Penn State safety King Mack (16) intercepts a pass in front of Indiana wide receiver E.J. Williams Jr. (7) during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

Finally, a silver lining to this miserable season, easily the most disappointing in Penn State history, was unfolding before our eyes.

On a perfect Saturday afternoon made for college football, the Nittany Lions had risen to the moment.

Despite a five-game losing streak that included the firing of their coach, they had rebounded from a double-digit deficit to take a late lead, and they had the No. 2 team in the country on the ropes.

The Beaver Stadium crowd, which made its presence known for the wrong reasons earlier in the season, was behind them.

“The home-field advantage was to our advantage,” interim coach Terry Smith said. “They were awesome; they gave us an edge.”

All the Nittany Lions needed was one more defensive stop, but they couldn’t come up with it.

In one of the most amazing finishes ever, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza – a Heisman Trophy candidate if there ever was one – led an 80-yard, 10-play touchdown drive, capped by a spectacular 7-yard touchdown reception to a leaping Omar Cooper Jr., whose toe drag with 35 seconds left gave the Hoosiers a 27-24 victory.

Though clearly drained but proud of the Lions, Smith, now 0-3 since replacing James Franklin, could only tip his cap to Mendoza and now 10-0 Indiana.

Sometimes the other guy is just better, and the game isn’t lost, it’s won. That was the case Saturday against a team that could possibly win the national championship.

“When you get in games like this, you have to have players that make plays to win games, and he won the game for them,” Smith said. “He was amazing.”

Mendoza’s poise and accuracy was matched only by his incredible receivers, who made catches of 22, 12, 29 and 17 before Cooper’s game-winner, which could well be the best TD reception in Beaver Stadium history.

Penn State has had trouble closing out leads all season – it has led in the fourth quarter or overtime in four of its six losses – but the Lions blitzed and harassed Mendoza better than they have any opposing QB this year.

The struggles under new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles have been well documented. This outcome, however, was not on him.

The Lions made eight tackles for loss and three sacks – including Zane Durant’s 7-yard tackle on the first play of the game-winning drive that pinned IU at its 13.

“I thought we did a great job of bringing pressure,” Dani Dennis-Sutton said. “But it wasn’t enough.”

He said he apologized to the team in the locker room because he felt “the offense and special teams did their jobs. But defense, we failed. Third-and-7, you can’t let them score a TD, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Dennis-Sutton was being unfairly hard on himself and his defensive unit.

Against the nation’s top-ranked scoring offense, the Lions forced two red-zone field goals, and after they fell behind 20-7, their defense shut down IU’s next three possessions (two punts and an interception) before Mendoza’s late-game heroics.

At the same time, Penn State’s offense was coming to life as it finally – finally – started throwing deep, which benefited the running game and allowed Nick Singleton some breathing room.

Asked why the Lions (read: offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki) suddenly thought it was OK to open up the offense, Smith said curtly: “We made calls to throw the ball down the field.”

In doing so, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, in his first home start, found some rhythm, evidenced by his season-high 219 passing yards distributed to eight receivers.

“I thought he grew up in the second half,” Smith said.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti knew Penn State had brought out the best in his Hoosiers. He was near tears in a post-game TV interview.

“Super proud of our team and our players,” he said. “Refused to lose in the bleakest, most dire moments when it looked impossible.”

Cignetti, a former Pitt assistant whose father Frank coached at West Virginia and IUP, called the Hoosiers’ good fortune “the most improbable victory I’ve ever been a part of. And there couldn’t have been a better place to make it happen.”

The Lions were thus denied a signature moment to this otherwise nightmare season, and their losing streak has now hit six – their longest since 2004. Only the 1931 team lost seven straight.

“These guys play hard,” Smith said. “I feel awful for them. They deserve more.”

As was the case against Oregon, Penn State found out the hard way the fine line between winning and losing vs. top-five teams. That happened again Saturday as a handful of plays – such as the Lions’ two costly turnovers – made the difference.

Especially when you’re playing a team that proved it has the heart of a champion.