After taking its first hit of the season last week at Ohio State, the Penn State Nittany Lions return home to Beaver Stadium this weekend with a chance to bounce back into the win column. The matchup is about as favorable as it could be given the situation for Penn State as they prepare to host an Indiana program that has struggled since the start of the season. Penn State is a big favorite and it is understandable why.
Penn State’s defense continues to be one of the nation’s best every time it steps on the field. The defense should have few problems this weekend against the Hoosiers. Indiana will come to Happy Valley with the nation’s 118th-ranked total offense with an average of 311.7 yards per game. Indiana has the third-worst total offense Penn State will have faced this season. The defense handled Northwestern (126th, 299.3 ypg) and Iowa (133rd, 232.4 ypg) already this season, including a shutout at home against the Hawkeyes.
But the focus will be on the offense this week. While the defense continues to do its thing, this should be a week where the offense regains some confidence in itself, and perhaps explores some new options after getting shut down in a historically embarrassing fashion last weekend.
The lack of explosive plays continue to plague Penn State this season, so it will be interesting to see if the Nittany Lions use this week and next week at Maryland to try creating some explosiveness. Figuring out how to do so in these next two games could be the biggest area of concern for Penn State because a home game against Michigan is looming. If Penn State can’t create big-play opportunities against Indiana and Maryland, then the offense could be destined to be cooked once more by the Wolverines the way Ohio State managed.
Reports from Penn State practices suggest [autotag]Kaden Saunders[/autotag] could be a name to keep an eye on this weekend. The young receiver has been viewed as a potential contributor to the Penn State passing game since his arrival. The redshirt freshman will be carrying the American flag onto the field this week for Penn State’s military appreciation day game, and he will hand the flag to his father, an Army vet. But once the game starts, he may be somebody the offense tries to get involved early on.
Kaden Saunders hauls in a deep ball from Drew Allar at practice. Saunders recorded his first career touchdown against Ohio State on Saturday pic.twitter.com/qn5i8HKW3h
— Joel Haas (@Joel_Haas1) October 25, 2023
Penn State fans are still hoping to see a massive day on the ground from star running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag]. Maybe this is the week for that. Indiana has the nation’s 108th-ranked rushing defense with an average of 174.43 rushing yards allowed per game. Indiana is coming off a game in which it allowed 276 rushing yards to Rutgers, and the Hoosiers have allowed 3 rushing touchdowns in each of their last two games against Rutgers and Michigan. Singleton rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown in last year’s 45-14 win at Indiana. Similar to this year, that win against Indiana came in the game following the first loss of the season to Ohio State.
Don’t expect to see everything improve on offense this weekend against Indiana. But what happens this week and next week at Maryland will be instrumental in preparing Penn State to have a better showing against Michigan in a couple of weeks compared to its disappointing result at Ohio State.
There is still much to play for this season, but the offense has some things to figure out if the Nittany Lions are going to make a serious push in the Big Ten and College Football Playoff race.
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