Penn State, Atlanta learn tough lessons
In the disjointed football autumn that is 2020, it somehow makes perfect sense that defenders were left celebrating touchdowns by running backs who accidentally reached the end zone.
Twice in one weekend, once in the Big Ten Conference on Saturday, which led to Indiana’s stunning 36-35 win over Penn State in overtime, and the other in the NFL on Sunday, when the Atlanta Falcons — who else? — flopped their way through yet another fourth-quarter fiasco in losing to the appreciative Detroit Lions 23-22.
The Falcons should have learned their lesson from the Nittany Lions 24 hours earlier.
Penn State’s Devyn Ford got the handoff with a 1-point lead at the Hoosiers 14 and only 1:42 to play in Bloomington in the rivals’ first game of the coronavirus-delayed season. The third-string tailback slowed as he approached the goal line.
If only he went down, the Nittany Lions could have run out the clock because Indiana had just one timeout left.
Instead, the sophomore tiptoed into the end zone, giving Penn State an eight-point lead but leaving Indiana just enough time to tie it and force overtime, which they did with a touchdown and 2-point conversion.
The Hoosiers then won it on another 2-point conversion when quarterback Michael Penix Jr. rolled left and dived, barely touching the pylon with the football in his outstretched right hand and giving Indiana its first win over a top-10 team in 33 years.
Penn State coach James Franklin defended his running back and refused to blame the ill-advised touchdown for the excruciating loss. But he also indicated his players were instructed not to score in that situation.
“We went through that situation this week, we went through that situation on the sideline and, obviously, we could have handled it better, and I could have handled it better,” Franklin said. “But I don’t want to make it about that one play.”
Teammate Pat Freiermuth consoled Ford afterward, imploring him to “stay off social media, head down and just flush it down, and I’ll have your back regardless.”
“I’ve been in his shoes in high school once,” Freiermuth explained. “It’s very hard to see that end zone open up like that and just think to yourself, `Get down.”’
If it makes Ford feel any better, Todd Gurley II made the same mistake Sunday.
The Lions let Gurley score with just over a minute remaining to get the ball back, giving Matthew Stafford enough time to drive the Lions to the winning TD as time expired.
T.J. Hockenson’s 11-yard TD grab tied it and Matt Prater nailed a 48-yard extra point to give the Lions a 23-22 win after an excessive celebration penalty moved the ball to the 30-yard line.
