James Franklin praises Penn State's 'resilient' effort vs. Indiana

Penn State bounced back from last weekend’s loss to Ohio State with a 33-24 victory over Indiana at home. While the win wasn’t a guarantee down the stretch, Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin used one word to describe his team’s effort on Saturday.

“We were resilient. You’ve got to give Indiana credit. They had a good plan and they played their tails off today,” Franklin told sideline reporter Tiffany Blackmon postgame. “But we were resilient and found a way to get a win.”

Quarterback Drew Allar came up huge for Penn State in the second half, throwing two touchdowns in the second half en route to victory. Allar finished the game throwing 20-of-31 with three touchdowns and one interception.

Despite the Hoosiers tying the game with 2:58 left in regulation, Allar threw a 57-yard prayer to KeAndre Lambert-Smith on the ensuing possession. Leading by seven, a safety from the Nittany Lion defense put the game out of reach 13 seconds after the touchdown throw.

“He’s done a great job of managing the games, really has. Protecting the football all year long,” Franklin said of Allar. “Obviously, we’d love to have that one back, but at the end of the day, we found a way to get the W.”

Next up for Allar and Penn State is a road matchup against an ailing Maryland squad that came up short against Northwestern. Still, their high-powered offense led by quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET live on FOX.

Injuries an issue for Nittany Lions vs. Hoosiers

In the first quarter of Penn State vs. Indiana, Harrison ‘Trey’ Wallace went to catch a pass from Drew Allar which fell incomplete. After the play, he stayed down on the turf at Beaver Stadium and headed to the locker room during the TV timeout.

Wallace later came out in a sling during the second quarter as he deals with a shoulder injury. He wasn’t wearing his jersey or pads, and his day is over.

Wallace has the third-most receiving yards for the Nittany Lions this year, totaling 161 yards across six games this season. Last week against Ohio State, he had two receptions for 19 yards in the Nittany Lions’ 20-12 loss to the Buckeyes in Columbus.

Given the fact that Penn State was without one of its key stars, defensive end Chop Robinson against Indiana.ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported that Robinson is out after taking a hard hit to the helmet in last week’s game against Ohio State. Robinson was eventually carted off the field following the hit.

Coach James Franklin had said earlier this week he hopes to get Robinson back “sooner rather than later.” Hopefully sooner will eventually mean next week. Only time will tell.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.