Blue White Illustrated

As it happens, they're headed to one of those places this weekend. Since joining the Big Ten, Penn State has played nine games at Indiana's Memorial Stadium and has won eight. It also edged the Hoosiers in Indianapolis in 2000 in what was technically a neutral site game. The Nittany Lions' only road loss in this series was in 2013, when they fell apart in the fourth quarter and dropped a 44-24 decision. So far this season, the Hoosiers have not done a great job of protecting their house. They are 2-2 at home, with victories over Virginia and Ball State and losses to Michi- gan State and Iowa. The 35-21 loss to the Spartans was shap- ing up to be a laugher before Indiana scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to briefly make it a one-score game. Michigan State had taken a 28-7 lead on a fake field goal late in the third quarter and was threatening to run away and hide before a pair of late in- terceptions gave Indiana new hope. Then, with just over three minutes to play, Jalen Nailor took a jet sweep 75 yards for a touch- down to clinch the win for the visitors. But while the Michigan State game turned unexpectedly interesting in the final minutes, last week's 42-16 loss to Iowa started out bad and just kept getting worse. Hawkeyes quarterback Nate Stanley threw for 320 yards and six touchdowns, and the Hoosiers weren't able to respond to that onslaught by mustering much offense of their own. Redshirt sophomore quarter- back Peyton Ramsey threw two intercep- tions in the red zone, bringing his season total to a league-high seven. Running back Stevie Scott managed only 29 yards, and as a team, Indiana rushed for just 67, averag- ing 2.7 yards per attempt. Coach Tom Allen said his team got beat in all three phases of the game and afterward urged players "to own it, to flush it, and press on." Even after that performance, the Hoosiers are still fielding the sixth-most- productive passing game in the Big Ten. Ramsey, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound Cincinnati native, is completing 68 percent of his passes and is averaging 232 yards per game. He has been very good at spreading the ball around, as four Indiana receivers have to- taled 20 or more catches, a group led by senior wideout J-Shun Harris II with 24 re- ceptions for 217 yards. The Hoosiers have also used true fresh- man Michael Penix at the quarterback po- sition. Named the No. 13 pro-style prospect in the country by Rivals.com coming out of Tampa Bay Tech, Penix has played in two games and completed 12 of 15 passes for 125 yards. He still has the option of redshirting, but Allen said the staff isn't committed to preserving his freshman eli- gibility if it looks as though he can help the team in more than his four allotted games. "We're not going to map this all out," the coach said. "It's definitely a feel for sure, as the game is unfolding. I want to give us the best chance to be successful on game day." Allen, who came to Indiana in January 2016 as defensive coordinator before be- coming head coach 11 months later follow- ing Kevin Wilson's resignation, said he's hopeful that the loss to the Hawkeyes will turn out to be motivational. "Even when something happens that's bad, I'm going to find a way to make it pos- itive," he said. "That's exactly how I look at it. There's no doubt, getting hit upside the head with a two-by-four doesn't feel very good, but I promise you it will get your at- tention. This is one of those kind of situa- tions. I think our guys were shook a little bit by it, [but they] responded by wanting to say some things. I thought the way we 2 O C T O B E R   1 7 ,   2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Defensive tackle Fred Hansard will miss the rest of the season, coach James Franklin announced on Tuesday at his weekly news conference. Franklin did not elaborate on the nature of Hansard's injury, other than to note that he has already undergone surgery. During Penn State's loss 21-17 loss to Michigan State last Saturday, the red- shirt freshman was knocked over at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter and wasn't able to get up on his own. He was helped off the field and into the locker room with what appeared to be a left leg injury. The 6-foot-3, 316-pound Hansard, a former four-star prospect from the Hun School in Burlington, N.J., had been the main backup behind Robert Windsor at the one-technique tackle spot. He ap- peared in all six of Penn State's games this season and was credited with two tackles. Hansard's injury exacerbates the depth concerns that Penn State has been trying to address ever since the graduation of last year's starters, Curtis Cothran and Parker Cothren. Starters Kevin Givens and Windsor have been solid, as Penn State has given up only 3.8 yards per carry, fifth-best in the Big Ten. But at times this season, particu- larly in the game against Ohio State, the Lions have had to rely more heavily than they would prefer on their starters be- cause of the drop-off between the first- and second-team units. Prior to the game against the Buckeyes, Penn State moved redshirt freshman offensive lineman C.J. Thorpe to the defensive front in the hope that he would be able to develop into a capable backup. On the depth chart that Penn State is- sued earlier this week, sophomore An- tonio Shelton is the backup behind Windsor, with Thorpe on the third team. At the other defensive tackle spot, true freshman P.J. Mustipher is behind Givens, followed by redshirt freshman Damion Barber. "We've got to keep developing those other guys, P.J. Mustipher, Antonio Shel- ton, C.J. Thorpe and Damion Barber," Franklin said. "Damion is going to have to factor in now and be able to get some work for us. P.J. is going to have to grow up fast. Obviously, he's a true freshman. And Antonio Shelton, we've seen some good things from him. Those guys have to play bigger roles, there's no doubt about it. That's the situation we're in. "We feel good about what Kevin and Robert are doing, but they are going to have to help those other guys out, as well. C.J., this is all new to him, and we need these young guys and the guys who have moved positions to have a chance to mature and grow up and un- derstand the responsibility and what they need to do for our defense to be successful." –M.H. Freshman DT Hansard to miss remainder of season

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