James Franklin, the now-deposed head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions might have lost his job weeks ago, but his ghost appeared at Beaver Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Penn State pulled a page out of the "Big Game James" playbook as they lost to the No. 2 ranked Indiana Hoosiers 27-24. The Nittany Lions blew a late fourth-quarter lead against a top team and would not leave the field winners.

Perhaps too much of Franklin rubbed off on interim head coach Terry Smith.

Part of the reason why Franklin was terminated was due to the fact he could not beat the top teams. Penn State had a chance to finally win one against the Hoosiers as they led 24-20 with less than four minutes to play.

Penn State would give up a last minute touchdown and lose 27-24. 

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who might have wrapped up the Heisman Trophy with his performance, tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper, Jr. with less than a minute to play. 

Cooper toe-tapped his way into the annals of Indiana lore as he made a catch in the back of the end zone which was reviewed in the booth. His toe hit the grass before he fell out of the back of the end zone.

Penn State's defense allowed the Hoosiers to march 80 yards, after getting a first-down sack, and score the winning points to send the sold out crowd home disappointed yet again.

With that, Penn State's comeback and hope for a top-five victory at home would all be gone. The Nittany Lions moved down the field in the final 45 seconds, but could not get close enough for a field goal.

Two bright spots for Penn State's offense in this game were the play of freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and running back Nicholas Singleton.

Grunkemeyer led the offense methodically, throwing only one interception, and brough the Nittany Lions back from a 20-7 deficit. He finished the day with a respectable 22-for-31, passing for 219 yards and the aforementioned interception. He would also throw a touchdown to Singleton in the fourth quarter.  

Singleton played a role in all three Nittany Lions touchdowns. He scored on two short runs and then scored on a 19-yard catch and run. Singleton would finish the game with 71 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving. 

Meanwhile, Mendoza would throw for 218 yards on 19-of-30 passing. His final pass to Cooper was one of both desperation and beauty. It appeared as though Mendoza, who was under a heavy rush, looked to throw the ball away, but he threw it directly at Cooper who made a spectacular reception for the win.