Game Wrap and Reaction (Penn State 45 Indiana 14)
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Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Opponent: Penn State Nittany Lions
Location: Saturday Sept. 30th, Beaver Stadium, State College, PA
Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Nittany Lions play annually as Big Ten East foes.
What The Game Meant:
This was Indiana’s most difficult task on the 2017 schedule. A win would’ve been huge, but in the long run people had this in the loss column since May.
Top Offensive Performers
Ian Thomas, TE, Indiana- Before exciting with an injury, Thomas was IU’s go to receiver hauling in five passes for 91 yards.
Simmie Cobbs, WR, Indiana- Cobbs has scored in all four games this season for IU. He caught five passes for 44 yards and a score on Saturday, but needs to be used more in down field throws.
Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State-The Hoosiers kept Barkley in-check on the ground again, but his impact was felt elsewhere. Barkley had 220 all-purpose yards including a kick-off return for a touchdown and a passing score. While his ground performance wasn’t great, he got his “Heisman Moments” today.
DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Penn State- Hamilton was dominant on a day he became Penn State’s all-time leader in receptions hauling in nine passes for 122 yards and three scores.
Top Defensive Performers
Tegray Scales, LB, Indiana-Scales is the heart and soul of the Indiana defense and he refused to give in on a day IU fell behind 28-0. He made 11 tackles including three sacks for a loss of 25 yards. 1
Jonathan Crawford, Safety, Indiana-Crawford only made three tackles, but added an interception and a blocked field goal to his ledger on Saturday.
Jason Cabina, LB, Penn State- Cabina was all over the field for Penn State making 14 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and recovering a fumble.
Special Teams Performance
After being boarder-line great over the first three games of the year on special teams, the Hoosiers came crashing back down to Earth hard enough to create a crater.
The Hoosiers gave up a 97-yard touchdown on the opening kick-off, fumbled a punt, roughed the punter and only averaged 38.1 yards per punt with none of those being downed inside the 20-yard line. It was as bad of a special teams performance as IU has had in a long time. The only bright spots were Griffin Oakes hitting both extra points and Crawford blocking a field goal.
Key Stat(s)
28-0
Penn State raced out to a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, a hole Indiana couldn’t dig out of.
Turning Point
Morgan Ellison’s fumble trying to finish off an 18-yard run on Indiana’s second play from scrimmage just compounded the issues from giving up a touchdown on the opening kickoff to Saquon Barkley. It took an explosive play away from Indiana and gave Penn State outstanding field position.
I Knew it Was Over When…
DaeSean Hamilton stiff-armed an IU defender and the referees picked up the flag for offensive pass interference to uphold a 24-yard touchdown reception that pushed the Nittany Lion lead to 38-14 with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
Players of the Game
Tegray Scales, Indiana- Scales had is best game of the year and almost willed Indiana back into the game.
DaeSean Hamilton, Penn State- Indiana didn’t have an answer for Hamilton as he torched a beat up secondary.
What I took away from the game
Anyone thinking this was anything but a long shot for Indiana needs to get their head checked. Could Indiana have won this game, sure. Is it om that the Hoosiers lost 45-14, no. However, this game was a long shot to begin with and a loss is here is just that a loss. IU cratered early falling behind 28-0 and looked lost on special teams and offense during that run. However, the defense battled and allowed IU to get back into the game at half time down just 28-14. Outside of the defense IU has so many concerns.
Offensively, the Hoosiers have a quarterback problem. Richard Lagow lost his touch after a decent start, which prompted Allen to insert Peyton Ramsey. Ramsey did well leading IU to a score, but as the game went on the offense became one dimensional and lacked the big play ability. Ramsey completed just 8-of-17 passes for 78 yards with a touchdown and a pick, while Lagow was 7-of-15 for 97 yards. Ramsey did add 53 yards on the ground. However, neither quarterback instilled much confidence to be the clear number one guy. The Hoosiers will need to focus on fixing this issue next week against Charleston Southern.
The running game had its moments, but a fumble on the first run by Ellison and later by Devonte William are red flags. IU finished with 177 yards on 47 carries. Cole Gest and Morgan Ellison both had solid games combining for 103 yards on 19 carries. IU also used wide out Whop Philyor on some sweeps. He gained 13 yards on three carries.
The Hoosiers fought hard after having everything go against them, but Tom Allen isn’t one for moral victories or excuses. Outside of the disastrous first quarter, Indiana showed they can play with Penn State. However, there are no mulligans in the Big Ten, at least not for IU. This was another opportunity where IU had a chance to ‘Breakthrough’, but fell short.
Heading into next week the Hoosiers have to figure out several things. One, the need an identity on offense. Are you going to throw the ball down field or run with a dink and dunk passing game? IU hasn’t been able to put both together in a game for four quarters this season. Two, IU just needs to get healthy for the last chunk of Big Ten play. Finally, Indiana needs to correct the special teams errors. Those are the plays that will haunt IU against better opponents the rest of the year.