It took far longer than most would have liked to see, but Penn State found a way to get past a big upset attempt from Indiana on Saturday afternoon. The fans in Beaver Stadium had plenty of reasons to be displeased by the performance they witnessed in person but still managed to leave the stadium celebrating a win. Penn State broke a stunning 24-24 tie in the final two minutes of the game with a long touchdown pass from Drew Allar to KeAndre Lambert-Smith and the defense added a safety to lead to a 33-24 victory.
Penn State’s offense had some improvements from their previous outing at Ohio State but the offense was clunky for much of the afternoon. Drew Allar ended his day with 210 passing yards and three touchdowns but he had some frustrating moments under pressure with an intentional grounding penalty and his first interception thrown after over 300 snaps to start a career.
But it was how Allar responded after throwing his interception deep in his own end. Indiana kicked a game-tying field goal with 2:58 to play in the fourth quarter after picking off Allar, who was being brought down by three Indiana defenders. On the following drive, Allar found a streaking KeAndre Lambert-Smith down the right sideline. Lambert-Smith caught the ball and ran away form his defender for the go-ahead, and game-winning touchdown.
Drew Allar threw it deep, and KLS made a play. 😏
No. 10 @PennStateFball retakes the lead.
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/N66bGBCYHU
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 28, 2023
Lambert-Smith caught 6 passes for 96 yards, with 31 yards coming after the catch. Running back Nick Singleton ended the day as Penn State’s second-leading receiver with 31 yards. Tight ends Theo Johnson and Khalil Dinkins each recorded a touchdown catch from Allar in the win.
Singleton rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown in the game, while Kaytron Allen was the game’s leading rusher with 81 yards.
Penn State played a sluggish first half not just on offense, but on defense too. Indiana opened the scoring in the game with a stunning 90-yard pass play as Dequece Carter managed to stay inbounds down the right sideline and sped enough to keep Penn State’s defense behind him. It was the longest play from scrimmage given up by Penn State since at least 2010. Indiana later added a 69-yard touchdown on a breakdown in coverage.
The 21 points given up by Penn State is the most allowed in a game this season.
Penn State will be back on the road next week for a game at Maryland. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on Fox. Indiana will host Wisconsin next week.
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