For the first time since Jan. 2, Indiana football returns to action with a matchup against No. 8 Penn State. Find out everything you need to know leading up to the game here:
Last Time They Played
Indiana and Penn State last played on Nov. 16 of last year, with the Nittany Lions defeating the Hoosiers 34-27 in Happy Valley. The loss dropped Indiana to a 7-3 (4-3 B1G) record on the season.
Sophomore quarterback Michael Penix Jr. did not play against Penn State last season due to a season-ending injury to his right sternoclavicular joint. Instead, Peyton Ramsey got the start for the Hoosiers, throwing for 371 passing yards and a touchdown. On the other side, Sean Clifford started at quarterback for Penn State, completing 11 of 23 passes for 179 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and two rushing touchdowns.
The running game was dominated by the Nittany Lions, as Penn State rushed for 192 yards on the ground. Journey Brown was the leading rusher for Penn State, reaching the century mark on 21 carries. Stevie Scott, on the other hand, rushed for just 54 yards on 17 carries on the ground for the Hoosiers.
Ty Fryfogle had the best day of any receiver on the field in this contest. He finished with five receptions on 131 yards and a touchdown for the Hoosiers. No receiver finished with more than two catches for the Nittany Lions in the game.
A close game all the way to the end, Penn State was able to pull away late with a one-yard score by Clifford to make it a 34-24 game with 1:44 remaining. Penn State was favored by 15 points heading into the game.
Three Key Matchups
1. The TE Battle: Peyton Hendershot vs. Pat Freirmuth
Arguably the top two tight ends in the Big Ten, Peyton Hendershot finished with 52 receptions on 622 yards and four touchdowns for the Hoosiers in 2019. Meanwhile for the Nittany Lions, Pat Freiermuth ended with 43 receptions and 507 yards on the season.
Last season, Hendershot finished with seven catches for 51 yards, while Freirmuth finished with just two catches for 32 yards. Freirmuth potentially could become the first tight end selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, and husky Bryant Fitzgerald, linebacker Micah McFadden and the rest of the middle linebacking core will have to keep a close eye on the star tight end on Saturday.
2. Stevie Scott, Indiana Ground Game vs. Penn State
Last season, Indiana finished with 1,695 rushing yards, ranking for the fourth-fewest yards on the ground in the Big Ten. Penn State was dominant on the ground last season, finishing only behind Ohio State and Wisconsin in that category with 2,478 rushing yards, good enough for nearly five yards per carry.
While Scott finished with three games of over 100 rushing yards last season, none came against ranked opponents. His total rush yard totals against four ranked opponents: 9, 66, 54, 54. In order to make Indiana’s offense less one-dimensional, Scott will have to be more dynamic than he was the last time these teams played to give Indiana a chance to pull off the upset.
Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions have multiple threats to make some damage on the ground for the Hoosiers. However, Penn State could be without Brown for the season after it was announced late Monday night he could miss the entire 2020 season with an undisclosed medical condition.
Brown’s loss could be a huge blow to the Penn State rushing attack. Brown ran for 890 rush yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019, both top-five statistics in the conference last season. Sophomores Noah Cain and Devyn Ford will look to fill in at running back with Brown’s absence this Saturday.
Finally, Clifford likes to run at quarterback for Penn State, punching it in for two rushing scores against Indiana just last season. Clifford finished with five rushing touchdowns in 2019.
Indiana surrendered slightly below 139 rushing yards per game to opposing offenses last season, tied for 41st among FBS schools with Texas Christian. Penn State finished fifth in the nation in this category, allowing 95.3 yards on the ground per game in 2019.
3. Debut of Nick Sheridan at OC vs. Penn State Defense
If Indiana is likely to have success on offense against Penn State on Saturday, it will probably be against the passing defense of the Nittany Lions. While Penn State’s rushing defense was extremely solid last season, their passing defense allowed over 251 yards through the air in 2019— only Maryland allowed more yards through this category last season.
After coaching the tight ends group in 2019 and serving as the quarterbacks coach the two previous seasons before that, Nick Sheridan takes over for Kalen DeBoer as offensive coordinator this season.
It is expected that the offense will not change much going forward this season, despite the change in coordinators. Sheridan will be the youngest offensive coordinator in the Big Ten at 32 years old.
Indiana finished with the third-most yards on offense last season in the Big Ten at 433.2— Ohio State and Wisconsin were the only schools with a higher output.
It will be intriguing to see how Sheridan handles the coordinator duties in his debut at his new position with Indiana.
How to Watch
The No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions will visit Memorial Stadium to take on the Indiana Hoosiers at 3:30 PM ET. The game will air on FS1.
Penn State opens up as a 6.5 point favorite, with the over/under for total points currently slated at 58.5. The expected forecast at kickoff is 52 degrees, with a slight chance of rain and an overcast sky.
Penn State leads the all-time series 22-1, with Indiana’s lone win against the Nittany Lions coming in 2013.
TheHoosier.com will have continued coverage leading up to kickoff, throughout, and following the game. Be sure to follow along all season as Indiana opens up its nine-game schedule this weekend.
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