Penn State Football vs Indiana – Reasons to worry, and for optimism
By Nick Kreiser
Penn State Football takes on the Indiana Hoosiers this weekend in Beaver Stadium, and their are a lot of reasons to believe they will get their payback from last season.
These Nittany Lions are clearly not the same team they were a year ago, and the same can be said about Indiana. Penn State Football is double-digit favorites, and for good reason.
However, there are also some causes for concern for this team, as they now get fully submerged into conference play.
These are some reasons that fans might worry about the Indiana matchup, as well as plenty of reasons to remain optimistic Penn State Football will continue their hot start.
Penn State Football Reason for Optimism – Sean Clifford
Sean Clifford is currently playing his best football of his career, coming off of three straight games with better than a 70% completion percentage, as well as a 400 yard passing game.
The redshirt senior has cut down on turnovers so far this year, only throwing two interceptions (one of which was not his fault), and also not fumbling the ball to this point.
Clifford has certainly benefitted from his supporting cast, especially a talented group of wide receivers and tight ends. Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich has also been instrumental to Clifford’s success this season, as he has called done a great job of putting Clifford into advantageous situations.
Regardless of who should be getting the most credit, at the end of the day, the passing game as been great, and that is what matters.
The Hoosiers are currently 11th in the Big Ten in pass yards allowed, giving up 229 yards per game through the air. They do have some talented individuals in the secondary, including cornerback Tiawan Mullen, who was on ESPN’s top 100 college football players for 2021 and was an All-American last season.
However, Mullen is only one player, and Clifford has a plethora of guys to get the ball to. I expect Clifford and this offense to be able to have success moving the ball downfield through the air against Indiana.