Entering Saturday, Indiana football stood at 2-5 after a 31-14 loss against Rutgers on Homecoming weekend. While they looked to rebound against No. 10 Penn State on Saturday, the Hoosiers narrowly missed out on an upset victory, losing to the Nittany Lions 33-24 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.
Indiana head coach Tom Allen explained Monday that he felt redshirt freshman quarterback Brendan Sorsby did “some really good things” in terms of leading the Hoosiers’ offense down the field against Rutgers on Oct. 21, 2023. Sorsby started Saturday, going 13-of-19 for 269 yards alongside three touchdowns, an interception and a fumble.
FIRST QUARTER
Each team punted twice in the first quarter with three of the four drives resulting in three-and-outs.
Although Indiana entered Saturday as a 31-point underdog, the Hoosiers struck first with a 90-yard touchdown pass from Sorsby to fifth-year senior wide receiver DeQuece Carter.
Penn State knotted up the score at 7-7 when sophomore quarterback Drew Allar tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Khalil Dinkins.
SECOND QUARTER
After a punt from each team, Indiana took a 14-7 lead behind Sorsby’s 69-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Donaven McCulley.
Then the Nittany Lions finished their next drive with a missed 51-yard field goal. The Hoosiers followed that with a turnover on downs in Penn State’s territory.
Penn State tied the game at 14 apiece when sophomore running back Nicholas Singleton ran for a 2-yard touchdown. With Indiana driving into the Nittany Lions’ territory, Sorsby tossed an interception. Penn State capitalized and nailed a 50-yard field goal to take a 17-14 lead into halftime.
THIRD QUARTER
The Nittany Lions received the opening kick of the second half. Allar led the offense on a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped off with a 16-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Theo Johnson.
Indiana went on a lengthy drive of its own but finished the drive without points. Junior kicker Chris Freeman missed a 37-yard field goal that would’ve narrowed the Hoosiers’ deficit to seven.
Penn State followed the missed field goal with a three-and-out, punting the ball back to Indiana.
FOURTH QUARTER
While Indiana’s ninth drive of the game began in the third quarter, the Hoosiers capped off a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sorsby to redshirt freshman wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.
With the Hoosiers trailing the Nittany Lions by three at 24-21, Penn State was unable to respond and punted. The Hoosiers got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead but also punted after being just short of a first down on 3rd and 1.
Penn State received the punt deep in its own territory, but Allar compounded the poor field position with his first interception of the season. Indiana began its drive at Penn State’s 21-yard line but finished the drive with a game-tying 35-yard field goal.
With the No. 10 team in the country on upset alert at home, Allar responded with a 57-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith to give Penn State a 31-24 lead.
Indiana got the ball back at its own 25-yard line, but Sorsby was strip sacked. With players from each team fighting to recover the fumble, the ball went out of the back of the endzone for a safety, giving Penn State a 33-24 victory.
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
