Hoosiers Find Their Legs on Offense Against Penn State

Stevie Scott (21) bullies his way for a touchdown Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Written By Lauralys Shallow

The Indiana offense was on brand in its 33-28 loss against Penn State–briefly flashing signs of pulling off an upset only to lose the biggest piece of pulling off that upset. Indiana started Peyton Ramsey as it has every game, but when true freshman Michael Penix made his third appearance of the season in the first quarter something changed. Fans saw the future of Indiana football in Penix’s performance, and it was exciting. Indiana was up 14-7 and Penix looked comfortable against a tough Penn State defense. For a moment, it seemed Indiana found it’s answer to the stagnant pass game until Penix left the game with an injury, and Indiana football lost its glimmer of hope of a true freshman leading them to a statement win and changing the course of their season.

Penix Can Play

Head Coach Tom Allen said Penix would be utilized in four games this season, and everyone was wondering when he would use him in Big Ten play. Allen waited until the fifth conference game to play Penix, but everyone saw his potential in his limited minutes against Penn State. Penix threw 9 passes for 94 yards until he left the game in the third quarter with a lower body injury. Penix had not played a snap since Ball State five weeks ago, and he looked seamless under center in his first conference game against an elite Big Ten opponent. Penix showed his innate ability to feel the pocket, and he can throw receivers open. Penix had control of the offense, and you could see the promise in the true freshman. The promise quickly turned into worry when Penix had to be helped off the field after running 14-yards for a first down. It seemed like Indiana found the future of its program, but that hope was diminished when Penix left the game with an injury.  

Ramsey’s Passing Struggles

On paper, Ramsey looks good. He had a 130.9 passer rating tonight, completing 26-36 for 236 yards and a touchdown and an interception. However, the stat line is very different from the actual game. Majority of Ramsey’s passes are screens behind the line of scrimmage or check down 2 yard passes. An offense is not going to effectively move the ball in the Big Ten East with a one-dimensional offense. Ramsey’s inability to progress through his reads and make deep passes limit IU’s play calling and make it hard for IU to win football games. While IU has struggled to score in the second half this season, tonight it had balanced scoring with 14 points in the first half and 14 in the second. Indiana needs to continue to score in the second half moving forward if it wants to win at least two of the remaining games on its schedule to reach bowl eligibility. Unless Coach Allen starts giving freshman Reese Taylor reps at quarterback, Ramsey is now the only guy under center for IU, and he is the key to a bowl game. 

Running Game Found Its Legs

The Indiana running game had been dormant, not struggling per say but left on the side line, the last two weeks. On Saturday against Penn State Indiana had the ground game clicking. Stevie Scott looked re-energized running 26 times for 138 yards and two scores, most importantly he was not stopped for a loss. Ronnie Walker, Indiana’s other true freshman running back, has four carries for 38 yards and a score. Outside of Walker’s costly fumble, he was solid. As a team Indiana rushed for 268 non-sack yards on 39 attempts, that’s a very healthy 6.9 yards per carry average. Credit the offensive line as well, they played a very good game and while they were called for several questionable holding calls and gave up six sacks, they dominated the line of scrimmage.