Behind Enemy Lines: Indiana

Penn State head coach James Franklin has insisted this week that his Nittany Lions haven't circled Saturday night's game with Indiana.

That hasn't prevented Penn State football fans from wanting retribution following a 2020 decision in which the Nittany Lions lost in overtime in Bloomington, Ind., 36-35. A loss that set into motion Penn State's slide into an 0-5 start to a completely forgettable 2020 season, that the Nittany Lions are now 4-0 and ranked No. 4 nationally to start the year has fans eager for a win Saturday night in front of a Beaver Stadium 'Stripe Out.'

Do the Nittany Lions have what it takes to stay unbeaten? Can quarterback Sean Clifford excise his demons from a turnover-prone performance last year? What will Indiana signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. look like after an uneven start to this season?

Blue White Illustrated caught up with TheHoosier.com senior writer Alec Lasley this week to get a better idea of what to expect from 2-2 Indiana in the game:

Expectations were sky high.

IU returned almost every notable player from a season ago - whether underclassmen or taking advantage of the covid year - so not only did they have experience, but it was also slated to be the most talented Indiana roster in a very long time.

Iowa was definitely a shock to the system for the Hoosiers. It was not just a loss, but a very bad one. I'm not sure it set the tone for this season, but definitely put Indiana in a place where it started to press.

Before the season, you looked at IU getting one win between Iowa and Cincinnati and now it has dropped both and hasn't really looked great in its other two games. Looking ahead, almost every game is going to be a dogfight and IU - who got a ton of lucky bounces last season - will have to dig deep to pull some of these games out.

From a physical standpoint, yes, Michael Penix is fully recovered.

Mentally, I'm not sure.

His form hasn't been great and his feet haven't been as quick as usual. Early in the season, you could clearly see he was not comfortable planting and driving through his throws and that led to key interceptions. He looked much better against Western Kentucky and got in a groove with Ty Fryfogle, so there is hope that will bleed into the matchup this weekend.

On another note though, the offensive line hasn't helped him much either. He hasn't always had a ton of time to throw and Indiana's best tool last year was the deep ball or the intermediate routes. That hasn't been there much this year.

Staff Predictions: Penn State vs. Indiana

Recruiting Mailbag: Is Penn State still in the mix with WR Andre Greene?

It's been a few really bad throws by Penix and then on the other side, tipped passes that Indiana had in its favor last year that haven't gone its way this year.

Having 17 interceptions last year was unbelievable and that was in a shortened season. There was no way that was going to happen again. The defense has done a much better job forcing fumbles early this year than picking off opposing quarterbacks.

That doesn't mean the secondary hasn't been playing well. They are coming off their best game as a unit and I wouldn't be surprised if they forced Sean Clifford into a few errant throws on Saturday.

That's the million-dollar question.

The play calling has been suspect so far this year from Nick Sheridan due to the ineffectiveness of Penix. There hasn't been a ton of change, it seems, in what Indiana is trying to do regardless of the result.

Moving forward though, Indiana needs to use Stephen Carr more. He's had two 100+ yard games this season and is starting to find his groove. What needs to happen next is using him more out of the backfield with screen plays or just different routes out of the backfield. Getting him more involved will help the offense open up.

Defensively, Indiana needs to be able to go through a game without beating itself. In each game this season, there have been multiple incidents from the defense in which it gave the opposing team an extra first down or extra yards that lead to points. Getting pressure from the defensive ends and up the middle with Micah McFadden is how Indiana likes to run its defense, which in turn will open up a few things for corner blitzes in critical times.

Obviously, it was a heck of a finish last season. It 'put Indiana on the map' so to speak even though Penn State struggled for much of the 2020 season.

Not many people view it as a lucky play or lucky call, however, from Indiana's side of things. It was a play that you needed to call if you were Tom Allen and a play you needed to make if you were Penix.

In the end, that's what happened and Indiana came away with the win. If that same play is called again, who knows how it turns out, but on that day it worked.

Going to Penn State at night is something that no team wants to do. Indiana struggled with a great crowd atmosphere at Iowa and there is no doubt the atmosphere at Beaver Stadium will be even better.

In a way, I do think that experience at Iowa will help IU in this game from a communication perspective. There were a lot of blown signals because of the pressure and then the crowd noise. It's been a point of emphasis from both coordinators over the past few weeks and even more so this week.

It would be crazy to pick Indiana, right? I do think the Hoosiers can come away with a win if they get the Michael Penix of last season back. If not, it'll be another tough loss for Indiana. That's the key and nobody will know which Penix shows up until game time.

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @GregPickel, @ThomasFrankCarr

• Follow us on Instagram

• Like us on Facebook