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Penn State Football: Week 8 Studs and Duds against Indiana

By Corey Hunter

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Robert Windsor #54, Ryan Bates #52 and Yetur Gross-Matos #99 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate as they leave the field after the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Robert Windsor #54, Ryan Bates #52 and Yetur Gross-Matos #99 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate as they leave the field after the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 20: Miles Sanders #24 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs the ball into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 20: Miles Sanders #24 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs the ball into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Penn State escaped Bloomington, Indiana with a hard-fought 33-28 victory.  Find out who were this week’s Studs and Duds of the game.

Penn State entered last weekend’s contest at Indiana looking to kick a two-game losing streak to the curb.  Standing in their way was a pesky Indiana Hoosiers squad that typically plays the upper echelon of the Big Ten closely, especially at home.

Many expected the game to be a shootout, with lots of points scored, with Penn State ultimately finding a way to pull it out in the second half.  The majority were basically correct.  Penn State won the game 33-28, but the game was to be a measuring stick for all three phases of the Nittany Lions game.  The offense showed glimpses of their earlier-season self as they took the ball the length of the field few times and showed a more functional use of the LION package than against Ohio State.  The defense still remains a work in progress.  Indiana ran a eye-popping 100 offensive snaps against the Nittany Lions defense that had a difficult time sustaining pressure and getting off the field in third down opportunities.  The special teams made its fair share of mistakes, but they also helped to contribute to Penn State scoring 33 points.  Punting and placekicking still remain below average, but the return game, especially the kick return game, were part of the Nittany Lions highlights on the day.

All-in-all, a win is a win, and the Nittany Lions needed one just to get the unsavory taste of the past few weeks out of their mouth.  Yes, there is still a tremendous amount of work still to be done, but as the team is starting to be confronted by the dreaded injury bug, new players are getting chances to show what they can do to help Penn State this season.  How these young Lions mesh with the entrenched veterans will have a lot to say about how Penn State finishes the 2018 campaign.

Penn State now enters perhaps their toughest three game stretch of the season with home games against Iowa and Wisconsin sandwiched around a showdown at Michigan.  Before we look ahead to this week’s opponent, the Iowa Hawkeyes, let’s take a final look back at the Studs and Duds of Penn State against Indiana.

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