Emotional Senior Day as Penn State Defeats Indiana

Senior Day at Penn State always turns out to be an emotional day for students, players and coaches.  On this senior day, the Penn State Nittany Lions took on the Indiana Hoosiers in a must win game for Penn State as they try to stay in line to make a big bowl game. 

The Hoosiers came into Beaver Stadium hungry as they got out to an early lead, however Penn State was able to hold them off and come away with a 31-20 victory. 

Things didn’t look great to start as the Nittany Lions found themselves trailing at the end of the first quarter 10-0. At many times in the game it seemed as if nothing could go Penn State’s way.

Quarterback Daryll Clark threw two interceptions and the team had four total turnovers by halftime.  The special teams was struggling to hold on to the ball, and things were starting to not look too bright for Penn State.

Tied 10-10 in the third quarter, Indiana was driving down the field trying to regain the lead. Indiana’s quarterback dropped back and looked to throw a screen pass to his running back.  

The pass was tipped by the Hoosier, and fell right into the hands of Penn State linebacker Navorro Bowman.  Following the catch, Bowman took the ball 73 yards for a Penn State touchdown. 

This was the spark Penn State needed as they went on to score two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, as Daryll Clark and Evan Royster both had rushing touchdowns of their own.  

Senior day is always an emotional day for the players as it is the last time they will run out onto the field at Beaver Stadium.  This was definitely the case today as Penn State fans watched some very important players play their last game at home. 

These seniors have had a lot of success over the past four years, which included an impressive 25-4 record at Beaver Stadium.

These group of seniors included quarterback Daryll Clark, defensive linemen Jared Odrick and Jerome Hayes, tight ends Andrew Quarless and Mickey Shuler, cornerback A.J. Wallace, and linebackers Josh Hull and Sean Lee.

As these are just a select few of the seniors on the team, mostly ones who played pivotal roles over their whole career, all of the seniors will be greatly missed.   

As well as players, many students found the day emotional as they watched their time in the student section come to an end.  Me being one of these, it is a rather tough pill to swallow.

The Saturday morning that consisted of tailgating then going to the games are some of my favorite moments I’ve had in my college years.

Sure, I do plan on coming back to some games in the future, but it won’t be the same as I won’t be jumping up and down doing zombie nation with 40,000 other students.

It’s something no student wants to come to an end, as I overheard many seniors discussing it at the game.  It’s hard to complain though, as I have watched many good games and teams over my four years!