Penn State Football: Report card for win over Indiana in Week 8

Special Teams: C

Another unit with mixed results was the special teams. It really seemed like Penn State was Jekyl and Hyde against Indiana.

First the good. KJ Hamler opened the game with a 58 yard kickoff return which set up the Lions nicely for their first touchdown of the day. Seldom used fifth year senior Johnathan Thomas had a 94 yard kickoff return right after Indiana took a one point lead in the third quarter. It even looked like Thomas might not have stepped out, but it was not reviewed. The Lions scored a touchdown one play later.

Jake Pinegar hit both his field goal attempts in heavy winds. He missed an extra point, but Indiana blocked it. Was more of a good play from the Hoosiers than anything Pinegar did.

The ugly included all the muffed punts. Luckily for the Lions they did not lose any of them. Hamler was lucky in that he picked up his muffed ball and returned it for 16 yards.

Also the Lions tried an unsuccessful fake punt on their side of the field (more on that next). Nick Scott failed to recover an onside kick late, giving Indiana one last chance to win the game.