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Penn State vs. Indiana Prediction Roundtable

By Barry Leonard Jr.

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Penn State needs to get things turned around in a hurry if there’s hope for a successful end to a so-far disappointing 2014 season. Fortunately, this week’s opponent, the Indiana Hoosiers, has been struggling more than the Nittany Lions.

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Although these two teams met on the same field a year ago in what turned out to be Indiana’s first every victory over Penn State, this year’s outcome should be much different. The Hoosiers have been terrible on defense this year and have had a one-dimensional offense ever since the injury to starting quarterback Nate Sudfeld.

The oddsmakers have the Nittany Lions as favorites in this one. If things turn out as expected, Nittany Lions fans should be happy for the first time in over a month.

Check out our VBR staff predictions for this Big Ten matchup.

Lead Editor Barry Leonard Jr.

Penn State has not played well the last four week. After starting 2014 with four-straight wins, the Nittany Lions have dropped their last four games. Luckily, the Indiana Hoosiers have also struggled mightily recently. This game hast eh potential to be pretty ugly, just like the 20-19 loss to Maryland was last week.

The Nittany Lions have done very little offensively the last four games. Every yard has been a struggle and previously maligned kicker Sam Ficken has been the best thing going on offense. Fortunately, Indiana has really struggled on defense, providing hope that this could be the week that quarterback Christian Hackenberg and the Nittany Lion offense hit their stride.

As for the Penn State defense, the unit has been awesome, especially against the run. That’s what makes this week an interesting matchup. One of the best defenses in the country goes up against Tevin Coleman, one of the top rushers in all of college football. However, for as good as Coleman is, he is all Indiana really has right now on offense. Coleman will likely get his yards, but I see the Hoosiers having a tough time getting the ball into the end zone.

Call me crazy, but I think this is the breakout game Penn State fans have been waiting for. I’ll take the Nittany Lions 35-10.

Staff Writer Ryan Lance

Penn State travels to Indiana to take on a 3-5 Hoosiers team who is coming off a  34-10 loss to Michigan a week ago. Both teams enter the game on losing streaks as Penn State has lost four in row while the Hoosiers have lost their last three.

This is a big game for Penn State in regards to becoming bowl eligible. They have four more games to go and must win two of their next three before taking on Michigan State. Penn State’s offense was disappointing again last week as they could only muster up 219 total yards of offense, 42 of which came in the rushing attack. The play calling and game management was again questionable at best as Franklin and staff decided to run the ball on three straight plays late in the 4th quarter deep in their own territory. They elected to play it safe and punt the ball away which eventually led to Maryland kicking the go-ahead field goal with :51 seconds left in the game.

Many of us have sounded like a broken record all season long but Penn State has yet to play a complete all-around game. The defense has been OUTSTANDING as they have kept them team in almost every game this season. The last three losses have been by a combined 13 points and they now rank as the No. 3 defense in the country in Total Defense and No. 1 in the country against the run.

Penn State will have to stop a Hoosiers rushing attack that features one of the best running backs in the Big Ten in Tevin Coleman, who has rushed for 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns to date. I have all the faith in the world in the defense showing up again and shutting down Coleman. I’m really hopeful that the offense can get something going and put a few points on the board to help the defense out.

I’ll take Penn State in a tight, low scoring affair 23-17.

Staff Writer Corey Hunter

Penn State has not tasted victory since September 20th this year, and have not won a Big Ten game since their conference opener at Rutgers on September 13th. This week the Nittany Lions travel to Bloomington, IN to face the Hoosiers.  Penn State has struggled mightily on offense, and the running game has been virtually non existent.

Luckily for the Nittany Lions, the Hoosiers may be an even worse offense since quarterback Nate Sudfield went down with an injury.  Indiana does possess star running back Tevin Coleman, but Penn State leads not only the Big Ten, but also the nation in rush defense, allowing only 77 yards per game on the ground

As long as Penn State is able to neutralize the Indiana running game, the Nittany Lions should be able to muster enough offense to win the game.  This week I like the Nittany Lions to pull of the road victory and get within 1 win of bowl eligibility. Penn State 24  Indiana 10

Staff Writer Jeff Jezewski
If there was ever a week for Penn State to get back in the W column, this is it. The Nittany Lions enter this weekend as touchdown favorites over the Hoosiers. Tevin Coleman is a stud for Indiana, but Penn State’s strength is defending the run and if they can limit him to an extent, they should be fine. Zander Diamont hasn’t exactly shown, well anything. In two games, he has just 35 passing yards. The Nittany Lion defense should feast on the young QB.

The other side of the ball is the issue. The offense needs to get back to the respectable performances from earlier this year. If Donovan Smith can go, that will be huge for Penn State’s chances. Maybe this is the game that Hack gets back on track. Maybe not.

Either way I think PSU comes out on top 17-10

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