Path to victory: Three things Penn State football must do to beat Indiana

Penn State Nittany Lions football looks to move to 5-0 this weekend when it welcomes Indiana to Beaver Stadium Saturday night.

With Penn State looking to bounce back from a season-opening defeat to the Hoosiers in Bloomington last year, let's dive into three keys for the Nittany Lions in this matchup.

Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has shown over the course of his career that he is a signal caller who is more than capable of winning games for the Hoosiers.

That said, right now, he's simply a quarterback trying not to make the big mistake.

Penix has thrown six interceptions through four games of the 2021 season, with all six coming in two games against Iowa and Cincinnati — the two ranked teams on Indiana's schedule.

Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry said this week that his team is blitzing on roughly 50 percent of snaps, and there's no reason to dial that back against a quarterback who isn't making good decisions at the moment.

In Indiana's two losses this season, Pro Football Focus gave its offensive line a pass blocking grade of 46.7 and 42.7, respectfully.

If the Nittany Lions can get to Penix regularly, it's a safe bet that they'll come away with a turnover or two, and a win.

This is an Indiana defense that has had mixed success defending the run this season.

Iowa ran it 36 times for 158 yards against the Hoosiers in their season opener, before Indiana got things together and limited both Idaho and Cincinnati to under 3.5 yards per carry.

Western Kentucky, though, had more success last week, averaging 4.7 yards on 20 carries.

The struggles in this aspect of the game for Penn State have been well documented, but the Nittany Lions can run the ball against this defense if they execute well.

Offensive lineman Caedan Wallace said Wednesday that he expects to run the ball well this Saturday, and it will be a massive boost to Penn State's chances if it can add another dimension to its offense.

The special teams conversation has faded into the background to an extent for the Nittany Lions in recent weeks, but Penn State must be on its toes against the Hoosiers.

Indiana has scored two special teams touchdowns already this season.

One came via a blocked punt which was taken back for a touchdown, and another was a punt returned to the house.

Special teams is certainly an area that can allow opposition with less talent to hang around in games, and the Nittany Lions must exercise discipline in order to prevent that this week.

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