STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Omar Cooper Jr. jumped to catch a pass from Fernando Mendoza in the back of the end zone, sweeping his inside foot within the field of play to go ahead of Penn State 27-24 with 36 seconds remaining and save No. 2 Indiana from its first loss of the season Saturday.
The downtrodden Nittany Lions, led by an interim coach and riding the school's longest losing streak in 21 years, almost denied the Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) their first Happy Valley win in school history.
Penn State (3-6, 0-6) came back from down 13 points in the third quarter and was a couple of first downs away from the upset. Once the Nittany Lions were forced to punt, they couldn't respond with late-game heroics of their own in the little time the Hoosiers left them. A Hail Mary effort from midfield was unsuccessful.
«It was the most improbable victory I have ever been a part of,» Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. «And there couldn't have been a better place to make it happen.»
The Hoosiers entered Happy Valley used to losing in the sprawling, 107,000-seat Beaver Stadium. Before Saturday, the Nittany Lions owned a 25-2 edge head-to-head, winning all 13 games on their home field.
«It's just a rocking crowd. When you hear that silence when you get hit when you throw, then you know it's a completion,» said Mendoza, who was sacked three times, threw for 218 yards with one touchdown and an interception and also ran in a score.
Penn State rallied to take the lead 24-20 in the fourth quarter when Ethan Grunkemeyer connected with Nicholas Singleton for a 19-yard score with 6:27 to play.
Penn State punted to Indiana with 1:51 remaining, giving Mendoza the ball back at his own 20. He was sacked on first down, but recovered to hit receivers
Read more on espn.com
espn.com
