As late-game problems continue, Penn State finds a way to hold on

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- When Penn State’s Nick Scott came down with a batted pass, intercepting Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey with 4:35 to go and his team up two scores, he seemed to have sealed the Nittany Lions’ first win in four weeks.

After all, the Hoosiers, trailing 33-21, had scored just seven points in the second half at that juncture, and the Nittany Lions would have a chance to churn time off the clock with their offense.

But Scott, a fifth-year senior, knew better. Especially considering Penn State’s two blown leads in the fourth quarter in each of its last two games, this wasn’t over.

“I was reminding guys on the sideline that we'd have to do it again," Scott said.

His prediction turned out to be correct. After the Hoosiers drove 85 yards in 3:17 and recovered an onside kick thanks to a mulligan granted to them by a James Franklin timeout, Scott and the Penn State defense once again needed to dig in.

This time, Michigan State’s Felton Davis wasn’t around to deliver a crushing strike, nor was Ohio State’s KJ Hill. But Ramsey and an Indiana offense that picked up 553 total yards on the day had proved difficult enough to handle for Penn State.

With just 49 seconds to work with, a holding penalty and a Shaka Toney sack on the first two plays ensured whatever the Hoosiers could muster afterward would be insufficient.

Penn State had finally closed out.

“It was huge,” said Amani Oruwariye, who was bested in one-on-one coverage against Davis on the play that gave Michigan State the win last week. “We've been meaning to try to get this finish in some of these games, and to be able to finish this game in a tough environment, we're just happy."

"Those last two games that we lost, it felt like we had the game in our hands especially last week,” Miles Sanders added. “We just didn't finish. We just needed to finish and execute."

On Saturday, Penn State’s defense came up with a stop that saved the Nittany Lions from a three-game losing streak.

But the late-game problem persisted.

The Nittany Lions have not scored in the last eight minutes of any of their last three games, while their opponents have posted a combined 27 points.

Penn State’s offense was once again a late-game culprit against the Hoosiers. Taking over possession with 4:35 to go after Scott’s interception, the Nittany Lions used only 29 seconds of clock while they went three-and-out, passing the ball three times.

“At the end of the day it’s about getting fist downs,” Franklin said. “A few weeks before, a four-minute offense, we run the ball multiple times, don’t get a first down, take a little bit of time off the clock, so we wanted to be aggressive right there. We’ve gone back and forth with it and what we need to do. It comes down to getting first downs. Obviously this situation didn’t work either.”

In the same 8-minute window, the Nittany Lions have accumulated only two first downs over their last three games while playing with a lead.

What has to happen for Penn State’s offense to finish better?

“We have to play every play like it’s our last game on the field,” Sanders said.

The Nittany Lions’ defense found a way to do that with the game on the line after failing twice, but the concerns about the offense remain.

“It's definitely something we have to work on,” left tackle Ryan Bates said. “We have practice coming up. We'll go over the game, we'll get our corrections.

"We just have to stay consistent."