Penn State at Indiana
Time: NOON ET
TV: Big 10 Network
Spread: PSU -7
Total: 44
Betting odds courtesy of Bovada
Penn State is 4-4 on the season but is just 1-4 in Big Ten play. Indiana has yet to win in Big Ten play, having run up an 0-4 mark. And Indiana is expected to remain winless in conference play with Penn State favored by 7-points according to college football oddsmakers at Bovada.
Penn State’s defense has kept it in games. The Nittany Lions are allowing just 17.8 points per game, but the problem has been providing that defense with enough points to win games. PSU averages just 21.3 points itself, with a rush offense that ranks at the bottom of D-1 schools with just 77 yards per game.
It’s caused Penn State to drop four straight contests after beginning the season 4-0. In the last four weeks, PSU has been outscored 98 to 62, losing the last two weeks in close games. On Oct 25, PSU pushed then-No. 13 Ohio State to double OT before falling. Last week, the Nittany Lions lost by just a point to Maryland.
Christian Hackenburg hasn’t improved much from his stellar freshman campaign last season. Though he has 2,038 yards on the season, his yards per completion is just 6.41, down from 7.54 last year. He’s also nowhere near as good in TD/INT ratio, with seven TDs to 10 INTs. Last season that ratio was 2:1 in his favor. His passer rating is 22 points lower than a season ago, and though the pass game is the strength of PSU, the pass offense is rated just 46th in the nation.
Indiana’s last win came in a 49-24 trouncing of North Texas on Oct 4. Since that time, the Hoosiers have fallen to Iowa, then- No. 8 Michigan State and Michigan. In the last two weeks against MSU and Michigan, the Hoosers have been outscored 90 to 27. Getting back on track this week should be easy comparatively, as just seven-point underdogs.
The Hoosiers have a strong rushing attack (274 yards per game), offset with a very poor pass offense. QB Nate Sudfeld wasn’t that bad, though, all things considered, but he’s out for the season now. Replacement Zander Diamont threw just eight passes last week for a grand total of 24 yards. This is an offense that may never throw the ball again, practically.
The backfield dominance of Tevin Coleman has been what has allowed Indiana to remain in games this year. He has 1,300 yards on the year with 11 TDs and an 8.0 yard per carry average. D’Angelo Roberts lingers far behind with 70 less carries and 435 yards on the year. But Roberts has scored six TDs. He and Coleman account for 17 of Indiana’s 23 rushing TDs.
