Penn State enjoyed a torrid middle part of the game to defeated Indiana University 48-32, handing IU their first loss in the 2015-16 season.

Indiana took an early 5-0 lead with a try from Jacob Parmeter, but Penn State’s forwards replied with a nice rolling maul to tie it 5-5. IU once again took the lead with a penalty kick from Teddy Terezis, but Penn State’s Jimmy Ronan did the same and tied it at 8-8.

Casey Smith nudged IU ahead 13-8, but then Selby Niumataiwalu went over and Ronan kicked the conversion to give Penn State a 15-13 lead.

There then followed a crucial period in the game. Leading into halftime, Penn State exerted some defensive pressure and that resulted in an interception try for center Tyler May, and then a turnover and try for lock Rob Irimescu. In the space of just a few minutes the game went from being essentially tied to Penn State leading 29-13.

“We really put some good pressure on them,” said Penn State Coach Blake Burdette. “That creates two good turnovers and tries for us and really put us on the front foot.”

In the early minutes of the second half, Indiana kicked off, and got the ball back, and marched into the Penn State 22. For about ten phases the Nittany Lions held off Indiana at the goal line. Indiana got a scrum, but still couldn’t punch it in, and finally Penn State stole the ball and got out of trouble. That defensive stand was a key moment for the team, said Burdette, a moment when they felt they could win that game.

Indiana did finally score, though - center Bryce Campbell bulled his way through to make it 29-20. But after that, the Lions held sway. Kiefer Kei-Boguinard capped off a nicely-executed backline movement to score, and then he scored a second to make it 43-20. Joe Kelly’s try put Penn State up 28 points, and while IU scored twice late, it wasn’t enough.

“It was a really good result for us,” said Burdette. “We got better from the Navy game, but we still have a ways to go.”

Burdette said he wanted the team to retain possession more effectively, and avoid throwing it away.

“Against Navy we were throwing a lot of 50-50 stuff around, but we stuck to the plan more in this game,” said Burdette, who had plenty of complimentary things to say about Indiana. “Their 15 is outstanding and they’ve got one of the best flankers I’ve seen. We were just trying to keep it in the forwards as much as we could, because when they got it out wide and we weren’t ready, they were trouble. They were also one of the more physical teams we’ve played.”

For Penn State, Malcolm May once again put in a full day’s work at flanker, and former HS All American Rob Irimescu - who started out as a center and then became a flanker, stepped in at lock. A bit undersized for the job and new to the role, Irimescu scored a try and played superbly.

“It was also nice to see Joe Kelly get some touches and start to hit his form a little bit,” said Burdette.

Penn State 48

Tries: Niumataiwalu, T. May, Irimescu, Kei-Boguinard 2, Kelly, Forwards

Convs: Ronan 5

Pens: Ronan

Indiana 32

Tries: Parmeter, Smith, Campbell, Other, Other

Convs: Terezis 2

Pens: Terezis