Indiana

Senior day has finally arrived and the Hoosiers are on their way into town. Usually when Indiana comes into town, it's a major relief, but I have to voice a little concern over this weekend. I'm still sticking with our Nittany Lions for the game, but I would not be surprised if Indiana makes this a closer game than we all think.

Let's go ahead and start out with the outlook for the game this weekend. The Lions definitely possess a much more talented and athletic team. The truth is that Indiana will have a tough time matching the Lions tit for tat, but that doesn't mean that they won't give them trouble throughout the game.

The strengths of the Lions in this match up will be their play making ability and defensive front seven against Indiana's offense. The Lions should have no trouble getting to the quarterback this week. However, the Lions should be on the lookout for quick and easy passes from Chappell to Tandon Doss as the two have hooked up 65 times this year for over 800 yards of offense. In other words, the secondary should have its hands full with Doss, but this should not be the overturning matchup of the game. Even though Doss will challenge the defense quite a bit, the defense should keep a strong hold on the game and force a few turnovers by games end.

The interesting matchup of the game now, will be the matchup in the trenches. It will be interesting to see how Penn State's line responds after a rough game last week against Cameron Heyward and no one else from Ohio State. The truth is that this week could be a much more difficult matchup then last week as Indiana probably has the best defensive end tandem in the league. The two are Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew, they both have recorded double digit sacks while at Indiana and in their first season playing with each other have terrorized opposing defenses. The two this year have combined for 84 tacklers, 21 tfl, 8.5 sacks, and 6 forced fumbles. Look for these guys to push the tempo upfront and for the Penn State tackles to gain some major experience on the outside. In the end, the speed in the backfield and a couple draw plays from Clark will help tame this attack, but we'll just have to wait and see if the coaches make the right adjustments for this week.

I'm going to go ahead and say that the game will be at either end of the spectrum. The game will either blow up in the beginning and go the Lions way right from the start as they are trying to reestablish themselves after last week, or start off slow and the Lions eventually take control of the game. The game in no way should be a grind it out style of game, and if it is, God help us all.

What I would like to see from the Nittany Lions:
- More risks on special teams, and by that I mean that I would like to see us field one punt and return it.
- A commitment to the running game, especially since we have a ridiculous stable of running backs in Royster, Green, and Beachum.
- More man to man coverage in the secondary, allow those corners to develop into playmakers.
- Devon Smith back there fielding punts and trying to make something happen.
- More pass plays directed towards Moye and Powell on underneath routes, let them catch it and make something happen.
- More reps for Justin Brown and Gerald Hodges
- Better playcalling to help relieve some of that pressure from the offensive line.

WE ARE.................