BLOOMINGTON – Do you remember the last time Indiana defeated Penn State in football? The answer is no, because going into this weekend’s Big Ten opener, the Hoosiers had never seen the win column against the Nittany Lions.

For the first time in program history, the Hoosiers defeated Penn State University on a football field. Indiana used big offensive plays and stout defense in the second-half to capture a 44-24 victory over the visiting Nittany Lions in Memorial Stadium.

The Hoosiers drew first blood on their third possession with a five-yard touchdown toss from Nate Sudfeld to Isaiah Roundtree. While it was Roundtree’s only reception of that day, Sudfeld kept going.

Sudfeld, a sophomore from Modesto California, proved to be an key factor in Indiana’s big win throwing for 321 yards and two scores. Despite his complete game stats looking great, it was the second half where Sudfeld made his biggest impact.

After taking a 13-7 lead into the locker room, Indiana found itself trailing 14-13 following a Penn State throwing score from Christian Hackenberg to Allen Robinson. Hackenberg also connected with Robinson for the team’s first score. Sudfeld and the Hoosiers offense responded with a touchdown drive capped off by Tevin Coleman’s 44-yard scoring run. The Hoosiers other quarterback, Tre Roberson, came in for the two-point attempt and used his feet to get the conversion for Indiana. The Hoosiers took the 21-14 lead and never lost it.

The Lions managed to get a field goal late in the third quarter, shrinking Indiana’s lead to 21-17 heading into the fourth. In the final quarter is where Indiana’s defense stepped up to the plate.

The Indiana defense stuffed Penn State on fourth and short to regain possession at the Lions 36-yard line. The Hoosiers defense was outstanding against he run all day, surrendering just 70 yards.

Sudfeld used the great field position to break the game open when he connected with Kofi Hughes on a beautiful touchdown pass. Hughes finished his day with four receptions for 85 yards including the 36-yard scoring grab. But the receiver who truly gave the Penn State secondary fits all day was Cody Latimer who had nine receptions for 109 yards.

Latimer, a junior, knows what a big win this is for his team, “”It was great. We knew coming in that we had lost 16 straight games to Penn State. As a team, we wanted to go out there and win. But more importantly, we wanted to get our first Big Ten win.”

On the ensuing kickoff the Hoosiers forced and recovered a fumble on the Lions nine-yard line. It was the second turnover of the half for Penn State and paid immediate dividends for the Hoosiers. Roberson took it in on the first for his second score of the day to blow open a 42-17 lead for Indiana.

Hackenberg managed to find the end zone one last time on a pass to Bill Belton. Hackenberg tossed the ball 55 times, completing 30 passes for 340 yards, three scores and had one interception.

Despite all of the big plays and scores from the entire Indiana team, the play that may Hoosier fans may remember most happened on Penn State’s next drive. Trailing 42-24 and looking for a miracle to get back into the game, the Nittany Lions had a flurry of mental mistakes and ended up with their backs against their own goal line. The Hoosiers defense, with the help of a Memorial Stadium in full throat, hit Hackenberg in his own end zone forcing a fumble that resulted in a safety for the Hoosiers.

With a 44-24 lead that would prove to be the final score, the Indiana fans went into a frenzy with the rest-assured feeling that their team would finally stand victorious over Penn State. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off not only the 2013 Hoosiers, but the Indiana football program as a whole. Sure, the all-time record against the Nittany Lions now stand at 1-16, bit it was this one win that the Hoosiers needed to prove that they have truly taken a step forward under head coach Kevin Wilson.

Wilson, now in his third season as Indiana head coach, was happy to finally get a win of this stature for his team and fan base, “”I’m proud of our guys and I’m happy for them. I’m happy for the people who stuck with us and for us to get a good win. We played really good in a lot of phases. We didn’t start great on offense and didn’t particularly run the ball well, but once things started to get in rhythm and we got our passing game set up, we played well.”

Wilson will need to keep his team firing on all cylinders as the Hoosiers go on the road for the first time this season. Indiana (3-2, 1-0) will travel to East Lansing next Saturday to take on Michigan State (4-1, 1-0) in the Battle for the Old Brass Spittoon. The Hoosiers have not beaten the Spartans since 2006 and have not claimed victory in East Lansing since 2001. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.