Instant Replay: Penn State crushes Indiana

BOX SCORE

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Penn State shrugged off the loss of linebacker Mike Mauti to a knee injury early in the game to blitz Indiana, 45-22, as Matt McGloin threw four touchdown passes.

McGloin went 22-for-32 for 395 yards through the air, as the Lions improved to 7-4. The yardage total was a career high, and four shy of Zack Mills’ school record.

Three of McGloin’s TD passes went to wide receiver Allen Robinson, who caught 10 passes for 197 yards in all.

Zach Zwinak also rushed 29 times for 135 yards.

Offense
McGloin, who has not been the regular quarterback until this season, became Penn State’s single-season leader in attempts (409), completions (251) and yardage (3,071), and moved into second in touchdowns, with 23. He also became the career leader in TD passes (45), and moved into second in career yardage (6,190).

It was the sixth 300-yard passing game of his career; he already had the record for such games. It was also his 17th of 200 or more. That snapped a tie with Kerry Collins and Zack Mills for most in school history.

About the only blot on his performance was a second-quarter interception that set up a Hoosiers TD. Zwinak also lost a fumble later in the game.

Defense
The Lions had periodic problems with Indiana’s no-huddle attack, allowing 478 yards – 454 of those through the air. But linebacker Gerald Hodges made a terrific interception of Cameron Coffman late in the second quarter, setting up a scoring drive that allowed PSU to extend its lead to 28-13. Adrian Amos added a second-half pick.

Special teams
Sam Ficken converted his seventh straight field goal attempt in the fourth quarter, and the ninth in his last 10 attempts. Safety Ryan Keiser also partially blocked a first-half punt, which nonetheless went 41 yards. Jesse Della Valle’s 23-yard punt return in the third quarter set up a touchdown.

The Hoosiers recovered an onside kick in the third quarter, but it went for naught when kicker Dan Ewald pushed a 55-yard field goal attempt wide left.

Health check
Tight end Kyle Carter was lost for the season against Nebraska with a hand injury. Safety Malcolm Willis, who injured his knee against the Cornhuskers, also didn’t dress Saturday. Then there was Mauti’s injury, which appeared to be the result of a chop block by running back D’Angelo Roberts.

Turnstile report
The announced attendance was 90,358. It was the smallest turnout since 80,000 souls wandered out of a snowstorm and into the Beave for a game against Michigan in 1995.

Up Next
The Lions close out their season by hosting Wisconsin next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Badgers carried a 7-3 record into Saturday’s game against Ohio State.

Gordie Jones covered Penn State from 1984-2003 for the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal.