Blue White Illustrated

KEY MATCHUPS P E N N   S T A T E   V S .   I N D I A N A | B Y   P H I L   G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 251.8 YPG, 6.1 YPC // INDIANA RUN DEFENSE157.7 YPG, 4.2 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State enters its game at Indiana with the second-ranked rushing offense in the Big Ten and a con- ference-leading 22 rushing touchdowns. The Nittany Lions' leading rusher is Miles Sanders, who is second in the con- ference with 700 yards and seven touchdowns on 104 carries (6.7 yards per carry). QB Trace McSorley is the Lions' second-leading rusher with 447 yards and six TDs on 79 carries (5.7 ypc). McSorley ranks eighth in the Big Ten in rush- ing. Indiana has struggled at times this season against the run, ranking 10th in the conference in yards allowed, but it has stiffened up in the red zone, having surrendered only eight rushing touchdowns. MLB Dameon Willis leads the Hoosiers with 37 tackles, while FS Jonathan Crawford is next with 34 stops. Husky OLB Marcelino Ball has 30 stops and leads the team with five tackles for loss. WLB Raekwon Jones has 27 tackles and is second behind Ball with 4.5 tackles for loss. DE Gavin Everett has only eight tackles on the season, but 3.5 of them have been for losses. As a team, Indiana ranks in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten with 40 tackles for loss. The Hoosiers struggled in a 42-16 loss to Iowa last Saturday, giving up more than 500 yards of total offense. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State LT Ryan Bates will take on Everett, while guards Connor McGovern and Steven Gonzalez will try to neutralize Ball and Willis. The Lions will have to contain those two if they hope to have success running the ball inside. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME 239.3 YPG, 14.8 YPC // INDIANA PASS DEFENSE 227.6 YPG, 12.2 YPC THE LOWDOWNMcSorley will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance against Michigan State in which he completed only 19 passes for 192 yards and one touchdown. Penn State's passing game has been up and down this season, and the Lions go into the Indiana game ranked eighth in the Big Ten. McSorley is eighth in the league in passing, having completed 92 of 170 attempts (54.1 percent) for 1,241 yards. A major reason why Penn State's pass of- fense has struggled is that its wide receivers lead the country in dropped passes with an average of more than four per game. K.J. Hamler has emerged as Penn State's No. 1 receiver with 18 catches for 374 yards and five TDs. Juwan John- son is next with 19 receptions for 221 yards and one touchdown, and freshman TE Pat Freiermuth is fast developing into a top target with 10 catches for 121 yards and two TDs. The Hoosiers' pass defense ranks eighth in the Big Ten. Crawford, a senior, is the leader of the secondary. He's posted one interception this season, which he returned 33 yards for a TD. As a team, Indiana ranks fourth in the Big Ten with eight interceptions. The Hoosiers are eighth in the league with 13 sacks. // KEY MATCHUP RT Will Fries will take on Ball at the line of scrimmage. Indiana likes to blitz Ball off the edge, as evidenced by Ball's five tackles for loss. Fries will have to keep him off of McSorley's back in passing situa- tions. If he can do that, McSorley could throw for over 250 yards despite the offense's struggles. EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. INDIANA PASS DEFENSE INDIANA RUNNING GAME 149.7 YPG, 4.1 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE 155.3 YPG, 3.8 YPC THE LOWDOWNIndiana's running game is ranked 11th in the Big Ten after losing the two players who figured to get most of the carries this year. Cole Gest suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Hoosiers' opener against Florida Interna- tional, and Morgan Ellison was suspended in August for what was recently revealed to be a sexual misconduct allega- tion. Freshman Stevie Scott has taken over at running back and has gained 537 yards on 115 carries (4.8 ypc) with four touchdowns. He is ranked sixth in the Big Ten in rushing. QB Peyton Ramsey is the Hoosiers' second-leading rusher with 189 yards on 72 carries (2.6 ypc) and three TDs. Penn State's defense has struggled at times this season, ranking ninth in the Big Ten against the run. The Lions' leading tackler is MLB Jan Johnson with 34 stops. Safeties Garrett Taylor and Nick Scott are next with 33 and 30 tackles, respectively. The Lions rank third in the Big Ten with 51 tackles for loss, including a team-high 8.5 by Shareef Miller. // KEY MATCHUP Indiana LT Coy Cronk will take on Miller, while RG Simon Stepaniak will face DT Robert Windsor. Cronk should have his hands full with Miller, Penn State's big-play specialist on the defensive line. Also, Windsor could prove to be a handful for Stepaniak. The redshirt junior has been a very solid starter with four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. // EDGE Penn State INDIANA RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE INDIANA PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N I N D I A N A H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. INDIANA RUN DEFENSE 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 4 INDIANA PASSING GAME 249.9 YPG, 9.5 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE 209.7 YPG, 10.4 YPC THE LOWDOWNThe passing game has been Indiana's biggest strength on offense this season. The Hoosiers rank sixth in the Big Ten in passing offense, as Ramsey has completed 68 percent of his attempts for 1,624 yards, with 12 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. The Hoosiers have four receivers with more than 20 catches. Ramsey's top target is WR J-Shun Harris II with 24 receptions for 217 yards and one TD. Nick Westbrook is next with 22 receptions for 289 yards and two TDs, while Ty Fryfogle has 21 catches for 238 yards and one score

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