Numbers That Matter When Indiana Takes on Penn State
/Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The Indiana Hoosiers won last week despite leaving a ton of points on the field, turning the ball over four times, and having two kicks blocked. Those were some ugly numbers, so what numbers will matter this week when Penn State comes knocking.
Six- Indiana is searching for their sixth win of the year, which means bowl eligibility is on the line this week. Including Saturday, the Hoosiers have three games to earn their sixth win and you can bet that they’ll want to clinch the postseason berth as quickly as possible.
10- Penn State will be coming into Bloomington ranked 10th in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. While it would be a long shot for them to get in to the top-four, they still need to win out and a loss at Indiana would dash any pipe dreams of that.
5 and 2- Both teams come in on winning streaks. Penn State has won five in a row after starting the season 2-2 and come off impressive victories over Ohio State and Iowa, with a blowout of Purdue sandwiched in between. Indiana has rattled off two straight wins after falling below .500 (3-4). Both teams are riding high, but someone’s streak will end on Saturday.
1-18- The Hoosiers are 1-18 against the Nittany Lions with the only victory coming in a 44-24 trouncing in 2013. While this edition of the Hoosiers program is 0-0, history can get in the heads of fans, players, and coaches.
11- Last week’s game against Rutgers was the cherry on top of what has been a tough year for Indiana kicker Griffin Oakes. The reigning Big Ten Kicker of the Year has missed 11 kicks this season (nine field goals and two extra points). The Hoosiers will need Oakes and the rest of the field goal team to fix whatever the issue is if they want to knock off Penn State.
27- Penn State is known for their defense and this year’s team has started to play better on that side of the ball. They are starting to get to the quarterback more as they have 27 sacks on the year that has netted in a loss of 174 yards. Indiana will have their work cut out for them to keep quarterback Richard Lagow upright.
66.1- Penn State runs 66.1 plays per game, so they work better when they run the ball and chew up the clock. Much like Michigan State, they will try and establish the run and throw off of play action. Indiana likes to play more up-tempo, but Penn State could limit IU’s number of possessions if they execute what they want to do on offense.