Week 11 Primer – No. 2 Indiana vs. Penn State Nittany Lions

What: #2 Indiana Hoosiers (9-0) at Penn State Nittany Lions (3-5) When: Saturday, November 8 at Noon Where: Beaver Stadium in State College, PA

Week Eleven Primer – Penn State Nittany Lions

Written by: TJ Inman

What: #2 Indiana Hoosiers (9-0) at Penn State Nittany Lions (3-5)

When: Saturday, November 8 at Noon

Where: Beaver Stadium in State College, PA

How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on FOX and can be heard on the IU Radio Network.

Spread and Total: IU (-14.5) | Total of 47.5

Series History: The series between the Indiana Hoosiers and Penn State Nittany Lions has been as one-sided as any matchup in the country. The two sides have met 27 times with PSU winning 25 times and holding a 13-0 mark over the Hoosiers in Happy Valley. Indiana’s most recent victory over Penn State came courtesy of Michael Penix’s leap for the pylon to upset the Nittany Lions during the COVID season.

What’s at Stake: As we wrote a couple of weeks ago, every game for the Indiana Hoosiers has escalating stakes and pressure. That’s the nature of being ranked second in the country and being in the driver’s seat for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game and potentially receiving a bye in the College Football Playoff. The intensity and pressure of being in the chase for a Big Ten Championship and a shot at a national title are thrilling but the pressure is certainly on the Hoosiers. Penn State can still rally around Terry Smith and make a bowl game but time is running out and another loss removes all margin for error.

A FEW THINGS TO LOOK FOR

Running Back Duo

Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton form one of the nation’s best running back duos. The two have scored rushing touchdowns in the same game five times this season, including last week against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Kaytron Allen has supplanted Singleton as the primary back and he’s been as effective as any running back in the Big Ten this season. Allen is averaging 5.78 yards per carry and he will be a handful for the Indiana defense. IU has mostly dominated the ground game this season, limiting opponents to 3.4 yards per carry (19^th in the country) while racking up 5.5 yards per rush (10^th in the country).

Which team will be able to control the line of scrimmage? Indiana’s offensive line has been up to the challenge every week this season but Penn State is, on paper, the best defensive front IU has played since Oregon.

2. Backup Quarterback

Drew Allar was lost for the season during the Nittany Lions’ loss to the Northwestern Wildcats. The injury necessitated a change at quarterback and redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer has gotten the call. A 6’2” player from Olentangy High School in Ohio, Grunkemeyer was an Elite 11 finalist and first-team all-state in Ohio in 2023. Grunkemeyer was a four-star prospect and he’s been decent since becoming the starter, completing 62.7 percent of his passes and accumulating 343 yards. His yards per attempt is only 5.1 while Drew Allar hovered around seven so the offensive plan has certainly tried to adjust for the change.

PSU made a big effort to bolster the receiver room via the transfer portal but it has not really worked as hoped. Troy transfer Devonte Ross has been quite good but Kyron Hudson and Trebor Pena have failed to live up to expectations and the offense has sorely missed the greatness of Tyler Warren at tight end. Penn State is averaging 31.5 points per game but that is buoyed by 46 against Nevada and 52 against Villanova. Terry Smith said this week that Penn State wanted to try and stretch the field vertically and test IU’s secondary but a consistently successful downfield passing attack would be a new development for the Nittany Lions this season.

3. Vulnerability on Defense

Penn State’s quest for a national title was seen as getting a big push when they poached defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State. It would not be entirely fair to call the move a failure but it can hardly be viewed as a success. In the past five games, the Nittany Lions have given up at least 22 points each week and three teams have reached at least 30 points during that stretch. They have just 14 sacks this season and their sack percentage has dropped to 5.21% (90^th in the country).

The rush defense is okay, allowing 4.5 yards per carry (84^th) but they sorely miss linebacker Tony Rojas and Ohio State had a lot of success throwing the ball and attacking the secondary last weekend. The questions for Indiana’s offense will be whether or not star wide receiver Elijah Sarratt is able to play and be effective after injuring his hamstring and if the starting offensive line is back intact after missing Drew Evans last week at Maryland.