Indiana's fourth-quarter decision making is under the microscope again after loss to PSU
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Indiana football fans didn't expect three straight runs up the middle with No. 10 Penn State on upset alert.
With 5:02 left in the game, the Hoosiers had a fresh set of downs at PSU's 21-yard trailing 24-21 thanks to an interception from safety Josh Sanguinetti.
Indiana's sequence of plays — running back Josh Henderson up the middle for a 1-yard gain, rush left for a 1-yard gain and up the middle for a 2-yard gain to center the ball for a field goal attempt — resulted in a 35-yard field goal from Chris Freeman, but did Allen and company play it too safe?
Penn State responded with a 56-yard touchdown from Drew Allar to KeAndre Lambert-Smith and added a safety to close out the 33-24 win.
"If you watch the game, we had actually done that (run on early downs) to set some things up, we were running the ball really, really well," Allen said, after the game.
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When those runs on first and second down didn't work, offensive coordinator Rod Carey decided to set up the field goal on third and six, a decision Allen agreed with.
"We talked real quick and said, 'hey, we are in field goal range, don't risk a takeaway.'" Allen said. "They are really good at taking the ball away and a good pressure team on third down. We thought it was the smart thing to do, to not put us in position to give away those points and lose the game that way."
Indiana was more effective running the ball in the fourth quarter than it was earlier in the game — running back Josh Henderson had seven carries for 41 yards with a pair of double-digit runs in the quarter— but it was big moments in the passing game that kept the game close.
Quarterback Brendan Sorsby threw a 90-yard touchdown to DeQuece Carter and a 69-yard touchdown to Donovan McCulley in the first half. He also threw a 26-yard touchdown to Omar Cooper Jr. earlier in the quarter to make it a one-possession game.
"You play so hard and get a chance to tie the game, we had fought back to get to that point," Allen said. "That's why we punted when it was fourth and one (on the previous drive)....we were just trying to find a way to win the game."
Allen said the play-calling in the situation didn't have anything to do with Sorsby taking a hit to his throwing arm (right shoulder) early in the quarter on a collision with Penn State safety Johnny Dixon.
"We wouldn't have put him out there (if he was hurt)," Allen said. "....He was sore for sure, he was good enough to throw. It wasn't because of his shoulder. If he couldn't throw, we would have put Tayven (Jackson) in."
Indiana had Jackson warm up while Sorsby spent a few minutes in the medical tent. Sorsby gave himself the all clear after a brief warmup on the sidelines.
He told the coaching staff as much before Indiana got the ball got back. "I said, 'I'm going, I'm in pain, but shoot we got a game to go win,'" Sorsby said. "I was going back out there."
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on Twitter @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: IU's Tom Allen doesn't regret late-game decisions against Penn State
