The Hoosiers need to capitalize on opportunities against the porous pass protection of Penn State, which ranks 109th in the country in sacks allowed with three per game. A determination regarding their status will be made later this week as well.
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This team has had to battle through a slew of injuries, namely to running backs Saquon Barkley and Akeel Lynch, who missed the game.
A last-second touchdown in Ann Arbor the very next week was all that stood between the Big Ten and Orange Bowl champions and an undefeated season. He is extremely accurate and rarely makes mistakes, and makes the smart decisions that keep the chains moving.
Sudfeld’s throws seemed to worsen as the game went on before he eventually got his foot caught in the turf and left the game entirely, aggravating the ankle injury he suffered against Wake Forest.
Zander Diamont would start at quarterback for the Hoosiers if Sudfeld can’t play. They’re going to force you to be aggressive. The defensive backs have been pretty good in run support though they’ve had a few tackling issues. If he remains limited, Devine Redding will get more action. On the ground, Nick Scott rushed for 54 yards and one touchdown. The Big Ten schedule is in full swing as the Indiana Hoosiers come to town. This season, he has five touchdowns and two interceptions but passed for more than 200 yards just once. The Buckeyes finished with 230 total yards. “Obviously, the second goal was against the run of play. He understands more what his keys are”.
Indiana’s offensive line is a well-rounded unit who has done an excellent job of protecting the quarterbacks while also opening up running lanes.
Friday’s win was the first time Nebraska won in four trips to Penn State since joining the Big Ten in 2011.
Penn State’s early offensive domination has become a trademark of its season. S&P+, for example, adores the Nittany Lions, but a look at their standard résumé leaves a terrible lot to be desired.
It’s third-and-16. Penn State has the ball on its own 16, and Army has just scored the touchdown that pulled it within six points.
The Hoosiers have shifted to a 4-3 alignment after its experiment with the 3-4 didn’t quite pan out in 2014. Jason Cabinda had a career-high 14 tackles with two sacks and a forced fumble to lead the defensive effort in the 20-14 win over Army. Couple that with starting every drive close to the 40-yard line on average, and you can see how they’ve been able to skirt by to this point. Penn State’s young secondary, which has been plagued by injuries to cornerback Grant Haley and safeties Jordan Lucas and Marcus Allen this season, could be tested a lot more this week against a versatile Indiana offense than it was last week when Army attempted one pass against the Nittany Lions.
Penn State and Indiana have squared off every year since 2007 in Big Ten games. The added complication for Penn State is that this history is larded with deep wounds that continue to be reopened. “I think the turnovers have been huge, probably, in my opinion, I don’t think it’s gotten enough attention as it should, especially the conditions of the games that we have played in”. Senior Erich Toth does not boast the most powerful leg but is a model of consistency with a 41-yard per punt average in 2015. But this weekend, the Nittany Lions host an Indiana team that almost upset Ohio State, and after that they travel to face the Buckeyes, and it’s very possible they’ll be sitting at 4-3 after that stretch, on the way to yet another 6-6 or 7-5 season that would feel even worse than that, given that Penn State is no longer burdened by NCAA sanctions and given that this may be Hackenberg’s final season at Penn State.
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Joey Julius is continuing to prove he’s more than just a big leg by showing precision on a variety of field goal attempts. “We’re going to need to do that moving forward”.
