Penn State vs Indiana prediction, game preview, how to watch: Saturday, October 2
Penn State vs Indiana How To Watch
Date: Saturday, October 2
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Beaver Stadium, State College, PA
How To Watch: ABC
Record: Indiana (2-2), Penn State (4-0)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions
Indiana vs Penn State Game Preview
Why Indiana Will Win
The Penn State offense isn’t anything special on the ground.
It was able to rip apart Ball State, but it did next to nothing against Wisconsin and got stuffed by Auburn and … Villanova? (The Wildcats can play a little D, by the way.)
The fast-paced offense is getting the job done through the air, but it’s not controlling the clock and it’s not moving the chains like it should.
The Hoosiers haven’t exactly been ripping it up, but they’re starting to get the passing attack going a bit and they can own the clock. Be shocked if they don’t have the ball for at least 35 minutes.
– Week 5 College Football Expert Picks
Why Penn State Will Win
So what’s missing with Indiana?
Michael Penix Jr. isn’t hitting the deep shots like he did last year – the passing game just isn’t efficient enough – there isn’t enough pressure in the backfield, and the team isn’t catching or forcing the breaks it came up with last year.
Penn State might not be air tight, and it might be overrated based on wins over Wisconsin (no offense) and Auburn (should’ve lost to Georgia State), but it’s throwing the ball well and it’s coming up with the big plays in the key moments.
Sean Clifford has been brilliant after dealing with he Badger D to start things off, hitting over 75% of his throws over the last three games highlighted by his 28-of-32 day against Auburn. If he gets going and the O gets up early, Indiana doesn’t have the pop against this defense to keep up.
– Week 5 College Football Schedule, Predictions, Game Previews
What’s Going To Happen
It’s a bit silly to call this a revenge game considering Penn State screwed up the 2020 opener every bit as much as Indiana won it, but …
Yeah, Penn State probably wouldn’t mind getting a little payback for the 36-35 game it had locked down until the final 90 seconds.
Lost in the narrative and the ending – with Penix lunging for a game-winning two-point conversion in overtime, and the controversy over whether or not he was down – was that Penn State totally dominated. IU found a way to get the job done.
This year’s Hoosier team is missing that spark.
Last year’s version was a +8 in turnover margin over the first four games. This one is -2.
The defense isn’t tight enough, the offense isn’t sharp enough, and …
IU will still give Penn State a game up until the middle of the second half. It’ll take too long for the Nittany Lions to pull away, but they’ll settle in and get it done.
The final score won’t be indicative of how good the game is.
Indiana vs Penn State Prediction, Line
Penn State 36, Indiana 20
Line: Penn State -12.5, o/u: 53.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
Must See Rating: 3
5: ‘The Low End Theory’ 30th anniversary
1: Not knowing how David Letterman rolls
[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]
– Fearless Predictions of Every Game
– Bowl Projections | Rankings