Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from win over Indiana in Week 5

By James Costanz

Oct 2, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Fireworks go off over top of Beaver Stadium as the the Indiana Hoosiers and the Penn State Nittany Lions take the field prior to the game. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Fireworks go off over top of Beaver Stadium as the the Indiana Hoosiers and the Penn State Nittany Lions take the field prior to the game. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Oct 2, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle (97) reacts following a tackle on Indiana Hoosiers running back Stephen Carr (not pictured) during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle (97) reacts following a tackle on Indiana Hoosiers running back Stephen Carr (not pictured) during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Penn State’s defense puts out another strong performance

For the fourth time in five games, Penn State’s defense held the opposition to under 20 points. The one exception was Auburn two weeks ago, who scored 20 points exactly.

The Nittany Lions’ secondary displayed an outstanding effort and made the Indiana passing attack look as if they were from an FCS school. Indiana averaged just 5.2 yards per attempt, with Jack Tuttle taking over after Michael Penix Jr. was injured in the third quarter.

Ji’Ayir Brown continued his strong play by picking up his third interception of the year. The safety tandem of Brown and Jaquan Brisker has been a major problem for all passing attacks in 2021.

Penn State’s rushing defense was just as strong as their back end. The longest run of the day for Indiana went just 11 yards, and the Hoosiers averaged 2.9 yards per carry overall.

Watching this unit matchup against Iowa’s defense will be a good measuring stick for where the Penn State defense truly ranks.

Without a doubt, they have proven to be a consistently tough unit to break through against. But, can they take the next step and turn into an elite unit down the stretch?

Home/Penn State Nittany Lions