Victory Bell Rings
Fansided

Penn State Football: keys to success at Indiana

By Nick Kreiser

STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions rings the victory bell after the game against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium on September 10, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions rings the victory bell after the game against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium on September 10, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Oct 22, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) breaks a tackle while running with the ball during the third quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Minnesota 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) breaks a tackle while running with the ball during the third quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Minnesota 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

Convert on third down

Penn State is 99th in the country in third down conversion rate. They’re converting just 35.6% of all third down attempts coming into this game. Needless to say, that’s not very good.

On the bright side–at least for this particular matchup–is that Indiana’s defense has been equally as bad on third down. The Hoosier defense is tied for 94th in third down defense, allowing opponents to move the chains on 41.7% of third down attempts.

In theory, the Nittany Lions should be able to be successful on third downs in this one, but that doesn’t mean it’ll play out that way. Penn State has played two teams this season with a worse third down defense than Indiana. Auburn is 111th in the country (44.4%) and Northwestern is 110th (44.2%).

At Auburn, Penn State was 5/11 on third down (45.5%), but against Northwestern, they were just 4/15 (26.7%). Is it a coincidence that they dominated Auburn in a game where they were successful on third down, but let Northwestern hang around because they couldn’t extend drives? Probably not, though turnovers also played a role in that Northwestern game being closer than it should have.

If the Nittany Lions once again struggle on third down against a bad third down defense, this game could be reminiscent of the Northwestern game, but if they do successfully move the chains and extend drives, it could look a lot more like that dominating win down in Auburn.

Home/Penn State Football