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 161.5 YPG, 4.3 YPC // INDIANA RUN DEFENSE153.8 YPG, 3.9 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State is coming off its most impressive performance of the season, having finished with 599 yards of total offense against Iowa. That was largely due to the success of the ground game. The Nittany Lions rushed 52 times for 359 yards in their 41-14 victory and are now up to sixth in the Big Ten in rushing offense. Saquon Barkley leads the Big Ten in rushing with 1,055 yards and 11 touchdowns on 167 carries and is averaging 6.3 yards per carry and 117.2 per game. The Lions' second-leading rusher is QB Trace McSorley with 291 yards and five TDs on 105 carries. Backup QB Tommy Stevens is Penn State's third-leading rusher with 137 yards on 14 carries. Indiana has greatly improved its rushing defense since last season. A year ago, the Hoosiers gave up nearly 200 yards per game on the ground, but they've shaved about 30 yards from that average this season and are up to sev- enth in the Big Ten. Their leading tackler is junior MLB Tegray Scales with 85 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss. Redshirt junior SLB Marcus Oliver is Indiana's second-leading tackler with 67 stops, 7.5 TFL and three sacks. Freshman Marcelino Ball is Indiana's third-leading tackler with 65 stops. Ball plays the "husky" position – it's a linebacker/strong safety hybrid – in the Hoosiers' 4-2-5 scheme. As a team, Indiana has amassed 54 tackles for loss. That's not a lot aAer nine games. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State guards Ryan Bates and Connor McGovern will take on Scales and Oliver, while C Brian Gaia will face senior NT Ralph Green III. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME 230.5 YPG, 14.9 YPC // INDIANA PASS DEFENSE 223.6 YPG, 13.5 YPC THE LOWDOWN Penn State enters its game against Indiana with the seventh-ranked pass offense in the Big Ten. Mc- Sorley has completed 134 of 241 passes (55.6 percent) for 2,058 yards, with 14 touchdowns and only three intercep- tions. Thanks in part to that low interception total, he has an impressive 144.0 pass-efficiency rating. Chris Godwin is the Lions' leading receiver with 34 catches for 509 yards and five TDs. TE Mike Gesicki is next with 32 catches for 411 yards and two TDs. Penn State has gotten big plays from Barkley in the passing game, including a 44-yard TD catch last week against Iowa. One other receiver of note is Saeed Blacknall, who has returned from a hand injury that forced him to miss four games and now has five catches for 120 yards and one TD. Indiana has made strides in its pass defense. A year ago, the Hoosiers allowed 313.8 yards per game to rank 126th in the FBS, but they've trimmed nearly 90 yards from that average. Senior CB Rashad Fant is their top cover man with 15 pass break-ups and 16 passes defended. The rush has improved, too, as Scales, Oliver and redshirt sophomore DE Niles Sykes lead Indiana with three sacks apiece. As a team, the Hoosiers have 19 sacks. // KEY MATCHUP Godwin will take on Fant in the secondary, while Penn State RT Chasz Wright will battle Oliver and Sykes. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. INDIANA PASS DEFENSE INDIANA RUNNING GAME 167.9 YPG, 4.6 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE183.4 YPG, 4.5 YPC THE LOWDOWN The Hoosiers have a solid running game that ranks eighth in the Big Ten. Their leading rusher is junior RB Devine Redding with 793 yards and three touchdowns on 167 carries. Their second-leading rusher is Tyler Natee with 193 yards and two TDs on 50 carries. Junior QB Zander Diamont is their third-leading rusher with 191 yards and three TDs on 23 carries. Penn State's run defense ranks ninth in the Big Ten but has been coming on strong in recent weeks. Purdue managed only 46 yards on the ground, and Iowa fared even worse, gaining only 30 yards on 26 carries. The Lions' leading tackler is FS Marcus Allen with 72 stops and four tackles for loss. SS Malik Golden is next with 50 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. OLB Manny Bowen is tied with Golden with 50 tack- les but is second on the team with six TFL. OLB Brandon Bell and middle linebackers Brandon Smith and Jason Cabinda are fourth, fiAh and sixth in tackles, respectively. Bell has 43 tackles with 2.5 TFL, Smith has 43 tackles with three TFL, and Cabinda has 42 tackles with 2.5 TFL. Garrett Sickels leads Penn State with 8.5 TFL. As a team, Penn State has totaled 74 tackles for loss. // KEY MATCHUP Indiana freshman LT Coy Cronk will go up against Sickels, while senior RG Dan Freeney will face Cabinda. // 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 N O V E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 INDIANA PASSING GAME 180.3 YPG, 11.7 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE197.0 YPG, 9.3 YPC THE LOWDOWNIndiana's pass offense ranks second in the Big Ten, thanks largely to redshirt junior QB Richard Lagow, who has completed 191 of 311 passes (61.4 percent) for 2,574 yards. He's thrown 15 touchdown passes, but he's also tossed 13 interceptions. Diamont sees plenty of snaps, but as noted above, he's more of a runner than a passer. So far this season, he has thrown only nine passes, completing seven for 104 yards. The Hoosiers' leading receiver is senior WR Mitchell Page with 43 catches for 493 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore WR Nick

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