The disappointed Penn State Nittany
Lions are clearly favored this weekend against the visiting Indiana Hoosiers
in a Big Ten Conference contest.
Indiana has lost its last three games and six of the last seven to fall to 4-6
overall and 1-5 in league play. Last weekend, the Hoosiers nearly scored an
upset over Wisconsin, but the result of that home game was a 31-28 defeat.
Indiana is just 1-4 in true road games this season, and the club needs a
victory this week and in the regular season finale against Purdue to earn bowl
eligibility.
The Nittany Lions carried a five-game win streak and an 8-1 record into last
weekend's highly-anticipated meeting with Ohio State. Unfortunately for Penn
State, it played poorly in front of the home crowd, losing to the Buckeyes in
a 24-7 final. Both of the team's losses this season have come at home, and
there seems to be little chance of earning even a share of the Big Ten title
at this point.
Penn State has beaten Indiana in all 12 previous meetings between the two
teams, including a 34-7 romp over the Hoosiers last season.
The leading ground gainer for Indiana in Darius Willis, who has 465 yards and
six touchdowns to his credit. Willis suffered a leg injury last time out,
however, and his status for this weekend is questionable. If he can't play,
added pressure falls on quarterback Ben Chappell, who has completed 63 percent
of his passes this season for 2,377 yards and 13 touchdowns against 12
interceptions.
There are two tremendous receivers on the roster, as Tandon Doss and Damarlo
Belcher continue to victimize opponents. Doss has made 65 catches for 843
yards and four touchdowns, while Belcher has 48 catches for 611 yards and
three scores to his credit. Those players have helped the team average 24.1
ppg and 357.2 total ypg, solid numbers that aren't likely to scare the Nittany
Lions.
Opponents are posting 28.5 ppg and 410.8 total ypg against Indiana, which is a
mediocre defensive team at best. The Hoosiers have yielded 34 touchdowns to
opposing offenses, including 18 rushing scores. While they can certainly take
some pride in the 14 interceptions that they have registered, the fact that
opposing quarterbacks are gaining 13.8 yards per pass completion suggests that
the pass defense has plenty of room for improvement.
In the narrow loss to Wisconsin last week, Indiana yielded 488 total yards,
including 294 rushing yards at a clip of 5.7 yards per attempt. The pass
defense wasn't much better, as the Badgers were permitted to gain 17.6 yards
per connection.
"The thing about them is you have to tackle them," said Indiana head coach
Bill Lynch of the Wisconsin tailbacks. "You can get a first hit on them, but
three yards later, it's a first down. When you think maybe you have them
stopped short, they are very physical and they finish their runs very well."
Chappell did all he could to give the Hoosiers a chance to knock off
Wisconsin, passing for 323 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, he
tossed a pair of interceptions and got little help from a weak rushing attack.
Doss made six catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
"Yeah, we were close," said Chappell, acknowledging his team's competitiveness
in defeat."Again, just a couple plays if they swing our way then we win the
game. Wisconsin played well today, and they ran the ball really well."
Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark scored on a one-yard run early in the
second quarter against Ohio State, but there was nothing else to cheer about
for the Nittany Lions in that contest. The offense was held to 201 total
yards, including 76 rushing yards at a clip of 2.5 yards per carry. As a
passer, Clark was limited to 12-of-28 efficiency for 125 yards with an
interception, and he was sacked twice.
"He's had better games, but then again, there was an awful lot of pressure on
him early and throughout the whole ballgame," said head coach Joe Paterno of
Clark.
The only Penn State receiver with more than one catch was Graham Zug, who made
seven grabs for 96 yards.
The Penn State defense didn't play well enough to win against Ohio State, as
the Buckeyes were able to score three touchdowns and post 353 total yards. The
Nittany Lions did not come up with a single takeaway in the clash and were
also held without a sack.
"I don't think we were off a little bit anywhere," said Paterno. "I just think
for the whole ball game, they gave us a good licking. They played better than
we did today."
Penn State is scoring 28.3 ppg this season to go along with 406.3 total ypg,
and considering that there has been 18 passing scores and 17 rushing
touchdowns, it is obvious that the team can get the job done via both means of
attack. Evan Royster leads the ground attack with 895 yards and five
touchdowns, while Derek Moye is tops among the receivers with 39 catches for
648 yards and five scores. As for Clark, who does have 18 touchdown passes
against eight interceptions, he has completed 61.2 percent of his tosses for
2,283 yards.
It is surprising that Penn State played shaky defense against Ohio State, as
the Nittany Lions have excelled defensively this season. Including last
weekend's performance, Paterno's team is allowing a mere 10.8 ppg and 264.6
total ypg. Penn State has been terrific against the run, yielding only 98.5
yards per game and five scores on an average of 2.9 yards per attempt. It is
also worth mentioning that opposing quarterbacks have combined for five
touchdown passes against the Nittany Lions with 10 interceptions.
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