The Big Ten finally returned this weekend, and it didn’t take long for a couple of massive upsets in conference play. After Rutgers claimed their first Big Ten victory since 2017 earlier in the day against Michigan State, Indiana edged No. 8 Penn State in an overtime thriller that ended with a controversial replay decision.
The final minutes of regulation in Bloomington were madness. Indiana led 20-14 with under three minutes to play, but Penn State’s Sean Clifford threw a 60-yard touchdown bomb to Jahan Dotson to give Penn State the lead. The Penn State defense then forced a turnover-on-downs deep in Indiana’s territory, and took over at the 14-yard line with 1:42 remaining. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Devyn Ford walked in untouched on a 14-yard touchdown run – but tentatively so, as his coaches were yelling at him to down the ball short of the goal line.
The Hoosiers only had one timeout remaining, so a first down would have effectively ended the game. Instead, Ford reluctantly scored, and Penn State kicked the extra point to go up 28-20.
Indiana, aided by a questionable facemask call, quickly marched down the field, scored, and successfully converted for two to tie the game. They scored so quickly, in fact, that Penn State’s Jordan Stout later had a 57-yard attempt to win the game, but came up short.
In overtime, Penn State took possession first and scored on a 9-yard Clifford pass to Parker Washington. In response, Indiana’s Michael Penix Jr. capped a five-play drive with a touchdown pass to Whop Philyor – but instead of kicking an extra point to extend overtime, Indiana coach Tom Allen opted to go for two and the win.
UNREAL ENDING IN BLOOMINGTON! 😲
The OT 2-point conversion came down to the closest of margins, and @IndianaFootball gets its first Top 10 win since 1987! pic.twitter.com/Zo6Mty0RpK
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 24, 2020
After dropping back, Penix Jr. took off towards the corner, dove and extended his arm toward the pylon as he flew out of bounds. The ball knocked over the pylon, and the official on the field signaled the try was good – but the replay showed that the ball touched down out of bounds before it hit the pylon. The call on the field was not overturned, however, giving Indiana an upset 36-35 win.
