How did Penn State hold on to beat Indiana? Look no further than this turning point

Immediately, minutes following every Penn State game, we’ll take a closer look at the turning point to each game. You can find our more in-depth stories after speaking with coaches and players on centredaily.com

Call the turning point purely luck. Call it the result of playing hard. Call it whatever you want — but the Penn State Nittany Lions will certainly take it.

James Franklin’s squad came out on top with a 33-28 win over Indiana on Saturday. And the turning point to the road game at Bloomington wasn’t all that hard to pinpoint.

Let’s set it up.

With 12:03 remaining in the final quarter, and the Nittany Lions nursing a narrow 26-21 lead, Penn State’s Blake Gillikin was set to punt from his own 29-yard line. It looked as if the game was going to solely come down to the Penn State defense for the final quarter.

Well, at least it looked that way for the first five seconds of Gillikin’s punt. Special teams proved to play a big, big role.

The Nittany Lions’ sophomore booted the ball off the end of his foot about 37 yards downfield, where it bounced about eight yards into the waiting arms of dangerous Indiana returner J-Shun Harris II, who already returned one punt this season for an 86-yard touchdown.

Harris immediately sprinted to his right around his own 34, trying to find a seam to take the ball up the sideline. He left three Penn State players grasping for air after his first cut, but redshirt freshman safety Jonathan Sutherland made up for his teammates’ misses. He stepped up into the gap, lowered his head and dove for the ball at an angle.

Sutherland aimed perfectly. The ball flew backward about 3-4 yards and fell right into the arms of team captain Nick Scott, one of those three initial defenders who missed the returner and were sprawled out on the ground.

Scott lifted his head up just in time to see the ball flying his direction. He put his hands up, covered the ball — and it was official. Penn State forced the turnover.

Penn State took over at the Indiana 32 and scored a touchdown five plays later to increase its lead to 33-21. Special teams didn’t play perfectly in Saturday’s game — look no further than the fourth quarter’s onside kick for Exhibit D — but they’re also what won Penn State the game.

PSU running back/returner Johnathan Thomas responded to Indiana’s 21-20 lead in the third quarter by catching the ensuing kickoff and returning it 94 yards to set up a short TD scamper. And Sutherland’s play two drives later reinforced that this was Penn State’s game.

Thomas’ play was critical, and he deserves a lot of praise. But Sutherland’s forced fumble helped set up the win. The Nittany Lions still needed a defensive stand after a late onside kick. But Sutherland’s play completely turned the game around; it was the turning point.

This story was originally published October 20, 2018 at 7:23 PM.