Analyzing Penn State’s 33-28 win over Indiana: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Johnathan Thomas committed to Penn State on Oct. 20, 2013, eight days after Bill O’Brien, Christian Hackenberg and Allen Robinson beat Michigan in four overtimes. That’s how long the fifth-year senior has been a Nittany Lion. And he made the biggest play of his career on Saturday.

Thomas — who shares the No. 3 running back role with redshirt freshman Journey Brown — is also Penn State’s upback on the kickoff return team. His primary job is to block and tell electrifying speedster KJ Hamler when and when not to come out of the end zone. But in the third quarter of Penn State’s narrow 33-28 win, Indiana kicked away from Hamler, giving Thomas a chance to make a play of his own — and he took full advantage.

Thomas fielded the kick at the 1-yard line, didn’t follow Hamler and instead pushed forward across the 30-yard line on the right hash. From that point on, he followed Koa Farmer and Zech McPhearson down the Penn State sideline into the end zone. He was marked out at the 5-yard line, but Thomas still celebrated as if it were a score.

And who could blame him? At the time, the Nittany Lions were down 21-20 after the Hoosiers orchestrated a 9-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to snare a lead late. Penn State needed a spark, and one of its eldest statesmen pulled it off.

“Aw man, I told him he had to get off his wheelchair for that,” Penn State running back Miles Sanders said with a chuckle. “He’s got wheels, man. He can ball. He’s the oldest guy in our running back room. He gets us started and keeps us motivated. I look at him as a big brother. ... I’m just very happy for JT.”

So were the rest of the Nittany Lions. McPhearson and redshirt junior John Petrishen hugged Thomas as head coach James Franklin wore a proud grin on the sideline. Franklin called the Massachusetts native “an unbelievable teammate for five years,” and had him break down the team in the postgame locker room.

What did that moment and that play mean to Thomas? Quite a bit.

“It’s a blessing,” Thomas said. “I think it’s a testament to them not giving up on me, and me not giving up on myself and me having patience. I’ve learned to be patient and persevere through these five years. They haven’t been the easiest. ... I’m just excited.”

Good

• Shaka Toney played like a man possessed in the fourth quarter. The redshirt sophomore pass-rusher — whose Twitter handle is aptly “@SackA_Toney” — recorded four sacks in the game’s final seven minutes. You read that correctly. Four sacks. That ties a single-game Penn State record. The only other players to reach four sacks in one game? Tamba Hali (vs. Wisconsin, 2005), Jimmy Kennedy (vs. Wisconsin, 2002) and Terry Killens (vs. Indiana, 1995). Four sacks also ties Toney’s 2017 output, which ranked second on the team. The Philadelphia native’s roommate, Cam Brown, said it best after the game: “He’s a baller.”

• In a new wrinkle, Tommy Stevens finally threw a touchdown pass out of the “Lion” package. Stevens and quarterback Trace McSorley switched spots at the last second in the backfield, and the former received the shotgun snap. He faked a handoff to McSorley and floated a perfectly thrown ball to freshman tight end Pat Freiermuth, who executed a clinical wheel route. “Our whole sideline gets jacked up when things like that happen because we know how hard Tommy works,” McSorley said. “We know how much he deserves to have success.” The Indiana native had a homecoming to remember.

• In a sit-down interview over the bye week, Miles Sanders told the CDT that a successful wheel route was in the cards. “It’s coming,” the running back said with a smile. “It’s coming.” And it showed up in Bloomington. Sanders caught a 29-yard wheel route on the Nittany Lions’ opening series, setting the tone for a breakout receiving day. The junior finished with a career-high and team-leading six receptions for 54 yards.

• Shoutout to Jonathan Sutherland, who filled in for Garrett Taylor nicely with seven tackles and forced a critical fumble on special teams. Also props to Cam Brown, who doled out one of the quotes of the year. “We call him ‘The Assassin’ for a reason,” Brown said of Sutherland. “He likes to hit, and he plays fast and crazy every play. I can’t expect anything less than that.”

Bad

• Of course, Sutherland had to fill in because of Taylor’s targeting ejection, which was questionable at best. Indiana quarterback Michael Penix scrambled, and Taylor lined up his tackle. But the quarterback lowered his shoulder pads and helmet, Taylor made contact, targeting was called, and now, more importantly, the safety will miss the first half of next week’s Iowa game. Franklin didn’t outwardly question the referees, but had the following to say: “That’s a hard one. The runner drops his pads really low. The defender is always trying to his pads down to do the same thing, and you have to make that tackle with your head up. But there comes a point where, physically, try to do it. Try to get that low and take on a runner and keep your head up. It’s almost physically impossible.”

• On an injury note, Juwan Johnson could barely walk off the field after the clock hit zero. Johnson, who had his left ankle taped, did not play in the second half. The redshirt junior — while dealing with drop issues — would be missed if he’s unable to go against Iowa. Defensive end Shareef Miller also had his right leg looked at by the training staff late in the fourth quarter and could not be on the field for Indiana’s final drive. Both those situations will be addressed at Franklin’s Tuesday press conference.

• Yes, it was windy. But punter Blake Gillikin had a rough go of it. The junior captain — who was stellar earlier in the year — managed one punt of at least 50 yards. His other five punts averaged 37.6 yards. Not ideal from the guy with All-Big Ten potential.

Ugly

• It might be time to make changes at the wide receiver position. The Nittany Lions had five drops against the Hoosiers, putting them at 22 through seven games. And it cost Penn State points. Brandon Polk let a touchdown fly through his hands in the third quarter, his second drop of the afternoon. Now, five-star talent Justin Shorter traveled, but didn’t play. Fellow freshmen Jahan Dotson and Daniel George appeared late, and the former recorded his first-ever reception. Will they own a larger role against the Hawkeyes? “I think they showed they deserve some more opportunities,” Franklin said of the young wideouts, which likely includes redshirt freshman Cam Sullivan-Brown, too. “Maybe the rotation will change a little bit. But we’ll see. It’ll all be based on the film and how practice goes this week.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2018 at 6:27 AM.