Penn State Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Indiana in Week 12

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – NOVEMBER 09: Defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo #9 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers sacks quarterback Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the third quarter at TCFBank Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

2. Penn State’s offense will disappear for a couple of quarters

Something that’s been eerily consistent this season with the Penn State offense is its tenancy to disappear during games.

During the Minnesota game, the Penn State offense disappeared mainly because of Sean Clifford interceptions — they punted once, and had one turnover on downs.

Go back to the Michigan game; they get off to a tremendously fast start. They got up on the Wolverines and found themselves up 21-0 in the second quarter. The Nittany Lions don’t find the end-zone again until the fourth quarter. Penn State punted eight times against Michigan State.

The Penn State offense gets bogged down often because of its reliance on their diminutive dynamo K.J. Hamler. The Nittany Lions usually go “Hamler or bust” when Clifford loses trust in his other receivers in combination with their run game getting stymied. Indiana comes into this game with the 34th-ranked defense in the country.

They haven’t defended talent like Penn State’s, but they will be ready for it. Just expect Penn State to forget to play offense for a quarter or two.

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