Blue White Illustrated

N A T E   B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M EVANSTON, Ill. – Penn State was lead- ing Northwestern by a point with just 2 minutes, 13 seconds leB to play, and its defense was about to be exactly where it wanted to be: on the field. The offense had just forced the Wild- cats into using two timeouts but failed to secure a key third-and-1 to all but clinch the game. As he awaited the punt, soph- omore linebacker Jason Cabinda felt no trepidation at having to stop Northwest- ern's final offensive opportunity. "We wouldn't have it any other way," said Cabinda, "for it to be on our side of the ball and for the decision to come down to us." Cabinda got his wish. Trotting onto the field, the Nittany Lions quickly found themselves in prime position to finish off the Wildcats. A first-down false start immediately put Northwestern in a long-yardage situa- tion. An incompletion followed, and on second down, a pass intended for Dan Vitale was nearly intercepted by corner- back Grant Haley but fell harmlessly to the ground. Then came third down, and what transpired would quickly alter the seemingly innocuous nature of Haley's drop. With Penn State blitzing six, quarter- back Zack Oliver hung in the pocket and flicked a 23-yard pass downfield to wide- out Austin Carr. Biting on Carr's slight head fake toward the middle of the field, Haley found himself out of position as N O V E M B E R 7 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 6 THE BITTER END Missed opportunities haunt Nittany Lions after loss to Northwestern GAME CHANGER Carr (below) made one of the game's biggest plays when he broke free for a 23-yard completion on third-and- long. His catch set the stage for Mitchell's winning field goal with nine seconds left. Photo by Steve Manuel

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