BSD Prediction Roundtable: Indiana Hoosiers

And here we are folks! The first of five teams who beat the Nittany Lions last season, and the most controversial of them all, arguably the reason why Penn State went in the spiral they couldn’t get out of until well after the season had been decided.

The Nittany lions will never say this out lout, but they’ll be looking to prove a point in this game. And, after how things went against Villanova, and how the players acknowledged that they came in too relaxed, expect carnage early and throughout.

Penn State 56, Indinia 17

Marty

Pain. Lots and lots of pain for Indiana.

This is a game that the Nittany Lions were always going to be jacked up for, no matter what James Franklin wants you to believe about revenge games. Combine this with Penn State being off to a red hot start, Indiana struggling and the game being moved to primetime, and, well, good luck, Hoosiers, you’ll need it.

Indiana’s secondary has struggled and appears to be greatly overmatched by the Nittany Lions receiver corps and the new and improved Sean Clifford. Look for the Nittany Lion defense to be out for blood following last season as well. This one gets ugly and fast.

Penn State 45, Indiana 14

Patrick

While I’m not expecting quite the blowup that others are thinking, I do believe this will be a game Penn State wins semi-impressively. Combination of Penn State’s lack of run game mixed with Penix looking a bit better next week, I think this game doesn’t ever reach blowout territory.

Penn State 34, Indiana 21

Tim

I’m getting 2017 Pitt vibes from this game. While that was widely seen as a “revenge game” for PSU and fans expecting them to drop 50-plus on Pitt, that didn’t quite happen. Nonetheless, PSU was in control the entire game and cruised to a 33-14 victory.

Look for a similar type of outcome Saturday night as PSU looks like the better team out there and doesn’t let Indiana think they’ve got a legit chance to pull off the shocker two years in a row, but IU is scrappy enough that they won’t get blown out of the water, either. Still, just too much big play potential with Sean Clifford and the receiving corps against a IU secondary ripe for the picking, plus a PSU defense that is ready to make life difficult for Michael Penix. I wouldn’t be shocked to see multiple interceptions from this secondary, as Penix has been interception-prone thus far, with six of them.

Penn State 35, Indiana 17

Jared

[Excerpt from the game preview]

[...]

Penn State strikes first and maintains a lead throughout, although Indiana stays within striking distance and makes things interesting with some big plays to Fryfogle and Hendershot. But the Nittany Lions take a double digit lead heading into the fourth quarter as the defense clamps down to close things out.

Sean Clifford keeps up his hot streak with 310 passing yards and three touchdowns - one each to Jahan Dotson, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Theo Johnson. After several near misses, the defense produces a pick-six courtesy of Joey Porter Jr. that sends Beaver Stadium into a frenzy. Brandon Smith has another big game under the lights, with three TFLs and a forced fumble.

Penn State-31, Indiana-17