Penn State – Indiana Prediction Round Table

The Nittany Lions will host the Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium this Saturday in the next-to-last game of the 2012 season. Will Penn State be hungover from last weekend’s contest in Lincoln or looking ahead to the finale with Wisconsin? Here’s what the VBR staff thinks about the matchup!

Mary Clarke:

This game will be the first home game I won’t be able to see in person this year – thanks to Penn State’s early Thanksgiving Break – so hopefully I’ll wake up in time for the noon start the Nittany Lions have against Indiana. The Hoosiers are one of the weaker teams Penn State has faced this season, with Indiana coming off a horrendous 62-14 loss to Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions will be without breakout tight end Kyle Carter, as he is out for the rest of the season with a wrist dislocation.  However, look for the rest of the tight end corps – led by Matt Lehman – to pick up the slack and contribute heavily over the next few weeks. In this weekend’s game, expect Penn State to come out firing on all cylinders – on offense and defense – in an attempt to shake off last weekend’s heartbreaking loss against Nebraska. I also don’t expect any officiating controversy in this game either, thankfully.

PSU: 33
IU: 10 

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Matt de Bear:

There is going to be a potential to overreact after a disappointing loss in Lincoln last week, much like we saw leading up to the Purdue game.  But, Indiana, while improved, is still Indiana.  Wisconsin had over 600 yards of offense last week against Indiana, and over 550 of those were on the ground.  In fact, the Badgers only went to the air 7 times in the blowout win.  I expect Zwinak, Zordich, Belton, and anyone else BOB can find to hand the ball to to have a huge game.

PSU: 42
IU : 17

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Corey Hunter:

Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium for the final home-stand of the year.  This week they take on the Indiana Hoosiers, a team Penn State has not lost to since joining the Big Ten.  Penn State will need to shake off a blown 14-point halftime lead and replay-gate, if they want to finish out the year in  strong fashion.  The Hoosiers are coming off a tough loss to Wisconsin, but they are still in the hunt for a bowl game, needing to beat Penn State and Purdue to become eligible.
This may be one of the most resilient Penn State teams to come along in quite some time.  Certainly there is disappointment in losing the way they did at Nebraska, but I expect this team to bounce back and play their final two games with a lot of heart!
Indiana ranks last in the Big Ten in rush yards allowed, total yards allowed, yards allowed per play, yards allowed per game, and total defense.  Based on that info, I think Penn State should be able to move the ball!  Look for the rushing attack to be featured prominently in the game.  That means a heavy does of Zwinak, Zordich, and possibly even Bill Belton.  The loss of Kyle Carter (dislocated wrist) hurts the Penn State passing game, but McGloin has shown the ability to get receivers other than Robinson involved.  Look for McGloin to spread the ball around to players like TEs Jesse James, Matt Lehman, and WR2 Brandon-Moseby Felder.
Indiana leads the Big Ten in passing yards while Penn State is nursing some injuries in the secondary.  Look for Indiana to try and exploit those perceived deficiencies, but I think the Penn State front seven will be able to generate enough of a pass rush, to make QB Cameron Coffman uncomfortable in the pocket.
In the end, Penn State will score 3 rushing touchdowns, and McGloin will throw for 2 more.  The defense will bend, but not break, but I’m not sure they will be able to cover the 17.5 points they are giving up this week, but it will be close!

PSU: 38
IU:  21

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Tim Tolley:

The Penn State secondary may face their biggest challenge of the season this weekend when they face Indiana, who is averaging nearly 300 yards passing per game. The challenge will be getting pressure on the QB without having to take the linebackers out of coverage. The Penn State line should have the advantage, but look for Indiana to hook up for a big play or two when Barnes, Stanley and Massaro can’t get to the quarterback. In the end, the Penn State run game will be too much and the usual suspects will have their big games.

PSU: 38

IU:  20

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Eric Sion:

Penn State wraps up the season at home against two Leaders Division teams. Indiana is the first one up. The Hoosiers actually have the third-best scoring offense in the Big Ten and Penn State’s defense can’t sleep on them. However, Indiana also has the worst defense in the conference and Penn State’s offense should have a field day. Expect Zach Zwinak to continue to run the ball well and protect the ball better. Even though Kyle Carter is out, the other Penn State tight ends have played well and Carter’s absence won’t hurt too much. However, it will be interesting to see if the Nittany Lions can finally come out of the half and put together a good third quarter, especially against an inferior opponent.

PSU: 34

IU: 20

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Chuck Reynolds:

It is a blah week. Due to another football comittment I will not be able to watch the Indiana game live in person or on TV. PSU has never lost to Indiana; in fact the only games in which Indiana really pushed the Lions were the 1st meeting in 1993 (an offensive shoot out as I recall), the 2000 game in the late but not lamented Hoosier Dome and

the famous 2004 goal line stand game that ended the “Dark Years”. One of these years that will change and the Hoosiers will beat the Nits-but it won’t be this year

PSU: 38

IU: 14