Indiana’s defense played as well as it could against No. 4 Penn State, allowing three touchdowns and one field goal. The defense providing a chance is something that’s played out multiple times this season and again, the offense was unable to contend, getting shutout 24-0.
“Very disappointing performance by our team, especially on offense,” IU head coach Tom Allen said.
IU quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was coming off his best season performance at Western Kentucky, throwing for 373 yards and zero interceptions. However, neither the zero turnovers nor throwing for over 300 yards followed him to Happy Valley.
He’s been inconsistent the entire season and it continued on Saturday night. Penix threw for 118 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. Just when it looked like he was starting to gain momentum, he exited the game with an apparent shoulder injury.
Backup quarterback Jack Tuttle entered the game after Penix was sacked and was greeted by Penn State’s defense with a sack on his first play. While some fans have called for Allen to play Tuttle instead of Penix, he didn’t have enough of an impact to alter the outcome of the game. Tuttle passed for 77 yards on 11 attempts and threw one interception.
Running back Stephen Carr was also ineffective, only rushing for 50 yards on 15 attempts. Part of his struggles came from the might of Penn State’s strong defensive line, heavily pushing him back.
