Penn State's defense was just too much. Indiana's defense didn't make it easy either.
But Hoosiers offensive woes continue and the Nittany Lions came through with just enough plays to preserve a 13-7 win on Saturday.
Sam Ficken gave Penn State a 10-7 lead with a 27-yard field goal which he later extended with a kick from 28 yards with under a minute to play.
Indiana coach Kevin Wilson was happy to at least keep Penn State out of the end zone.
"It was nice to see, but we expect to see that," he said. "We want to start seeing more consistency like that and those guys really need to step up and start playing some good Big Ten defense."
The Hoosiers (3-6, 0-5 Big Ten) sacked Christian Hackenberg five times and picked off the sophomore quarterback twice. He finished 12 of 29 for 168 yards.
Bill Belton ran for 137 yards and a touchdown for the Nittany Lions (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten), who broke a four-game losing skid and haven't lost more than five games since 2004.
But Penn State controlled an Indiana offense that hasn't found its way since it lost starting quarterback Nate Sudfeld to a season-ending injury last month. Since then, Indiana has lost four straight.
"Our defense is really gaining confidence because they're playing well," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "We went into the year feeling really good about (the defense). We just needed to do it down in and down out."
Tevin Coleman noticed. He was held to just 71 yards rushing. Coleman was first in the nation in rushing yards per game entering Saturday's contest and finished with less than 100 rushing yards for the first time in 10 games.
"They were amazing," Coleman said of the Nittany Lion defense. "The linebackers were filling the holes and I couldn't go anywhere. They're a really good defense and they just did their thing."
Zander Diamont was just 13 of 28 for 68 yards, but ran for 58 yards, and Indiana has combined for just 103 yards passing over the last three games.
Both teams struggled to get much going on offense for much of the game and Penn State came through at all the right times.
"This is the prettiest win I've ever seen in my 20 years," Franklin said. "The water tastes better, the Gatorade tastes better, everything is good right now."
It didn't appear all that pretty, though.
The Nittany Lions had negative-4 rushing yards and moved the ball just 56 total yards in the first quarter. By halftime, Penn State and Indiana combined for 1 of 14 on third down conversions.
It was the same story for two teams trying to climb out of a slump.
Still the Nittany Lions found a way to score 13 unanswered points after the Hoosiers took a 7-0 lead late in the second quarter.
Mark Murphy scored on a 53-yard interception return to give Indiana the lead.
But it didn't last long.
On the first play following the kickoff, Belton scored to tie the game with 3:37 remaining in the half
Belton's 92-yard run — his fifth score of the year — tied the longest play from scrimmage in program history and was the longest rushing touchdown by a single player in Penn State history.
Back in 1973 the Nittany Lions scored on a 92-yard play, but that was by two players and included a fumble.
Penn State had a chance to take a lead early on in the second quarter, though, but Hackenberg was sacked at the 6 before Indiana's Bobby Richardson blocked Ficken's 23-yard field goal attempt.
After Penn State took a 10-7 lead, Indiana's Oakes Griffin missed a 51-yard field goal attempt with a chance to tie the game early in the fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers had another opportunity midway through the fourth quarter when Greg Gooch intercepted a pass by Hackenberg — his 12th interception of the season. But Indiana couldn't put a drive together. Diamont threw two incompletions and was sacked for a loss of eight yards.
Indiana must win the next three games to become bowl eligible.
It won't be easy, though, with two straight road games, including one at Ohio State, before the Hoosiers host Purdue in the regular season finale.
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