Sudden change.
In football, it’s when possession of the balls shifts in a heartbeat – on a turnover or onside kick.
Both happened in Penn State’s win over Indiana on Saturday. And both times the Nittany Lions’ defense was on the short end of the sudden change stick.
But playing with its characteristic heart, the Penn State defense never missed a beat.
“It’s a situation we go over in practice – a sudden change,” said linebacker Jason Cabinda after Penn State defeated Indiana 29-7 for a Homecoming victory before 97,873 fans in Beaver Stadium.
“Whether it’s an interception, a fumble or some kind of special teams play, when the ball switches possessions and we have to go back on the field it’s not a problem for us. We just go out there, get a three-and-out and get the momentum back. We had two sudden change situations where we were able to do that.”
The first instance came late in the first quarter, after Indiana drove 65 yards in eight plays to tie the game 7-7 on a 12-yard touchdown run by quarterback Zander Diamont. After the score, a bunch of Hoosier players ran to the north end zone and put their fingers to their lips, symbolically tried to shush the vocal PSU fans.
That move drew boos, but scant seconds later the Hoosiers did indeed quiet the crowd when they recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff after their score. Indiana took over on its own 49, but just 77 seconds of clock time later, the Hoosiers’ offense was the one that was hushed. Penn State’s defense stuffed Indiana in just three plays, averting a momentary shift in momentum in Indiana’s favor that never impacted the scoreboard.
“It was huge. They got the onside kick and a little bit of the momentum,” said Penn State linebacker Brandon Bell. “It was a bold move on their part. They got a touchdown and wanted to keep it going. But we shut them down, which is what we talk about doing when there’s a sudden change. We drill it. We’re a mature group. Things happen. Our defense is ready for anything.”
That stop was a key factor in the win, Penn State head coach James Franklin said, and set the tone for the rest of the contest as the Nittany Lions raised their record to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten, while Indiana fell to 4-2 and 0-2.
“We spend a lot of time talking about and handling sudden change situations like that and I thought our guys responded extremely well,” said Franklin. “That could have been a situation where they gained some momentum, making some plays after that.”
AND AGAIN
IN mere minutes, the Nittany Lion defense had another chance to respond to a sudden change in possession. Six plays later, Penn State running back Mark Allen dropped the ball – the first lost fumble by the PSU offense all season – and Indiana recovered on its own 47-yard line.
It took just a tad longer for Cabinda & Co. to shut down the Hoosiers again. Indiana ran off five plays, gained 12 yards, then punted. It was a sequence that would be SOP the rest of the day for defensive coordinator Bob Shoop’s group.
“Coach Shoop and Coach Franklin always preach that when there’s a sudden change in possession, like when our offense has a turnover, it doesn’t matter,” said defensive tackle Austin Johnson. “We have to go back in there and get the ball back for our offense. That’s what we did today. It was a perfect example.”
The Nittany Lion defense ran that wave of momentum the rest of the day. Indiana, which entered the contest averaging 36 points and 498 yards of total offense per game in 2015, never scored again. Admittedly, the Hoosiers opened the game with Diamont, their second-string quarterback and then were forced to use their No. 3 QB, Danny Cameron, after Diamont left the game with an injury. And from the start they were minus their star running back, Jordan Howard, who had run for 709 yards in Indiana’s first five games.
93 SECONDS
But, the Penn State defense was impenetrable. Indiana had a dozen drives after recovering Allen’s fumble, and went almost nowhere with the football. Here is how those drives played out: 3 plays for 6 yards, 5 for 12 yards, 3 for 2 yards, 3 for minus 9 yards, 2 for 17 yards, 3 for 9 yards, 5 for 38 yards, 5 for 15 yards, 6 for 28 yards, 5 for 14 yards, 3 for minus 13 yards and 6 for 11 yards.
The average Indiana drive after that TD averaged 4.1 plays, 10.8 yards and all of 93 seconds.
“Our defense was put in a few tough situations and handled it extremely well,” Franklin said. “It was awesome and it was significant in the game.”
Cabinda, Johnson and safety Marcus Allen paced the Nittany Lion defense with nine tackles each. Johnson also had a sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss. After the first quarter, when it yielded Indiana’s sole touchdown, the Penn State defense gave up only seven first downs as Indiana gained 144 yards on 45 plays. And, over the final three quarters, Indiana converted just 1 of 11 on third downs.
“Coach Shoop said he was very, very pleased with the game,” Johnson said. “He thinks it might be the best we played this season as a whole unit.”
