Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
STATE COLLEGE — Dani Dennis-Sutton was one of the last players to leave the field at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Penn State’s senior defensive end stood at the 10-yard line, looked up at the sky in the south end zone, put his hands over his face and shook his head. Dennis-Sutton was in disbelief. And that shattered feeling was shared by teammates, coaches and fans. Everyone in Happy Valley was at a loss for words after Penn State’s loss to Indiana. Penn State — a team in the midst of a nightmare season — was two minutes away from knocking off the No. 2 team in the country. The Nittany Lions were two minutes away from securing their first win in 56 days and a silver lining in an otherwise lost campaign. Beaver Stadium security officers were lining up in the end zones to prepare for a field storming. That’s how close the Nittany Lions were to pulling off the upset. And yet, that cathartic moment agonizingly slipped through their fingers — and into the hands of Omar Cooper Jr. Cooper’s game-winning catch, a ridiculous, toe-tap touchdown with 36 seconds to go, served as a microcosm for Penn State’s season of suffering. The Lions have lost six straight games; five have been by a combined 16 points. They lost in overtime to Oregon, thanks in part to a blade of grass overturning a takeaway. Their comeback attempt at UCLA fell short. They lost by one point to Northwestern and Iowa in back-to-back weeks, bookending James Franklin’s shocking dismissal. Then you had Cooper’s toes just barely landing inside the white chalk in the back of the north end zone. Gut punch after gut punch, by the smallest of margins. “We’re all wanting plays to go our way. We’re talking blades of grass,” interim coach Terry Smith said. “We’re just trying to create. Maybe we get the call with the blade of grass. But right now, we’re in that storm, and we can’t get the blade of grass.” “All of us are frustrated,” center Nick Dawkins said, when asked about the mood in the locker room. “Fans are frustrated. I’m frustrated. Coaches are frustrated. Because to be quite honest with you, we’re thinking, ‘What do we need to do (to win)? What is it?’” It’s impossible to place a finger on it. Penn State is just broken right now. It’s a play here, a play there. It’s the defense not making a stop. It’s the offense not doing enough. This team, one with preseason national title expectations, has been in a collective, unimaginable spiral. The one thing you can’t question from Saturday, though, was Penn State’s effort. The Lions were two-touchdown underdogs to a real title contender, and they took them down to the wire. They left everything out there. And that came after reports from earlier in the week that the mood and morale was down at the media’s practice viewing window. “Before we start, I just want to talk a little bit about our team,” quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer said in an impromptu opening statement. “We just played the No. 2 team in the country. Got a top-five offense, top-five defense and a Heisman contender at quarterback. So the questions about our buy-in as a team, I think right there that just goes to show the commitment our team has. The guys in our locker room, it’s a testament to those guys.” But that has to make it hurt even more. It’s not like this team is checked out. It would be easy to pack it in after Franklin’s firing and falling woefully short of the ultimate goal. But Smith said his players are still “busting their butt” every single day during this losing streak. And that was after months of prep for a season that hasn’t turned out anything like anyone thought it would. “We work so hard,” Dawkins said. “We miss Christmas. We miss Easter. We miss Thanksgiving. We miss every holiday. I miss birthdays. I miss weddings. I miss everything. And we’re not winning. Usually winning excuses those things to your family. And we’re not getting them.” “We’re straining these guys, and they don’t reap any reward for it,” Smith said. “It’s very difficult. I feel bad for those guys. They deserve more. They deserve victory.” Penn State will have three more chances to get at least a win before this disappointing season comes to a close. The Lions travel to Michigan State next week, followed by games against Nebraska and Rutgers. The Spartans are 0-6 in Big Ten play. The Cornhuskers lost quarterback Dylan Raiola for the season. Rutgers is 1-5 in conference play. So there’s still hope for a bright spot amid the darkness. There’s still hope Penn State can emerge from the storm Smith has talked about. But Saturday against Indiana was an opportunity to exorcise the demons that have haunted this team for six weeks. And to come so close and fall short like that? That might be the worst loss yet.
