst conference start with its fifth defeat by six points or less. The Lions dropped their 16th straight game to a top-five opponent and lost to the Hoosiers (7-0, 10-0) for the first time at Beaver Stadium after 13 victories.
“Tough loss,” interim head coach Terry Smith said. “A very, very difficult one to handle. The locker room is taking it very tough. I’m so proud of the effort our guys put out there.
“These guys played hard. I feel awful for them. They do everything we ask of them and we keep coming up short.”
The Lions took a 24-20 lead on Nick Singleton’s 19-yard touchdown catch with 6:27 left, forced Indiana to punt, picked up one first down and punted back to the Hoosiers, who started at their 20-yard line after a touchback.
Dani Dennis-Sutton sacked Fernando Mendoza for a 7-yard loss on first down before the Indiana quarterback showed why he’s one of the top players in the country. He completed 5-of-8 passes for 87 yards, including a couple toe-tapping catches by his receivers.
Charlie Bennett got one foot down inside the sideline for a 17-yard reception at the Penn State 7. The Lions pressured Mendoza and forced two incompletions.
But on third-and-goal, he threw as safety King Mack hit him and Omar Cooper Jr. leaped over safety Zakee Wheatley to make the game-winning catch, getting his right foot down inside the end line with 36 seconds left.
“The most improbable victory I’ve ever been a part of,” said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. “And there couldn’t have been a better place to make it happen.”
Penn State got to the Indiana 48, but Grunkemeyer’s desperation heave to Kyron Hudson inside the 10 was incomplete as time ran out
“I was so close,” Mack said. “The one that he (Mendoza) ended up completing, I thought the ball flew in the air and was incomplete. So when he (defensive coordinator Jim Knowles) made that call and I knew I was blitzing, I had to beat him. Just didn’t get there.”
It was the third time in the last four games that Penn State blew a fourth-quarter lead.
“I was very disappointed,” Dennis-Sutton said. “The offense did a great job. The special teams did a great job. The defense, we failed at the end of the game. You just can’t let them score a touchdown and that’s exactly what we let them do.”
The Lions lost despite outstanding performances by Grunkemeyer and Singleton.
Grunkemeyer completed 22-of-31 passes for a career-high 219 yards and one touchdown with one interception in his third career start against a ranked opponent and a top 10 defense. As Smith had promised, he threw several downfield passes.
“He was obviously confident,” center Nick Dawkins said. “He’s a gunslinger, and I feel bad that his starts have gone the way they have, with us losing games, because he’s a hell of a ballplayer, a hell of a leader and a competitor.”
Singleton gained 143 all-purpose yards, including a season-long 59-yard burst, and scored three touchdowns for the first time since the Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame.
“I told him after that long run, ‘This is who you are,’ ” Grunkemeyer said. “I think it just opens up the pass game. When he broke that long run, you could just feel that energy and feel those passing lanes open up.”
Indiana ranks among the national leaders in turnover margin and showed why.
The Hoosiers turned a Kaytron Allen fumble into a touchdown late in the second quarter to take a 17-7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, they intercepted Grunkemeyer’s pass for Hudson and turned it into a field goal.
Penn State overcame the 20-7 deficit with Ryan Barker’s 36-yard field goal, Singleton’s 1-yard plunge after his long run and his catch and run after Mack’s interception.
But it still wasn’t enough for the Lions to halt their losing streak.
Mendoza, held in check most of the day, finished 19-for-30 for 218 yards and ran for an 18-yard score.
“Their quarterback is big time,” Smith said. “When you get in games like this, you have to have players who make plays. He won the game for them. He was amazing. He was tough. We hit him relentlessly the entire game. He kept getting up. He delivered throws.”
Penn State was expected to contend for the national championship before the season. Now, the Lions need to win out against Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers to become bowl eligible.
“All of us are frustrated,” Dawkins said. “Fans are frustrated. I’m frustrated. Coaches are frustrated. What do we need to do? What is it? Why?”
Source: Berkshire mont