BLOOMINGTON, Ind. _ For the third consecutive game, Penn State took the lead in the fourth quarter of a tight contest Saturday but this time the 18th-ranked Nittany Lions closed the deal, although they didn't make it easy on themselves.
Trace McSorley scored a pair of second-half touchdowns to rally the Lions from a third-quarter deficit and give them a 33-28 victory over Indiana at Memorial Stadium, breaking a two-game losing streak.
McSorley's second touchdown, a 4-yard run with 10{ minutes to play, gave Penn State (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) a 33-21 lead. The Lions' defense held tight until late in the game when the Hoosiers (4-4, 1-4) scored on a 21-yard pass from Peyton Ramsey to J-Shun Harris with 49 seconds left.
The Nittany Lions then successfully recovered the ensuing onside kick, but head coach James Franklin called timeout just before the kickoff was struck. The Hoosiers recovered the next onside kick, getting the ball on their own 42 with 48 seconds to play, but got to only the Penn State 44 before the game ended.
The Penn State defense was on the field for 100 plays and gave up a season-high 554 yards. But the Nittany Lions forced three turnovers and posted six sacks, four by Shaka Toney.
The Nittany Lions trailed 21-20 late in the third quarter after a 3-yard run by Indiana's Stevie Scott for his second touchdown of the day. But Jonathan Thomas, returning a kickoff for only the second time this season, brought the kick back 94 yards to the 5, and McSorley went over for the score on the next play.
Freshman Jake Pinegar's extra point was blocked, his first miss after 37 consecutive successful conversions, and the Lions held a 26-21 lead. But their special teams gave them another opportunity when safety Jonathan Sutherland forced a fumble on a punt return and Nick Scott recovered at the Hoosiers 32.
Penn State needed just five plays to score, with McSorley going over from the 4 for his second touchdown of the day.
McSorley, who surpassed the 10,000-yard mark in career total offense, saw his streak of throwing a touchdown pass end at 34 consecutive games. But he scored two touchdowns, rushed for 107 yards in 19 carries and completed 19 of 36 throws for 220 yards. The Lions amassed 417 yards of total offense.
The Nittany Lions trailed 14-7 at the end of the first quarter but gained a 17-14 lead by halftime thanks to a 23-yard pass from backup quarterback Tommy Stevens to tight end Pat Freiermuth, and a 27-yard field goal by Pinegar.
Pinegar kicked another field goal, this one from 32 yards out, in the third quarter to make it 20-14, a score set up on a fumble recovery by safety Garrett Taylor with the Hoosiers driving. But Indiana came back and took its second lead of the day, 21-20, on Scott's 3-yard run.
The Lions were penalized for a personal foul on back-to-play drives on the Hoosiers' touchdown drive, including a targeting call that resulted in the ejection of Taylor.
Penn State received a spark on the opening kickoff from K.J. Hamler, who took the return 58 yards to the Indiana 36. A 29-yard pass from McSorley to Miles Sanders highlighted the five-play drive and Sanders scored from the 1 to give the Lions the lead just two minutes in.
The Hoosiers bounced right back and scored in eight plays, with Scott finishing the drive off with a 5-yard run.
Later in the quarter, Penn State went for a fake punt play on a fourth-and-5 from the Indiana 48 but Blake Gillikin barely took two steps before he was tackled for a 10-yard loss, enabling the Hoosiers to take over at the Lions 42. Indiana scored in four plays, with Ronnie Walker Jr., racing into the end zone from 30 yards out to give his team the lead.
The Nittany Lions used big plays to score 10 points in the second quarter and grab a 17-14 halftime lead. A 44-yard run by McSorley set up a 23-yard pass from Stevens, who slid over and took the direct snap instead of McSorley, to Freiermuth for the touchdown that tied the game.
On their next drive, the Nittany Lions hit a big play again with McSorley finding Juwan Johnson, who broke a tackle seven yards past the line of scrimmage and broke a 59-yard gain to the Indiana 13. The drive stalled at the 9 and Pinegar kicked a 27-yard field goal.
