The shocking comeback that created a star deserves a deep rewind

- [Narrator] It's October 24th, 2020. We're in Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The number eight ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are trying to escape Indiana on their opening weekend. But the Hoosiers have battled back and forced overtime. Down one point, Indiana's wunderkind, Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., is lined up to go for two and the win. If he succeeds, upstart IU will pull their biggest upset in over three decades. If Penn State can force a stop, they'll salvage this nightmare start to a nightmare year that started with national title dreams. To understand just how strange the path to this unexpected moment was, we need to rewind. (curious music) You see that little number eight ranking next to Penn State? It means the Top 10 Nittany Lions weren't expected to be in an overtime dogfight against one of the sport's historic doormats. (tape rewinding) After another successful season in 2019, James Franklin's rebuild of Penn State in the post-Paterno era was clicking along. The Lions were 42-11 in their last four seasons and signed their fourth straight Top 15 signing class in February of '20. Plus, returning Linebacker Micah Parsons was on track to be one of, if not the best defensive player in college football entering 2020. On offense, Senior Quarterback Sean Clifford returned with a very experienced offensive line, and Franklin addressed the team's biggest on field flaw, its passing game, by hiring a new play caller. After losing OC Ricky Rahne to the head coaching job at Old Dominion, Franklin poached Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca to overhaul the Lion's offense, specifically a passing game that struggled to stretch the field in 2019. Since Franklin turned the program around, they'd won the Big Ten, they'd beaten opponents like Ohio State and Michigan, but they'd yet to put everything together and break into the four team College Football Playoff. But with this new offense and a blue chip roster, in the weeks following the 19th season Penn State was a popular, reliable pick to finally make the playoff in 2020. So, how in the world are they on the brink of an upset to Indiana in football? Basically, it's this guy's fault. Let's be clear, Michael Penix Jr. should not be here right now. (tape rewinding) In high school, the Tampa native originally committed to the University of Tennessee and head coach Butch Jones over nearby Florida State. But, when Tennessee fired Butch and cleaned house, the new and very stupid Tennessee staff elected not to recruit Penix. That opened the door for now former Tennessee assistant Nick Sheridan, who originally recruited Penix to Knoxville and who had just landed a job at Indiana. He stayed persistent on Penix. And Michael wasn't a day one starter for Tennessee or any other Power Five program, but he was a top 50 rated quarterback in his class, and as you can see here, he showed obvious raw talent and a high upside. Penix landing in Indiana is still insane even with that tangle of coaching moves to explain it because he held offers from programs like hometown South Florida and Florida State, and honestly, Big Ten doormats don't tend to pull warm weather talents away from their home states. But most notably, it's insane because, good God, is Indiana University awful at tackle football. No head coach in the previous 60 years of IU has left the program with a winning record. Entering the 2020 season, the Hoosiers are college football's losingest program amongst schools with at least a thousand games played. A loss here would be the program's 685th in school history. Indiana hasn't won nine games in a single season since 1967 when they last appeared in the Rose Bowl, which they lost to OJ Simpson. And until 2019, Indiana finished 500 or higher in conference play only twice since 1991. One time, Wisconsin scored 83 points against the Hoosiers in one game. And this was in 2010. This wasn't in like the 1890s or something. One time in 2011, the worst statistical defense in all of college football that season, North Texas led IU 24 to nothing before eventually winning the game. When Indiana Head Football Coach Terry Hoeppner had brain surgery in 2006, the Hoosiers tried to rally to win one for their missing head coach. But instead they blew a 21 to seven lead over FCS level Southern Illinois and lost at home. Indiana football manages to just suck and break hearts historically so. And that suck continued to pace when Penix arrived on campus. He tore his ACL his freshman year and saw action in only three games. IU went five and seven, which was pretty good for them. Yet, all the while, head coach and Indiana native Tom Allen was building the most minor of miracles, a relatively competent football team in Bloomington. He recruited hard, both around Indiana and the Midwest, but also in Florida where he'd previously coached. He also hired great assistants like Fresno State Offensive Coordinator Kalen DeBoer in 2019. Under DeBoer, Penix's potential began to shine, and Indiana averaged 433 yards a game and ranked third in the Big Ten in total offense. Penix was named the starter in 2019 and the sophomore flourished at times, but struggled to stay healthy. He only started and played in six games, but that talent was obvious when he was on the field. With a combo of Penix and Backup Peyton Ramsey, Indiana pulled off another miracle, well, for Indiana, by winning eight games in one season! They even finished above 500 at Big Ten play. But, one thing was missing in that eight win season and that was a signature win over a big opponent. Anytime Indiana played a marquee-ranked team like Penn State, they lost. So if there was a goal for 2020, beating a blue blood was the obvious next step for the program. DeBoer left to become Fresno State's head coach after the year, but he handed the play calling over to Sheridan. Indiana was confident that they'd unlocked Penix's potential so long as they could just keep him healthy. So certainly, a healthy, effective Michael Penix can help explain part of how we arrived here, but where's Micah Parsons? Wouldn't Penn State want their best defender on the field against someone like Penix on the game deciding play? And hey, how is it week one of the college football season on October the 