45 Thoughts, Stats, and notes on Penn State's 45-14 win over Indiana
You know the drill by now, 45 thoughts, stats, and notes on Penn State's 45-14 win over Indiana this past weekend to get to 7-2 on the season. Let's get right into it.
1. For the second time in three weeks, Penn State bounced back in impressive fashion from a loss. Considering the program's struggles historically in doing so under James Franklin, I feel that's quite notable.
2. It was also one of the more complete games from start to finish that we've seen out of Penn State. Outside the defense's one rough drive in the first quarter that allowed Indiana to tie the game, the Nittany Lions' defense was dominant.
3. Penn State continues to dominate the series between them and the Hoosiers. The Nittany Lions have now won 24 of 26 matchups all time.
4. You may have or may not have noticed but Penn State this year has been for the most part playing some of the best football in the country. Yes, the loss to Michigan was an embarrassing one and the fourth-quarter collapse against Ohio State certainly stings but as you can see below, the Nittany Lions are one of the most efficient teams in the country when looking at both sides of the ball. Sure, there are some outliers around them but being mentioned in the same breath as Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and Tennessee is certainly not a bad thing.
5. Penn State is now 6-3 against the spread this season while the over has hit in seven of nine games. The Nittany Lions have covered in each of their last three games.
Offense:
6. Not Sean Clifford's best day by any stretch but it was a solid day, completing 15-of-23 attempts for 229 yards. His interception early in the game is a pass he simply can't make, forcing it into double-coverage targeting Brenton Strange when he had an open Theo Johnson down the field is simply a mistake a sixth-year quarterback shouldn't and can't be making.
7. Clifford had a few other missed opportunities throughout the game including a missed play down the sideline to KeAndre Lambert-Smith which would've gone for a huge gain or potentially a touchdown with a more accurate pass. All in all, Clifford's numbers weren't all that bad but the interception and missed opportunities left a bit to be desired in his performance overall.
8. While we didn't see him until the third quarter, Drew Allar continues to look the part. The true freshman was 9-for-12 for 75 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown pass of the day to KeAndre Lambert-Smith was a thing of beauty. An easy flick of the wrist into a narrow window required perfect timing. Not many quarterbacks can make that throw look that easy.
9. Kaytron Allen is once again showing he's Penn State's best running back which is no disrespect to Nick Singleton. Singleton is going to be special in his own right but Allen is as close to a complete running back as you will find in a true freshman. His performance against Indiana on Saturday was the best of his career thus far; 18 carries for 86 yards and three touchdowns to go along with two receptions for 72 yards. The former IMG Academy standout has now totaled 695 yards and nine touchdowns from scrimmage this season.
10. Nick Singleton wasn't too shabby himself against the Hoosiers. He had 16 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown, he's had some slow days this season but has totaled 70+ rushing yards in five of Penn State's nine games this season.
11. Mitchell Tinsley saw Parker Washington's spectacular catches against Ohio State and wanted to get into the action. Tinsley made two great catches early against the Hoosiers, one along the sideline for a first down and another in the red zone while being interfered with to put the Nittany Lions in prime scoring position. He finished the day with five receptions for 63 yards.
12. Brenton Strange made a spectacular catch of his own against the Hoosiers, one of the best you'll ever see. The junior tight end with a defender draped all over him somehow reached out the defender and made the reception cleanly. He only had two receptions for 29 yards in the game but it's hard to find a better catch than his on Saturday.
13. Other notable performances include Theo Johnson with four receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown, Parker Washington's four receptions for 30-yards, and Liam Clifford with three receptions for 31-yards.
14. One of the biggest takeaways from Saturday's game was the performance of the offensive line. The Nittany Lions were down Olu Fashanu and Landon Tengwall meaning true freshman Drew Shelton and JUCO transfer JB Nelson both had to step up in their absences. Both Shelton and Nelson were admirable in their performances as the whole offensive line played extremely well, Phil Trautwein deserves a lot of credit for what he's done with the offensive line this season.
15. JB Nelson was a bit banged up in fall camp and earlier this season but he's finally catching up and it's showing. He was Penn State's best starting when it came to pass blocking on Saturday, allowing just one pressure on 32 pass-blocking opportunities. Drew Shelton, who played 87 snaps in the game had his struggles at times but allowed just four pressures on the day. He also showed his versatility by playing both left tackle and left guard.
16. Hunter Nourzad left the game early on Saturday with an injury before eventually returning. He only played in 28 snaps for the game but didn't seem to miss a beat following his injury scare.
17. Jimmy Christ and walk-ons Jim Fitzgerald and Ian Harvie also both saw playing time against the Hoosiers. A cool opportunity for both Fitzgerald and Harvie to say the least, also notably, both are just freshmen.
18. Talking about walk-ons, a pair of running backs in Tyler Holtzworth and Tank Smtih recorded carries on Saturday as well.
19. Going back to Drew Shelton, James Franklin has noted in the past that they're trying to save his redshirt but has also applauded the Downingtown (PA) native for where he is in his development. He'll be a name to watch going forward if Olu Fashanu can't get healthy.
