Fernando Mendoza's Heisman heroics, Omar Cooper Jr.'s toe-tap catch rescue No. 2 Indiana at Penn State

With a revitalized yet desperate Penn State crowd at his back and a four-point deficit on the scoreboard, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza orchestrated a game-winning drive that saved the No. 2 Hoosiers' perfect season and could very well win him the Heisman Trophy.

Mendoza capped his pressure-cooked series with a 7-yard strike to wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who defied physics by getting both feet down in bounds in the back of the end zone before Nittany Lions safety Zakee Wheatley pushed him beyond the boundary with 36 seconds remaining.

Indiana's defense held during the final moments in Happy Valley, and Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) secured a 27-24 win, the program's first-ever victory at Beaver Stadium.

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Losers of six straight, the Nittany Lions (3-6, 0-6) came oh-so-close to swiping a top-five win, the kind that eluded James Franklin during a 12-year tenure that came to an abrupt end earlier this season.

Under interim coach Terry Smith, a Penn State team that entered the season with a No. 2 ranking of its own responded like the national-title-contending group it was supposed to be long before its losing streak stretched to November and long before Franklin was fired.

Behind a Jim Knowles-coached defense that was firing on all cylinders most of the day and a determined performance from senior running back Nick Singleton, the Nittany Lions came back from 10 down in the fourth quarter to take a 24-20 lead.

Shortly after Singleton followed up a 59-yard run with a 1-yard score early in the final frame, Penn State safety King Mack sprinted into the picture to snag an interception along the sideline. That takeaway set the stage for the Nittany Lions' go-ahead drive.

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A 5-yard run from Singleton's counterpart, Kaytron Allen, converted a key third down in the series' infancy. Second-year quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who finished 22-of-31 passing with 219 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, dropped off a screen pass to Singleton in the red zone. Singleton veered to the left and zoomed for paydirt, first shedding a tackle from Indiana safety Amare Ferrell and then skirting by the pylon for his third touchdown of the day with 6:27 to go.

Indiana's next drive stalled. Penn State subsequently drained the Hoosiers' timeouts.

Still, Cignetti's squad got the ball back with 1:51 remaining. That turned out to be plenty of time for Mendoza, who clocked out 19 of 30 with 218 passing yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception — plus a rushing touchdown — and is now the Heisman favorite.

Bouncing back from his pick earlier in the quarter and from a sack to start the drive, Mendoza completed five passes, including two that went for more than 20 yards.

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The first one ended up with Cooper over the middle to move the chains with a 22-yard pickup on second-and-17. The next one was in between the numbers, too, and it found tight end Riley Nowakowski for a gain of 29 yards.

Right after that, Mendoza dialed up a 17-yard pass to sophomore Charlie Becker. The 6-foot-4 wideout went up and reeled in a highlight-reel reception that was a bit of an afterthought after Cooper made what may be the catch of the year.

Although the Nittany Lions' comeback bid fell short, they instilled a second-half scare in a Hoosiers team that appeared to be on a runaway train to the Big Ten title game and its second consecutive College Football Playoff.

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When Indiana turned a forced fumble into a touchdown late in the first half against Penn State, it looked like the Hoosiers were well on their way to pulling away and adding the latest notch to their undefeated belt.

Instead, Penn State took a swing and almost ended up on the other side of the type of upset that derailed its season just over a month ago.

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