STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Omar Cooper Jr. jumped to catch a pass from Fernando Mendoza in the back of the end zone, sweeping his inside foot within the field of play to save No. 2 Indiana from its first loss of the season Saturday against a downtrodden Penn State team that almost denied the Hoosiers their first Happy Valley win in school history.
Mendoza connected with the leaping Cooper with 36 seconds remaining to put Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) ahead 27-24.
Penn State (3-6, 0-6) rallied to take the lead 24-20 late in the fourth quarter after being down by 13 points in the third. Ethan Grunkemeyer connected with Nicholas Singleton for a 19-yard score.
The Nittany Lions were not able to put together a last-second score following Cooper’s touchdown, with the game ending on a failed Hail Mary attempt.
Mendoza threw for 218 yards, one touchdown, an interception and also ran for a score. Kaelon Black scored a rushing touchdown and Nico Radicic kicked two field goals for the Hoosiers. Charlie Becker had seven receptions for 118 yards and Cooper finished with six receptions for 32 yards.
Singleton ran for two scores in addition to the go-ahead touchdown pass for the Nittany Lions, who are playing under interim coach Terry Smith and have lost six in a row for the first time in 21 years.