Defense:
20. Another strong day for Manny Diaz's unit which outside of one series completely dominated against the Hoosiers. As you can see on their drive chart below, out of Indiana's 15 drives, Penn State forced a turnover or three-and-out on 10 of 15 drives. Also notably, 33 different players recorded snaps on defense for Penn State.
21. That lone first-half scoring day, Penn State's defense got put on their hills just a bit and had a tough time recovering. As they've done plenty of times this season, however, they were able to rebound from the series and get back to playing fantastic defense.
22. The Hoosiers only totaled 196 yards in the game on Saturday, and averaged 3.1 yards per play. They also only averaged 1.9 yards per carry with 65 yards on 34 attempts.
23. Penn State's defense has now forced a turnover in seven of nine games and three or more turnovers in four games.
24. The Nittany Lions did a fantastic job at forcing Indiana into third-and-long situations as the Hoosiers' averaged third down distance to go on 15 third downs was 10.1 yards. They only had three, thirds and short throughout the game.
25. The Nittany Lions also recorded 16 tackles for a loss and six sacks in the game. Manny Diaz's unit was flying around from the first snap and was relentless throughout.
26. Chop Robinson only played 22 snaps in the game but his presence was felt when on the field. He had four pressures on 13 pass rushes and hurried Indiana's signal callers twice. He also recorded a pair of tackles in the game.
27. Amin Vanover also flashed quite a bit throughout the game, he did have one unsportsmanlike penalty later on in the game but was quality in the past\s rush with three pressures and did a solid job at setting the edge against the run.
28. We talked last week about getting the young players involved and notably Zane Durant saw 21 snaps at defensive tackle and Dani Dennis-Sutton saw 25 at defensive end. Dennis-Sutton also recorded his first career interception in the game.
29. Another really solid performance from Nick Tarburton who hasn't gotten the respect he's deserved this season. He recorded three tackles against Indiana including two tackles for a loss. He's not going to light up the score sheet but we haven't heard his name a ton for missed plays this season either.
30. Five of Penn State's six sacks on Saturday were recorded by a defensive lineman, the lone sack from elsewhere was Ji'Ayir Brown who recorded his second sack of the season.
31. Kobe King had his best day as a Nittany Lion, recording eight tackles including 2.5 tackles for a loss and one quarterback hit. He did an especially strong job in defending the run against the Hoosiers. King has quietly put together the fourth most tackles on the Nittany Lions' defense with 29 and now has three tackles for a loss on the season.
32. Abdul Carter with another solid all-around performance with two tackles, one pass breakup, and one quarterback hit.
33. Dominic DeLuca saw 26 snaps and had a great game himself and was fantastic in the pass rush with three quarterback pressures on six pass-rushing opportunities. He was also targeted twice in coverage, allowing just nine yards.
34. Non-shockingly, Joey Porter Jr was targeted a total of zero times on Saturday. Kalen King was targeted three times, allowing two receptions for a total of 39 yards, and also recorded an interception.
35. Daequan Hardy was targeted three times and didn't allow any receptions. After a slow start to the season, Hardy has rounded into form and has allowed just 11 receptions on 23 targets this season.
36. Overall, Penn State did a great job limiting the big play against Indiana, perhaps the best they've done in that aspect this season. The Hoosiers had just one explosive passing play and just three rushing attempts of 10 yards or more.
37. After their three interceptions and two pass breakups against Indiana, the Nittany Lions have recorded 10 interceptions this season and 61 pass breakups.
38. Penn State has now kept opposing offenses to completion percentages of under 56% in seven of nine games and under 210 passing yards or less in five of nine.
39. It's hard to take away a lot from individual performances since so many different players saw the field for the Nittany Lions but it should be highly encouraging that despite the consistent rotation of players on and off the field, the Nittany Lions' defense didn't miss a beat throughout the game.
40. Penn State's secondary had an easy day against Indiana but they'll be tested next week against Maryland's talented passing attack headlined by Taulia Tagovailoa and wide receivers Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus.
General:
41. When looking at some overall key stats, Penn State dominated the TOP 35:53 to 24:07 but was also 7-for-16 on third down and 2-for-2 on fourth down.
42. With the victory, James Franklin now has 98 career wins including 74 at Penn State. Franklin joins Jim Harbaugh and Brady Hoke as coaches who will likely be nabbing their 100th career over the final few weeks of the season.
43. Penn State has now totaled over 400 yards of total offense in seven of nine games while allowing 300 yards or less in three of nine games.
44. Sean Clifford next week is all but certain to break Penn State's all-time passing yards record. He currently sits at 9,884 yards, just 16 yards behind McSorley's 9,899 career passing yards.
45. Penn State has opened as a double-digit favorite over Maryland which I feel is about right. If the Nittany Lions play like that and have most of the season, I expect at least a 14-point victory for the Nittany Lions but I think an even bigger victory is quite possible.
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