Whatever.
Penn State won.
I’m not sure the exact point on Saturday where you or I and anyone of the rest of us inside Beaver Stadium – or those watching at home – had the thought of:
Whatever. Just win.
But sometimes as a fan, there are games where you no longer care by how many, just as long as it was by one.
For some, it was pregame – with a noticeable drop off in energy inside Beaver Stadium – despite better than usual weather and a still-top 10 team in the country playing in front of us.
For others, it was after Penn State’s first drive – failing to pick up a third down conversion – bringing a heavy dousing of boos, far greater than any of the mist falling surprisingly over an Unhappy Valley.
At times on Saturday, Penn State’s defense – the anchor to a team that’s lost just once (albeit the biggest one of the season so far) – looked like it forgot how to play football.
It uncharacteristically gave up not one but two passing touchdowns of 90 and 69 yards. At other times, it looked more gashed by the Indiana offense than it did against any other team this season.
And when you’re sitting in section NB or EJ or SD, that frustration boils and festers.
Particularly with this era, we’ve sat through this before. Penn State goes and plays – on the road – its biggest game of the season and loses in a frustrating, make-you-so-angry-you-pull-your-hair way.
Then the next week, before you know it, Michigan State’s Felton Davis is waltzing into the south endzone untouched or Illinois’ Casey Washington is leaping a head above a defender to make a ninth overtime catch.
Yet again, one loss turns into two. The promise of any remaining hope to the season is gone before the real chances to get things back on track.
At some point on Saturday afternoon inside Beaver Stadium or on your couch or at the bar, you thought about those moments.
And also thought:
Whatever. Just win.
At points, it looked like Penn State was going to do more than that. Penn State was back in command against Indiana, especially before halftime. In one swoop, the Nittany Lions scored, created a turnover and then kicked a field goal before the end of the second quarter.
And those negative thoughts started to wash away when Drew Allar found Theo Johnson in the middle of the field for a 16-yard touchdown on the opening (and time-sucking) drive of the second half.
But the Hoosiers – and those negative thoughts – never completely disappeared.
A touchdown later and Indiana was within a field goal.
And then, with one flick of the wrist, the pessimistic thoughts were the only ones you could think about as Allar threw his first career interception with 5:02 left on the clock.
How was this Penn State team going to win this game?
A 3-and-out prevented Indiana from sucking up too much more time but no matter, after a 35-yard field goal, the game was still tied.
Allar would have to lead his team down the field and get at least three points so how was this quarterback going to bounce back after that first pick? Was Penn State going to find a way to just win, whatever it would take?
And you, too, have been in this moment as a Penn State fan.
Sometimes, like Minnesota in 2016, you have to just believe that Penn State can win. It’s hard to look beyond the last two and half hours you just watched. It’s hard to find the belief once again.
It’s hard when you’ve seen all of those losses go from one to two. It’s hard when, in the context on the College Football Playoff, success is either making it or not. It’s hard when all that matters on a Saturday is just winning, even if it’s not in a cover-the-spread fashion.
But eventually, if you hang around long enough, you’ll find it.
This time, you probably found that belief while a massive throw from Allar hung in the air, searching for a sprinting KeAndre Lambert-Smith heading down the sideline.
It’s in those moments when the collective 100,000-plus go quiet, become patient one final time in the afternoon and rise to their feet to see what will happen.
And all of that struggle, for team and for fan, paid off when the ball found the wide receiver in stride.
You could exhale. You could breathe. You could yell. You could celebrate.
Whatever that was, it was what you wanted. Whatever it took, the team found a way to win. Whatever you thought was halting this season for now, didn’t happen.
Whatever, Penn State won.
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