2017 First Glance: Week Five Penn State Nittany Lions
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Indiana's defense recorded 16 TFL's, three sacks, and two interceptions against Penn State in 2016. Image: Cam Koenig HoosierHuddle.com
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Indiana heads to Happy Valley in week five to face the defending Big Ten Champs, the Penn State Nittany Lions. IU has beaten Penn State just once in their history, a 44-24 win in Bloomington in 2013. The Nittany Lions return the best quarterback-running back combination in the Big Ten, a pretty good tight end as well as some playmakers on defense. This will be Penn State’s homecoming game and they’ll be sporting their retro jerseys. The Big Ten East is really rough, but this may be the toughest game on IU’s schedule in 2017.
Week Five: Penn State Nittany Lions
Date & Time: Saturday, September 30th , TBA
Venue: Beaver Stadium, State College, PA
TV: TBA
Nittany Lions at a Glance
Head Coach: James Franklin
Entering his 7th year overall and 4th at Penn State
Overall Record: 49-30
At Penn State: 25-15
Nittany Lions Last Season: 11-3 (8-1) Won Big Ten Title, Lost 52-49 to USC in Rose Bowl
Nittany Lions Returning Leaders
Passing: Trace McSorley (57.9 pct. 3,614 yards 29 TDs 8 INTs)
Rushing: Saquon Barkley (272 att. 1,496 yards 5.5 YPC 18 TD)
Receiving: Mike Gesicki (48 rec. 679 yards 14.1 YPR 5 TDs)
Tackles: FS Marcus Allen (110 tackles 6 TFL 3 PBU 1 FF)
Pre-season Predictions
Athlon’s: 2nd in the Big Ten East
Lindy’s: 2nd in the Big Ten East
Street & Smith’s: 2nd in The Big Ten East
Phil Steele: 2nd in the Big Ten East
Impact Newcomers For The Nittany Lions
1. Lamont Wade, CB- Wade was a top-50 national recruit from Clarion, PA and was in for spring practice. He is slated to be behind two seniors at the corner position, but could work his way into more playing time on special teams and defense if he impresses during fall camp. Penn State’s defense was only 11th in the Big Ten against the pass, so Wade could be a much needed infusion of youth in the secondary.
2. Yetur Gross-Matos, DE- Penn State loses their top two sack producers from 2016 in Evan Schwan (6 sacks) and Garrett Sickles (6), so they will be looking for some one to replace that production. Gross-Matos is a top-250 national recruit who has the size to play his way on to the field this fall.
Why The Nittany Lions Will Win
Indiana is winless nine trips to Happy Valley and just 1-19 overall against Penn State. Nittany Lion quarterback Trace McSorley is arguably the best quarterback in the conference. McSorley averaged a ridiculous 16.1 yards per completion in 2016 and killed teams with the deep ball as well as his ability to extend the play with his feet.
The Lions return four of their top five receivers from a year ago in wide receivers Daesean Hamilton, DeAndre Thompkins, tight end Mike Gesicki, and running back Saquon Barkley. McSorley will have plenty of weapons at his disposal.
On the ground, Penn State has potential Heisman candidate Saquon Barkley. He is a back who can go the distance from anywhere on the field if he can get to the second level and is strong enough at 223 pounds to bully his way for yards between the tackles. He is also a threat out of the backfield, catching 28 balls for 402 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Defensively the Nittany Lions return five starters including playmaking safety Marcus Allen, who led the team with 110 tackles in 2016. The rest of the unit is littered with upper-classmen and a strong recruiting class should give Penn State some much-needed depth. Kicker Tyler Davis was very good last year hitting 22-of-24 of his field goals and punter Blake Gillikin returns after averaging 42.8 yards per punt.
The Nittany Lions will be competing for the Big Ten East crown again and they have cleared the Sandusky punishment. They have all the tools to be the best of the Big Ten and beating them at home will be extremely difficult.
Why The Hoosiers Will Pull Off the Upset
Winning in Happy Valley has never happened for IU and 2017 may not be the best chance for the Hoosiers to break that streak, but there is reason to hope. Indiana held a double-digit lead well into the second half of last year’s matchup, a game where Indiana fumbled five times and narrowly missed out on some big plays that could have been touchdowns. An inch here or there and we are talking about a whole different situation. Penn State will also be coming off a likely fist-fight of a game at Iowa, while Indiana should be coming in on a two or three-game winning streak.
The Hoosiers have one of the better receiving corps in the Big Ten and will be able to matchup against any opponent. The issue Indiana usually has against Penn State is that they become one dimensional on offense because of the lack of a running game. If Indiana’s offense is clicking and can get the ground game going, they have enough weapons to put up points against Penn State and chew up the clock. IU quarterback Richard Lagow threw for 292 yards and a couple scores, while Devine Redding who is now chasing his NFL dreams had 108 yards rushing (4.7 YPC).
IU will have its best defense since the late-80’s and early-90’s. The Hoosier secondary picked off McSorley twice and had five passes defended last season. If the Hoosier defense can replicate their effort against Barkley last season, they held him to just 58 yards, it’ll force McSorely to rely on the passing game again. IU's defense recorded 16 tackles for loss and three sacks in the 2016 game. There were a lot of 50-50 balls in last year’s game that went the way of Penn State. If those plays go the other way and IU can dominate the Penn State offensive line like they did in 2016, then IU could very well walk out of Happy Valley smiling.
Final Analysis
Penn State doesn’t lose at home against Indiana. The Hoosiers had their shot at notching some wins against Penn State since 2011, but the Nittany Lions are trending upwards and have more-or-less cleared themselves from the Sandusky sanctions in terms of talent level and scholarship numbers. IU has a talented team, but this may not be their year to knock off PSU.
Indiana will need to play a nearly perfect game in all phases to pull out a victory. Is it impossible, no, but it is a very tall task.