Penn State, Indiana both looking to finish strong

It’s been a tough month for Penn State, but while losses to Michigan and Ohio State in a 15-day span have stung, the Nittany Lions’ ordeal hasn’t been quite as disheartening as Indiana’s.

Heading into their clash this weekend against visiting PSU, the Hoosiers have lost five in a row. They’re ranked last in the Big Ten in scoring defense (30.6 points per game) and 11th in scoring offense (24.5 ppg). They’ve seen some of their best players on both sides of the ball fall prey to injuries and are faced with an uncertain situation at quarterback heading into a game against the Lions that will likely determine whether they go into the season’s homestretch with a chance to reach the postseason for the fifth time in eight years.

In their most recent game, the Hoosiers lost to Rutgers 24-17 on Oct. 22. The Scarlet Knights hadn’t beaten a Big Ten opponent in Piscataway since November 2017, but after spotting Indiana an early 14-0 lead, they held the visitors to 159 yards over the final three quarters and fought back. 

With the losses piling up, sixth-year head coach Tom Allen went into Indiana’s bye last Saturday knowing that he needed to help his players regroup mentally as well as physically.   

“It’s a huge priority,” he said at his weekly presser on Monday. “It’s something you talk about, don’t shy away from, don’t fail to address. That has been the focus, without question, just using various videos [to motivate]. I think it’s powerful for your mind. 

“Seasons can get hard and frustrating when you play the schedule we play,” he added. “You’ve got to find a way to win those close games, and we haven’t recently.”

The Hoosiers have indeed played their share of one-score games this year, both wins and losses. Two of their three victories to open the season were decided by three points each, and their two most recent games — the defeat at Rutgers and a 38-33 loss to Maryland the week before — were both decided by a touchdown or less. They also fought Michigan to a 10-10 stalemate at halftime before the Wolverines pulled away for a 31-10 win Oct. 8 in Bloomington. 

Hoosiers rely on passing game

If Indiana is going to find a way to break out of its rut, it will need more productivity on the ground and through the air. 

The Hoosiers rank 128th out of 131 FBS teams with an average of 80.4 rushing yards per game. Auburn transfer Shaun Shivers has gotten most of the carries, but the 5-foot-7, 188-pound super senior has only averaged 3.9 yards per attempt and has just 405 yards through eight games. 

Unable to run the ball consistently, the Hoosiers have been overly reliant on their aerial attack. While they’re fourth in the Big Ten with an average of 265.3 passing yards per game, their 55.0 percent completion rate and average of 5.6 yards per attempt are both league-lows.

Redshirt junior Connor Bazelak leads the unit. A two-year starter at Missouri before heading to Indiana, Bazelak has started every game for the Hoosiers this year, throwing for 2,099 yards with 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. His backup, redshirt senior Jack Tuttle, has yet to attempt a pass and has already announced that he plans to enter the transfer portal, but Tuttle is staying with the team through the rest of the 2022 campaign. When Allen was asked on Monday whether Bazelak would start against Penn State, the coach was noncommittal. 

“You’ll have to wait till Saturday to see who our starting quarterback is going to be,” he said. 

‘We’ve got to finish better’

In Penn State, the Hoosiers will be facing an opponent that is likewise looking to bounce back. The Lions played well for more than three quarters against Ohio State but surrendered four touchdowns in the final nine minutes and suffered their sixth consecutive loss to the Buckeyes.

“I think our kids matched up and played their tails off for three and a half quarters,” coach James Franklin said on Tuesday. “But we’ve got to finish. We’ve got to finish better.”

That latter critique also could apply to Penn State’s most recent trip to Indiana. In their 2020 season opener, the Lions squandered an opportunity to run out the clock and ended up surrendering a late touchdown before eventually losing in overtime, 36-35. 

Reminiscing this week about that game, which helped propel the Hoosiers to a 6-2 season, Allen called it “a big part of our history.” 

“That moment was a unique situation for sure with the way it all played itself out,” he said. “We weren’t supposed to play them. The schedule changed, [because of] everything that happened with the pandemic. 

“The thing you remember is that guys found a way to finish the game. We got off to a strong start, led most of the game, fell behind at the very end and found a way to rally back, send it into overtime and have a historic play.

“But it’s in the past. New team. New guys. New faces on both teams. Great opportunity for our team. Any time you have a chance to play a top team in the country, that’s what you want to be able to do. Our guys have a big week ahead of us to prepare for that. We’ve just got to find a way to continue to get better and finish games.”