Penn State Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Indiana in Week 5
3. Penn State’s defensive line is going to eat
Penn State’s pass rush has been on a roll lately, and this trend should continue in the team’s Week 5 home game against Indiana.
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So far in 2017, defensive coordinator Brent Pry’s squad has amassed 12 sacks in four games, currently tied for the 18th most in the nation. And after only recording one sack in Week 4 against Iowa’s impressive offensive line, the Nittany Lions will have a much more favorable matchup to exploit in Week 5.
Indiana’s offensive line is arguably the team’s least experienced unit, with three first-year starters and not a single senior in the starting unit. And they’ve had trouble keeping the team’s quarterbacks upright.
In only three games, since the Hoosiers’ Week 3 game against FIU was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma, Indiana’s offensive line has given up nine sacks, tied for the ninth-most in the nation.
And while a three sacks per game average is pretty uninspiring, when Indiana’s Week 4 sack-free victory over Sun Belt Conference staple Georgia State is eliminated from the equation, the Hoosiers’ pass blocking becomes even more suspect.
In Indiana’s Week 1 loss to then-No. 3 Ohio State, the Hoosiers’ offensive line surrendered five sacks in Tom Allen’s first home game as the team’s head coach. And in Week 2, the team followed up this effort by giving up an additional four sacks to the Virginia Cavaliers.
So as the Hoosiers now turn their attention towards the Nittany Lions, they must prepare to face off against another aggressive defense, but this time they will be short-handed.
Related Story: Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from win over Iowa
In Indiana’s Week 4 game against Georgia State, the team lost starting quarterback Richard Lagow to a leg injury, and even though he did return to practice following the game, the team has been without wide receiver Donavan Hale, running back Mike Majette and right guard Simon Stepaniak, and could very well field a shorthanded squad in Happy Valley.
Even at full-strength, it would have been hard for the Hoosiers’ offensive line to fend off Penn State’s stable of hungry pass rushers, but without a number of important offensive contributors it could end up being a long day for Indiana in Happy Valley.