Blue White Illustrated

Indiana Pregame - 11/14/2012

Penn State Sports Magazine

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be tough to escape Beaver Stadium with a victory. Heck, it's never hap- pened before. "That's the beauty of playing in the Big Ten," said Kevin Wilson, who is in his second season in Bloomington. "If our guys didn't want to [play against tough competition] then they should have taken a smaller [scholarship] offer and went somewhere else. Let's embrace the challenge. It's more about the challenge of playing a great opponent that you're going to play every year than really talking about the history. It's really nice, though, that you can do something that hasn't been done, but at the same time it's about preparation, execut- ing, and for us, it's about a positive response that came out of a poor per- formance [last week]. How do we come back?" That's a valid question for both pro- grams. While the Nittany Lions suf- fered a controversy-marred loss to Nebraska last week, the Hoosiers were blown out at home by Wiscon- sin, 62-14. Indiana got off to a slow start, spotting the Badgers a 17-point lead, and the second half wasn't much better, as it allowed 38 points in the final two quarters. "We need to see what our resiliency, our leadership, what our toughness is," Wilson said. "Can we come back? I didn't like our second-half effort. [It's the] first time I've said that. We've continued to battle, and we didn't battle like we need to and to the stan- dard of what we're trying to build. We'll see if we can have a strong week, and it is a great challenge going into Penn State, a team that's played very well." To overcome that challenge, Indiana will try to rack up points against Penn State. It has the No. 3 scoring offense in the Big Ten, averaging 31.2 points per game, and its passing at- tack, led by sophomore quarterback Cameron Coffman, averages nearly 300 yards. Unlike Braxton Miller and Taylor Martinez, dual-threat quarter- backs who have contributed to Penn State's two most recent losses, Coff- man is strictly a pocket passer. Among Big Ten quarterbacks, only Matt McGloin has thrown for more passing yards. Sophomore wide receiver Shane Wynn, a Penn State recruiting target not too long ago, is Coffman's go-to receiver. While he has more recep- tions (51) and touchdowns (six) than anyone on the team, he is arguably most dangerous as a return man. Against Wisconsin, he had two 40- yard kick returns. But as Nebraska and Ohio State proved against Penn State, opponents must also pack a strong running game if they hope to loosen the Lions' otherwise taut defense. "They're a solid, big front with very good defensive linemen," Wilson said. "Their two outside linebackers – [Ger- ald] Hodges and [Michael] Mauti – are special. I love the passion that Mauti plays with. He's outstanding." To keep Penn State's defense off- balance, Wilson will likely turn to junior running back Stephen Hous- ton, who, up until Indiana's victory over Iowa on Nov. 3, had reached the end zone in nine consecutive games. He was held without a touchdown last week against Wisconsin, too, but he will be trying to get back on track against Penn State. And why wouldn't he? The 228-pounder earned his first career start in the 2011 game against the Nittany Lions, and he's remained the starter ever since. He finished that game with 60 yards on 13 car- ries. On the defensive side of the ball, Indiana is led by one of the best de- fensive tackle tandems in the coun- try. Adam Replogle and Larry Black Jr., both seniors, are each tied for second among Big Ten defensive tackles with four sacks and nine tackles for loss. Replogle also leads all conference defensive linemen with more than six tackles per game. Bill O'Brien said playing against tackles of that caliber will be a big test for his offensive line. "They have two inside tackles who are excellent players and they sack the quarterback," O'Brien said. "When you have two inside tackles that sack the quarterback, that tells you right away that they're good play- ers, because it's not easy to rush the passer from those positions. Indiana is a good football team, and we have to have a good week of practice and be ready to go on Saturday. And I believe we will be ready to go." N O V E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 2 2 BWI'S FORECAST NATE BAUER RECORD 6-4 After giving up 62 points last week, there's little reason to be- lieve that the Hoosiers will make much of a stand against the Nit- tany Lions. Points will be scored by both teams, but Penn State will come out on top. PENN STATE 38, INDIANA 17 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 6-4 It could end up being a game where both offenses dominate. But Penn State has won 15 straight over Indiana since join- ing the Big Ten and that won't change Saturday. PENN STATE 38, INDIANA 24 MATT HERB RECORD 9-1 Zach Zwinak must have really en- joyed watching the film of Indi- ana's game against Wisconsin. PSU doesn't have the Badgers' ground game, but it has enough power to win this one handily. PENN STATE 35, INDIANA 20 TIM OWEN RECORD 7-3 Penn State will give up more points than it should, but the Lions will score more points than they probably should, too. PENN STATE 42, INDIANA 27 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 7-3 Penn State dominates on both sides of the ball. Can the offense reach 40 points? I think it can. PENN STATE 42, INDIANA 13 ERIC THOMAS RECORD 6-4 Indiana is playing Penn State at the wrong time and certainly at the wrong place. A Nittany Lion victory is on tap. PENN STATE 37, INDIANA 13 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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