No. 2 Indiana football has survived.
The Hoosiers remain undefeated after an incredible last-minute touchdown from Omar Cooper Jr. to stay undefeated and avoid the upset of Penn State with a 27-24 win.
One of the best teams in the country, Indiana had mostly breezed by its opponents in easy fashion for several dominant victories, but it took all 60 minutes for the Hoosiers to get the upper hand for good against a Nittany Lions team that has not found its footing all season.
While Saturday, Nov. 8 started out looking like the Hoosiers would once against cruise to a win, Ethan Grunkemeyer and Nick Singleton managed to make it a game in which the Nittany Lions held a 24-20 lead with under two minutes left.
Penn State’s national title aspirations were wiped away with a five game losing streak that included the firing of coach James Franklin and a season-ending injury to Drew Allar.
Going against Indiana, it was expected to be another loss that would put the Nittany Lions on the brink of missing out on bowl eligibility.
Midway through the third quarter, it looked like that would happen when Indiana jumped out to a 20-7 lead.
But the Nittany Lions didn’t fold. The defense clamped down and the offense did just enough to score 17 consecutive points and take the lead with less than seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Starting at its own 20-yard line with no timeouts and less than two minutes remaining, Indiana marched down the field thanks to accurate throws from quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
On third and goal, Penn State brought the blitz against Mendoza, and he somehow was able to find Cooper Jr. in the back of the endzone, who barely got one foot down to secure the touchdown and take the lead. Review upheld the call as a miraculous catch, and Indiana recaptured the lead.
Penn State was unable to score in the final seconds to tie or take the lead again.
Now, Indiana moves to 10-0 and remains in great position to win the Big Ten title and be a top four seed in the College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers also secured their first back-to-back 10-win seasons.
The win was also a historic one for the program, marking the first time Indiana has won at Beaver Stadium. It was previously 0-13 on Penn State’s home field.
As for the Nittany Lions, they have now lost six consecutive games and are on the brink of being eliminated from bowl game consideration. At 3-6, Penn State is also winless in conference play.
The Nittany Lions were closed to snapping a streak that was a stain on Franklin’s tenure. Penn State entered the game with 14 straight losses to teams ranked in the top five, the last victory coming in 2016 at home against Ohio State.
Now the streak gets pushed to 15, and Indiana’s title hopes remain well intact.
(This story was updated to add a video)
