Lions 'bummed' after loss to Buckeyes, take it out on Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Trap game? Try trounce game. Blowout city. Total domination.

Exactly what Penn State needed.

It's always a great feeling to line up and completely destroy the opposition, and the No. 15 Nittany Lions did just that to Indiana on Saturday in a 45-14 rout before a scarce crowd at Memorial Stadium.

It wasn't exactly tough to see this coming -- the Hoosiers (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) are really bad, and it showed -- but there was the question of how Penn State (7-2, 4-2) would bounce back from its disappointing loss to Ohio State last week. The Lions led that one, 21-16, with 9 minutes to go before collapsing to a 44-31 defeat.

"We were pretty pissed about last week," quarterback Sean Clifford said, "and this was our way of getting back at last week."

Did Clifford then believe what actually happened against Indiana would indeed happen?

"Yes," he said.

There have been close games here over the years, with the Hoosiers giving the Lions fits. The last visit was the infamous 2-point conversion game in 2020, when Indiana won on a controversial call in overtime.

This game could not have been more different, as Penn State overwhelmed the Hoosiers on both sides of the ball. The final stats tell the whole story, including a program-record 16 tackles for loss.

Kaytron Allen had a monster day with 86 yards rushing and three TDs on 18 carries, while adding 72 yards receiving on two catches. Clifford told a great story about the guy known as "Fatman," which I'll get to in a bit. But here's a sample of what the freshman did:

Penn State scored first, Indiana came right back to tie it at 7-7, then the Lions scored 38 unanswered points. The Hoosiers have all kinds of problems at quarterback -- their starter was out and they wound up playing three other guys -- and Penn State's defense had its way in a dominating performance, holding the Hoosiers to 196 yards and 11 first downs.

This was the kind of fantastic all-around performance Penn State wanted -- and expected internally -- after the loss to the Buckeyes. Why was the team so upset about how things played out last week?

"Just because we played well," Clifford said. "Like, if you go back and watch the tape, we played extremely well. So, that was why we were bummed."

Clifford overcame an early interception to complete 15 of 23 passes for 229 yards and managed the offense on a very windy day. Backup Drew Allar didn't get into the game until it was 31-7 -- to the dismay of, well, pretty much everyone -- and he finished 9 of 12 for 75 yards and two short TDs.

I'll have much more on the QB situation coming up in a separate story.

Penn State rushed for 179 yards, with Nicholas Singleton complementing Allen by going for 73 yards and one TD on 16 carries.

This was an annihilation. It was 45-7 before the Hoosiers made it look a tad more respectable with a touchdown in the closing minutes.

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Allen was the star of the day. The true freshman continues to come on as the season progresses to prove he's the team's top running back, after Singleton was the one who got all the hype early.

Clifford told a fantastic story about Allen that he hadn't shared before.

"He's such a quiet guy that, at first, I really didn't know how to feel about him," Clifford said. "Him and I actually got into it like the first day that he got here. Because it was in winter workouts, and I think he put his hands on his knees or something, and that's not allowed. But he didn't know. So, I told him to stand up, and he went at me and Tig (Ji'Ayir Brown), like got in our face. So, I knew what type of dude he was from the jump. I knew he wasn't gonna take anything.

"From that day, he just progressively has gotten better and better. And I always say that "Fat" and I, first day we met we were about to fight, and now he's making plays on the biggest stages. So, he's somebody that I'm super impressed with. I really can't put into words how impressed I am with how he is."

Clifford then offered this praise for Allen:

"He's the most improved player I think I've seen in probably my career from such a short time. So, kudos to Fatman."

Technically a pass by Cliff on the first play lol. Great sequence by Kaytron Allen and the TEs/OL pic.twitter.com/1zUE5vNna2

— Hardcore Penn State Football (@HardcorePSUFB) November 5, 2022

James Franklin offered praise once again for both of the team's standout freshmen running backs.

"We got two really good backs that obviously we're excited about and are getting a ton of reps and get a ton of experience," he said.

