The Indiana football team faced a tough loss at Penn State, with a final score of 33-24, and it was a disappointing outcome.
However, amidst this defeat, we witnessed the remarkable talent and spirit of the 2023 Indiana roster.
As massive underdogs, being 30 points behind and playing on the road against a ranked team, the Hoosiers put up a much stronger fight than anyone could have reasonably expected from a 2-5 team that had never won at Penn State.
Regrettably, their valiant effort was ultimately not enough to overcome the challenges posed by the way the program has been led over the last three seasons. Once again, sloppy mistakes, overly conservative play calling in critical moments, and costly penalties proved to be their downfall.
There’s a lot to commend about the individual performances of some players and their determination in the face of another season slipping away. Rather than subjecting both myself and our readers to a detailed recap of this painful game, I’ve decided to keep it concise and focus on the primary lesson from today’s match:
Under the current coaching staff, Indiana’s chances of becoming a winning program appear extremely slim, if not impossible.
Signs pointing to this conclusion have been evident throughout the season, but it was Indiana’s offensive approach in the crucial late-game drive that made it abundantly clear that the coaching staff is not striving for victory. In a critical moment, Penn State made a glaring mistake and handed Indiana a chance to take the lead with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Brendan Sorsby was having one of the best games of his career, the special teams were struggling, and Penn State’s defense had already allowed two wide-open passing touchdowns from Indiana.
Rather than attempting to score a touchdown and seize the lead, Indiana inexplicably opted for three consecutive runs up the middle, positioning themselves for a field goal attempt that was merely two yards shorter than one they had previously missed. It seemed there was no genuine effort to secure a lead.
The most generous interpretation of this situation would be to assume that Brendan Sorsby was injured and unable to make throws during that drive. He had been seen clutching his shoulder after a significant hit on the previous drive, and it wasn’t even certain whether he would return to the game before Indiana regained possession of the ball.
Indiana football coach Tom Allen: "We wouldn't have put him out there" if he wasn't ready, talking about Sorsby getting shaken up late in the game
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) October 28, 2023
Following the game, Coach Tom Allen expressed his disappointment, emphasizing that Indiana appears incapable of winning a football game. Their losses have come in the form of blowout defeats against Michigan, Maryland, and Rutgers, as well as in heartbreaking decisions against Louisville and Penn State.
Leave a Reply