Indiana’s Mark Murphy returns an interception for a score. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

BLOOMINGTON – Indiana, a football team known for its explosive offense, answered the bell on defense when Penn State rolled into town for a Big Ten contest.

13 points allowed, five sacks, a blocked field goal, two interceptions and a touchdown scored. Those stats highlighted the spectacular defensive performance by the Hoosiers Saturday afternoon but Indiana left much to be desired on the offensive side of the ball. Zero points from the Hoosier offense led to Indiana getting its sixth loss of the season, falling 13-7 to the Nittany Lions.

Penn State’s Christian Hackenburg.

Indiana looked as if it would go down early but a goal line stand followed by a blocked field goal attempt left the game tied at 0-0 in the second quarter. The Hoosiers continued to struggled offensively throughout the quarter but the defense again came through as Mark Murphy intercepted a Christian Hackenburg pass and returned it 47 yards to put the home team up 7-0.

The one bad play that the Indiana defense had all day led to the game’s only offensive score. After having a poor return on the ensuing kickoff following Murphy’s interception, Bill Belton went up the gut for a 92-yard touchdown to bring Penn State right back into the game, 7-7.

“They kind of read a lead draw iso play,” said Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson. “I think one of our young backers thought it was a split zone look and just didn’t properly fit in the right area. We were in a quarters two-deep look, and their back is a solid player and just hit the seam and had the one big play. Other than that, the run defense was okay.”

Wilson is known for his offensive prowess and has typically had dominant offensive play in his four years at the helm for Indiana, but after losing the team’s top two signal callers to season-ending injuries, the offense has struggled mightily. Zander Diamont burned his redshirt to take over the starting roll for the Hoosiers, and while his ability to run is second to none, his passing ability needs work.

Wawasee graduate Alexis Linnemeier performs with the Indiana Redsteppers.

That inability to move the ball through the air was exposed many times Saturday as Indiana rarely got across the 50. Indiana found itself down 10-7 in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie but Griffin Oakes missed a 50-yard field goal attempt, leaving the Hoosiers empty handed once more.

Diamont continued to struggle late in the fourth as he was intercepted with under four minutes left in the game. Penn State turned the turnover into a 13-7 lead following a field goal by Sam Ficken with just 57 seconds left in the game. The Hoosiers stalled one more time on the game’s final drive.

Diamont finished his day with two interception and 68 yards through the air. Maxwell Award semi-finalist Tevin Coleman, a junior tailback for the Hoosiers, was held to 71 yards rushing. That is the first time in 2014 that Coleman has not eclipsed 100 or more yards on the ground.

Penn State was led by Belton’s 137 yards rushing while Hackenburg passed for 168 yards and also had two picks.

“Our guys battled hard, tough loss,” Wilson stated. “They (Penn State) made plays more than we did. Tough game. Pleased with the way we played. Got to keep working on it. It was amazing to see our defense stop them and have a real good day today. We just have to keep on working and keep on fighting.”

Indiana falls to 3-6 with the loss and has an uphill climb to bowl eligibility with games at Rutgers and Ohio State the next two weeks before returning home against Purdue at the end of the month.

Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson.