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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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Blake Gillikin- Penn State football
BLOOMINGTON, IN – NOVEMBER 12: Blake Gillikin #93 of the Penn State Nittany Lions punts the ball under heavy pressure from Ralph Green III #93 of the Indiana Hoosiers after a bad snap at Memorial Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

P  – Blake Gillikin

One area that Penn State thought it was on solid footing (pun intended) was in the punting game.  Junior Blake Gillikin was named a team captain to start the year, and he was expected to give Penn State advantage when it came to field position.

Gillikin had always displayed a strong leg as well as a penchant for pinning the opponent deep in their own territory.  After seven games, Gillikin has averaged 42.4 yards per punt, which, if he can maintain that average, will mark his career high, but he has been inconsistent of late.  Against Indiana Gillikin punted six times for a 40.17 yards per punt average, but he missed critical opportunities to pin the Hoosiers deep in their own end. He has also missed crucial opportunities to flip the field position in favor of Penn State and alleviate the pressure on the defense.

Gillikin, who was named to the Ray Guy Award watchlist in the preseason, has fallen to fifth in the Big Ten in yards per punt.  Even head coach James Franklin mentioned the Penn State punting woes in his post-game press conference.  When addressing a question about Penn State’s special teams play, Franklin mentioned “We’re not punting the ball very well right now.  That was something we coming into the season we felt like was gonna be a real strength for us and has not been up to this point.” (via gopsusports.com)

The Nittany Lions need Gillikin to return to his early season form in a hurry.  The trifecta of games coming up necessitate that Penn State take advantage of every opportunity afforded to them, and field position will likely play a large role in the game’s victor.

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