Blue White Illustrated

Indiana Pregame

Penn State Sports Magazine

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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 157.4 YPG, 4.5 YPC // INDIANA RUN DEFENSE165.2 YPG, 4.8 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State had trouble running the ball against Army, but the team's top two running backs missed the game with injuries. If freshman Saquon Barkley is healthy and able to play on Saturday, and if James Franklin and offensive coordinator John Donovan commit to a balanced offensive attack, the Lions may yet have the advan- tage in this matchup. Barkley's average of 8.9 yards per carry is by far the best in the Big Ten. He has established himself in a very short time as the team's most dynamic runner. Redshirt freshman Mark Allen is better suited to a role as a third-down back, and the Lions would no doubt prefer to use redshirt freshmen Nick Scott and Johnathan Thomas as backups to Barkley. Indiana ranks 12th in the Big Ten in run defense, but Penn State will only be successful on the ground if Barkley is healthy and if the coaches are able to strike a balance between the run and the pass. The Hoosiers' leading tacklers are junior LB T.J. Simmons and senior LB Marcus Oliver with 34 stops apiece. Freshman FS Jonathan Crawford is third with 28 tackles. Penn State may not have to face Indiana's top defensive lineman, junior Darius Latham, due to a suspension. Latham didn't play against Ohio State and his status this week is unclear. // KEY MATCHUPPenn State guards Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia must get to the sec- ond level to control Simmons and Oliver against the run. // EDGEPenn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME 171.2 YPG, 12.3 YPC // INDIANA PASS DEFENSE 337.4 YPG, 13.3 YPC THE LOWDOWNIndiana is ranked 13th in the Big Ten in pass defense, but if the Nittany Lions are going to capitalize on this weakness, they will have to take some shots downfield. QB Christian Hackenberg completed only 10 of 19 passing attempts against Army for 156 yards and one touchdown, but he almost certainly could have matched his strong performance against San Diego State if the game plan had called for a more aggressive passing attack. For the season, Hackenberg has completed 66 of 125 passes (52.8 percent) for 824 yards with five TD passes and just two interceptions. Sophomore Chris Godwin is Penn State's leading receiver with 23 catches for 349 yards, and his average of 15.2 yards per catch is second-best on the team behind sophomore Saeed Blacknall's 25.2-yard average. Redshirt sophomore DaeSean Hamilton is Penn State's second-leading receiver with 15 catches for 158 yards. Even though the Hoosiers are allowing a lot of yards through the air, their secondary has been able to create turnovers. They've totaled five interceptions, including two by Crawford. Freshman SS Jameel Cook has an interception that he returned 96 yards for a touchdown. // KEY MATCHUP Godwin and Hamilton must get some separation against Indiana cornerbacks Rashard Fant and Andre Brown. // EDGEPenn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. INDIANA PASS DEFENSE INDIANA RUNNING GAME 224.4.5 YPG, 4.3 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE124.6 YPG, 3.2 YPC THE LOWDOWNIf junior RB Jordan Howard is healthy and ready to go against Penn State, Indiana's rushing attack will have the edge here, even against a strong Penn State defensive front. Howard is second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally in rushing, averaging 141.8 yards per game. He's rushed for 709 yards on 125 attempts, averaging 5.7 yards per carry with four rushing TDs. But he was forced out of last week's game against Ohio State with an ankle injury, raising questions about his availability on Saturday. Howard has proven to be a more-than-adequate re- placement for Tevin Coleman, and it's helped that the Hoosiers boast one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten, with senior LT Jason Spriggs leading the way. But if Howard is unavailable, they may have some problems. His backup, sophomore Devine Redding, struggled against the Buckeyes, gaining only 45 yards on 30 carries. Penn State's leading tackler is sophomore MLB Jason Cabinda with 37 stops, three tackles for loss and two sacks. Red- shirt sophomore DT Austin Johnson has 27 total tackles, six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Redshirt freshman Troy Reeder also has 27 tackles along with 3.5 tackles for loss. // KEY MATCHUP Indiana's starting guards – redshirt freshman Wes Martin and redshirt junior Dan Feeney – will be looking to neutralize Johnson and senior Anthony Zettel, while RT Dimitric Camiel will face off with Carl Nassib. // EDGEIndiana 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 7 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 INDIANA PASSING GAME 273.8 YPG, 21.8 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE159.4 YPG, 9.9 YPC THE LOWDOWNThe Hoosiers have the No. 1 offense in the Big Ten with an average of 498.2 yards per game, and that's primarily due to the success of their passing game. Redshirt junior quarterback Nate Sudfeld has completed 87 of 147 passes (59.2 percent) for 1,277 yards, with seven TD passes and just one interception. The big question here is his health. He aggravated an ankle injury against Ohio State and wasn't able to finish the game. Dual-threat sophomore Zander Diamont replaced Sudfeld against the Buckeyes and completed 6 of 14 passes for 76 yards while running for

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