Nittany Lions shut out Indiana, 24-0
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 4/6 Penn State held Indiana’s offense scoreless in two trips to the red zone, culminating in a 24-0 shutout win Saturday evening at Beaver Stadium in the annual Penn State Stripe Out game.
Quarterback Sean Clifford threw for three touchdowns, including two to wide receiver Jahan Dotson for the duo’s 18th-career passing touchdown, the most in Penn State history.
The Penn State defense produced its first shutout in two years, its last also coming in Big Ten play at Maryland in 2019. The defense held Indiana over 100 yards below its season average in total offense, and nearly 100 yards below its season average in rushing yards.
The Nittany Lions struck first on their second drive of the game, as Sean Clifford found tight end Brenton Strange in the end zone for the 10-yard score.
After a defensive red-zone stop at their own four yard-line, running back Keyvone Lee used a career-long 44-yard rush and another 21-yard rush to get the Nittany Lions in the red zone. Clifford then connected with wide receiver Jahan Dotson for an 8-yard touchdown to put Penn State up 14-0. With the score, Clifford and Dotson have connected on 17 career touchdown passes, tying Todd Blackledge and Kenny Jackson (1980-82) for the most by a Penn State QB-WR duo.
The Penn State defense recorded its first takeaway of the game with about four minutes to play in the second quarter as cornerback Joey Porter Jr. grabbed his first career interception. The Nittany Lions would take a 14-0 lead into halftime.
Clifford and Dotson linked up again in the third quarter for a 30-yard touchdown to give Penn State a 21-0 advantage. It marked Clifford and Dotson’s 18th career touchdown pass, officially passing Blackledge and Jackson for the most by a Penn State QB-WR duo in program history.
On Indiana’s next drive, the Hoosiers marched down the field to the Penn State 13 yard-line but were held to a field-goal attempt in hopes of finding their first points of the game. Linebacker Brandon Smith got a hand on the 30-yard attempt for the Nittany Lions’ second blocked field goal of the season as the score would remain 21-0 at the end of the third quarter.
Penn State added to its lead in the fourth quarter with a 50-yard field goal from Jordan Stout to make it 24-0. It was Stout’s first 50-plus yard field goal of the season and the fourth in his career.
The Nittany Lion defense had their second takeaway of the game, an interception in the fourth quarter by safety Ji’Ayir Brown, his third of the season.
Penn State, now 5-0, will go on the road to face No. 5/5 Iowa next Saturday, October 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on FOX. Indiana dropped to 2-3 with the loss.
