Penn State dominated this one from start to finish en route to their fifth straight victory beating Indiana 29-7.
Recap
Hackenberg does it all.
QB Christian Hackenberg throws for 262 yards on 21 completions out of 39 attempts. He throws 39 yard touchdowns to Brandon Polk and Daesean Hamilton. He would also rush for two scores. He did struggle from time to time and was rushed constantly and was sacked 4 times. He is making improvements though.
The defense dominates.
Indiana would only score on a drive that started from their own 40 yard line after a Julius kickoff went out of bounds. Hoosiers starting QB Zander Diamont would score on a 12 yard run. He was later knocked out of the game in the 3rd quarter and replaced by 3rd string QB Danny Cameron( starter Nate Sudfled did not play). Indiana’s running game was not good without starter Jordan Howard, only gaining 79 yards on the ground. The defensive line was great again sacking Indiana 4 times and batting down a couple of passes. Only giving up 7 points and 234 total yards. John Reid added his second INT of the season.
Other story lines:
Kicker Joey Julius was replaced by Tyler Davis after missing 2 extra points, he would continue to do kickoffs. Davis hit a 30 yard field goal and an extra point. Kyle Carter was snubbed of a score after Hackenberg decided to run it in from the 1 yard line instead of throwing to the wide open Carter. Nick Scott and Mark Allen combined for 102 yards on only 16 rushes, in place of Barkley and Lynch, who didn’t not play. Barkley was supposed to do but didn’t, but Brandon Bell and Marcus Allen did play. Hackenberg would connect with 8 different receivers. Carl Nassib got his 10th sack of the season.
Final Thoughts
Penn State would win 29-7, I did predict a 31-21 victory and if Julius made those PATs I would’ve been right with the Lions’ total. I wasn’t surprised that Indiana’s offense played so poorly with their second and third string quarterbacks and second and third string running backs. Hopefully we can carry this moment into Columbus as we take on #1 Ohio State next week. The Lions will be looking to get bowl eligible and shock the nation.
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