"To be able to take a checkdown and hit a Kaytron Allen and him be able to break it for 30 or 50 yards, they're big-time plays. To be able to hand the ball off to Nick Singleton and he's a threat to score at any point during the game and go 80, those things are obviously really valuable."

• Penn State's offensive line has taken a lot of grief over the years, and rightfully so. But in this game, the short-handed line had a really good day.

Standout left tackle Olu Fashanu did not travel to the game because of injury, and starting left guard Landon Tengwall was out once again. Freshman Drew Shelton started at left tackle, and Hunter Nourzad started at left guard. But Nourzad was banged up on the first play of the game and had to come out for while, with sophomore JB Nelson taking over at that spot.

"Shelton as a true freshman, starting at left tackle in the Big Ten in this type of game on the road, has not played a whole lot, we're trying to redshirt him if he could," Franklin said. "Not only did he play, he played well.

"You got JB Nelson, who we were trying to redshirt, as well, played a ton of reps today. You also see Sal (Wormley), he's banged up and bruised, and he battled today. You look at a Hunter banged up and bruised, and he battled today. We're really, really proud of those guys and what they did and how they did it and the sacrifices they're making for our team. I'm proud of those guys."

Clifford gave a lot of credit for the line's play to his center, Juice Scruggs, then mentioned all the linemen by name, as well, and praised their efforts.

"It runs through Juice," the QB said. "You know, he's our captain. He's somebody who I look up to as a leader, somebody who's always had my back, so it starts with Juice. He set the tone all week from from the jump."

• Repeating once again, Penn State had 16 tackles for loss.

SIXTEEN!

That's incredible, and a program record.

Kobe King led the way with 2.5, while Nick Tarburton and Chop Robinson had two apiece.

The Lions' defense also had three interceptions -- one apiece by Kalen King, Daequan Hardy and Dani Dennis-Sutton.

• Mitchell Tinsley made two fantastic catches in the first quarter to set up Penn State's first touchdown. He finished with five catches for 63 yards.

Here's his first great grab.

Tinsley's second great catch put Penn State inside the 5-yard line, and came with him being heavily defended. Clifford made a tremendous throw on that one, avoiding pressure and throwing it up to give his receiver a chance.

Later in the game, Clifford threw to a heavily defended Brenton Strange, who made an amazing catch through the defender.

That's what you want your quarterback to do -- put the ball out there and give the receiver a chance.

"He always gives his playmakers a chance to go for the ball, and I feel like that's something he does really well," Tinsley said.

• Man, Indiana's offense is a mess. We kind of knew that coming in, but this was ... something.

Starting QB Connor Bazelak did not dress, and Hoosiers coach Tom Allen turned to Jack Tuttle. Now, this is such a bizarre story, because Tuttle has already announced that he'll be entering the transfer portal after the season. And yet, instead of moving on from him, Indiana decided to give him the start against an outstanding Penn State defense.

Tuttle led one TD drive and went 9 of 12 for 82 yards and a TD, but he exited the game with an injury.

Indiana then turned to freshman Brendan Sorsby, who was totally overmatched (3 of 6 for 8 yards), before giving Dexter Williams II a shot (4 of 11, 41 yards, two interceptions).

We've seen the Hoosiers have some potent passing attacks over the years, and they play a very fast tempo. But their offense was anemic against Penn State's defense on this day.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Schedule
• Standings
• Statistics

THE INJURY REPORT

LT Olu Fashanu, a projected first-round draft pick, did not make the trip after suffering an injury on the final series of last week's game against Ohio State. Drew Shelton started in place of Fashanu.

LG Landon Tengwall missed his fourth straight game with what's believed to be a shoulder injury.

Hunter Nourzad started at LG, but he was shaken up on the first offensive play. He did return in the first half. When Nourzad went out, JB Nelson took his place.

RB Keyvone Lee did not make the trip. He's been injured for several weeks, Franklin said.

THE SCHEDULE

Penn State hosts Maryland next week. Kickoff time and TV have not yet been announced.

THE CONTENT

Visit our Penn State team page for everything.