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Big Ten power rankings entering Week 4: Penn State Football or Iowa No. 1?

By Alec Whitaker

Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Cincinnati Bearcats cornerback Arquon Bush (9) breaks up a pass intended for Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Ty Fryfogle (3) in the third quarter of the NCAA football game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Cincinnati Bearcats at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. The Bearcats won 38-24.Cincinnati Bearcats At Indiana Hoosiers Football /

Hoosiers . 11. team. 813. . 1-2 (0-1). Previous: 7th

The idea of Indiana taking another step forward as a program in 2021 is slowly starting to slip away.

The Hoosiers fell to Cincinnati 38-24 this past Saturday, with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. throwing three interceptions. Indiana actually got out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, but the Bearcats came roaring back, outscoring Indiana 38-10 to end the game.

Indiana’s defense actually didn’t play all that bad. They held Cincinnati to 328 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers, the problem is, their offense did them no favors by turning the ball over four times and giving the Bearcats a short field to work with.

That was the case in Indiana’s other loss to Iowa as well. In that game, Penix threw two pick sixes and added another interception. So, overall the defense looks bad, but a lot of it is actually on the offense.

Penix just doesn’t look right since coming back from the ACL injury. He’s already thrown six interceptions in just three games and is completing just 48.3% of his passes. He needs to play better if this team is going to do anything this season.

Indiana has a challenge this week as they head on the road to face a Western Kentucky team that is averaging 47 points a game.

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