Punchless PSU avoids late knockout from Indiana
Share with others:
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The offense formerly known as the Spread HD has turned into a huge dud for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions rolled up 464 yards offense and held the ball for 37 minutes, 27 seconds, but produced just one touchdown and three field goals Saturday in a 16-10 win against Indiana.
The victory wasn't secure until Dusty Kiel's wobbly Hail Mary pass fell to the turf for an incompletion at the 5 on the final play.
Penn State (4-1, 1-0) won its Big Ten Conference opener for the third time in 12 years while improving to 15-0 all time against the Hoosiers (1-4, 0-1) before 42,621 at Memorial Stadium.
"We made some mistakes obviously," offensive coordinator Galen Hall said. "We had the tipped pass for the interception. We had the fumble going in to score. We had the holding penalty on the touchdown run.
"We continued to shoot ourselves in the foot offensively."
Tailback Silas Redd, who rushed for 129 yards on 29 carries, had an 8-yard touchdown run called back on the first series because of a holding call on tight end Andrew Szczerba.
On the next play, starting quarterback Rob Bolden threw his fourth interception of the year, which Indiana turned into a 49-yard field goal by Mitch Ewald.
Redd lost a fumble at the 2 in the third quarter after a gain of 1, likely costing Penn State another touchdown.
And he was dropped for a 1-yard loss on a third-and-1 play at the Indiana 39 with a little more than two minutes to go in the game, forcing Penn State to punt to the Hoosiers one last time after they had pulled within six points on tight end Ted Bolser's 5-yard touchdown catch a few minutes earlier.
"A bittersweet day," said Redd, the sophomore running back who has three 100-yard rushing games in his career.
"We got a win, but we struggled a little bit. We've just got to score.
"And I just can't fumble in the red zone. It's inexcusable."
Penn State's defense, which held Indiana to nine three-and-out series and 256 yards, hung tough on the final drive, even though the Hoosiers made it to Penn State's 40.
Wide receiver Derek Moye, who had six catches for 158 yards and scored on a 74-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt McGloin in the third quarter, praised Penn State's top-10 ranked defense for saving the day.
First Published October 2, 2011 12:00 am