24th? Also, where're the fans? Indiana and Penn State were never meant to start the 2020 season against each other at all. Their normal 12-game regular season schedule was dashed, reorganized, and dashed and reorganized several times over during this whole worldwide COVID-19 pandemic thing that the entire planet happened to be dealing with. Unlike other conferences, the Big Ten first moved to cancel its season entirely, but then elected to start two months late with a condensed conference only slate that put the lines in Bloomington. Meanwhile, the NCAA changed many of its eligibility rules on the fly, allowing scholarship players a chance to opt out of the season if they felt unsafe. Parsons, a lock for the NFL, elected to do just this; foregoing the entire 2020 season to prepare for the draft. The impact of the pandemic on college football has been tremendous in every way. Players and coaches require daily testing, they can't gather in large spaces, and they're routinely required to quarantine and isolate. There's zero consistency and a perpetual wave of distractions from the outside world. You know, stuff coaches just love. In a normal world, college football schedule is very tight for players and coaches to actually meet and game plan and practice, but now it was even more compressed and uncertain without any kind of regular routine. So, take that new Penn State offensive system for instance. Something like installing a new offense would be pretty old hat under a successful veteran like Franklin, but now, who knows how much time could the staff have to get everything wrapped and refined? And suddenly, minus Parsons and a normal installation schedule for their new scheme, it made a lot more sense Penn State is in that one-point game against that supposed former doormat. This is becoming the new normal of COVID era college football, where uncertainty creates weird football. And, weird football is great for Indiana who's riding a streak of 41 consecutive losses to AP Top 10 ranked opponents going into this game. Because weird means potentially something different. And weird football is exactly what we got in the first half. The Hoosiers scored 17 straight points in the second quarter, thanks to two Sean Clifford interceptions. Hey, there's that uncertainty about a new offensive scheme showing up right on time for Indiana. The Hoosiers carried a 17 to seven lead into halftime and Penix has been far from perfect, but he's carried IU this far. Except after a third quarter interception that set up a Penn State score, another IU collapse seemed inevitable. Hoosier football fans, those damned souls could just feel it happening. IU's offense stalled out on a series of three and outs and the Lions took the lead 21-20 after the Hoosiers only scored three points total in the second half. Whatever first game or pandemic level weirdness that worked in the underdog's favor had all melted away. After all, Penn State is a Top 10 team, and Top 10 teams find ways to win ugly games. Until that Top 10 team finds a way to brain fart their way out of certain victory. Down 21-20, Penix and the IU offense failed on a fourth down attempt with one minute and 47 seconds remaining on their own 14-yard line. And, that's it! That's your game! Or it should be at least. Penn State took over on downs with under two minutes. On the Hoosier sideline, Allen told his defense to let Penn State, who were so close to the end zone, score a touchdown as soon as possible to hopefully get Indiana the ball back. But look, that shouldn't happen. This is football strategy 101. Indiana only had one time out left so the Lions could run the game clock to under 30 seconds even without a first down all inside the red zone. The only thing Penn State couldn't or shouldn't do is score a touchdown quickly and give the ball back to Penix and the Hoosiers. So of course, on the next play, Penn State scored a touchdown, seriously. You can watch here as Running Back Devyn Ford hesitates at the goal line, but like, eventually crosses to score the touchdown. And you can see the confusion and disconnect between the Penn State sideline and their player. Welcome to the pandemic era. Down eight and having scored only three points in the second half, Michael Penix Jr.'s upside and potential needed to become reality. And it did. Indiana scored a touchdown on a seven play, 75-yard drive that's all Penix and Penn State. Meaning that the only yards on the entire drive came from a Penix pass or two very stupid Penn State penalties that set up a one-yard Penix scramble for a touchdown. Then another Penix rush for an improbable game tying two-point conversion. Ugh, how sad is it that Memorial Stadium is left stunned for a good reason, and it's nearly empty. How fitting is it that Indiana is on the cusp of doing something unseen for decades amidst a global event unlike anything in a century? Penn State opened overtime with a quick, efficient touchdown in four plays to take a seven-point lead. Then, just like his game tying drive, Penix led the way and Indiana scored a touchdown in five plays that ended with a Penix pass to Whop Philyor. Now, the Hoosiers have a dilemma. A standard PAT kick would force a second overtime and the game would continue on for as long as needed. But hey, they're not lined up to kick, are they? Indiana has nothing if not self-aware. This is insane, and it should not be happening. But Penn State is a playoff contender and while they're stunned and confused and they're down a blue chip leader, IU knows they're fighting far above their weight class. The odds are against pulling off the upset if the Hoosiers hand the ball back to the favorite. Indiana is on the cusp of a win, the caliber of which their program hasn't seen in any of these players' lives, and that's why they're lined up for two-points in the win, or the loss. It's gotta be now, and it's gotta be the good player who came to a horrible program and against all odds became great because tonight, he could become a star. And besides, it's 2020, nothing makes sense right now. Why couldn't Indiana beat Penn State even at football? Welcome to a moment in history. (audience cheering) - [Commentator] Penix, steps up. (audience cheering) (referee whistles) (audience cheering) And they said he is in, (audience roaring) and Indiana pulls this off in overtime. (switch clicks) (light music)