The 2020 Big Ten football season has arrived, seven weeks late, as the first IU track and field competition in seven and a half months begins on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington
Indiana has won 14 of its last 16 season opener, but the first opponent usually doesn’t look like this
Due to the Big Ten schedule change only, the No 8 Penn State Nittany Lions present a formidable foe to start the 2020 campaign
Tom Allen is 18-20 and now in his fourth full season as head coach at Indiana Allen’s 18 wins are the most important for an Indiana coach in his first three seasons
James Franklin is 56-23 (709) in his seventh season at Penn State Franklin served as Vanderbilt’s head coach (2011-13) and is 80-38 (678) overall
If the Hoosiers are to slow down the Nittany Lions, they will have to stop the race first
Indiana is enjoying its first six this year, but it will meet a rigorous jump test
The Penn State offensive line is the team’s strength when they have the ball, It’s a unit that’s largely back from 2019, and they’ve exhausted Indiana with 192 rushing yards and a game. 17 games, 75 practice yards in the fourth quarter
The Nittany Lions will be without the top Rusher Journey Brown on Saturday He amassed 890 yards and 12 scores with a screaming 6 9 yards per carry on average But sure, Penn State has depth, and sophomores Noah Cain and Devyn Ford combined 737 yards and 11 other scores in 2019
The most interesting thing to watch out for will be how quickly PSU can adapt to offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s new RPO scheme
QB Sean Clifford struggled in the air against IU last year (11 of 23, 179 yards), but he made the Hoosiers pay on the ground with 10 carries for 55 yards and two scores
The Nittany Lions lost their best draw in KJ HamlerJahan Dotson (27 catches, 488 yards, 5 touchdowns) is back, but the Nittany Lions will look to a promising young group of receivers to emerge
Tight end Pat Freiermuth is the most dangerous weapon in the offense The 6-foot-5, 260-pound junior caught 43 passes for 507 yards and 7 scores in 2019 Indiana will be without the husky Marcelino Ball who probably would have covered Freiermuth in space
If the Hoosiers want to pull off their offense, his offense is likely to lead the way, Penn State is only returning four defensive starters of 2019
But while IU makes most of his offensive production from a year ago, he has question marks inside his offensive line
Can the Hoosiers get enough pressure to establish a respectable running game with junior star Stevie Scott? Can they keep the pocket clean for quarterback Michael Penix?
Another wild card for IU – Saturday will mark the first game new offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan calls the games
PSU have talented defensive ends to Shaka Toney and Jayson Oweh, and the Nittany Lions are coming back in depth to defensive tackle, safety and corner kick
The Nittany Lions had a top-five defense in 2019, and it won’t be surprising to see IU struggle on the pitch
Penn State should follow Indiana star wide receiver Whop Philyor If other playmakers like Ty Fryfogle, Miles Marshall, David Ellis and tight end Peyton Hendershot can win a one-on-one, IU is expected to win. face the Nittany Lions all afternoon
This game has broken down in each of the last two meetings – and Indiana has a better team this year
Special teams have played a big part in this series in each of the last two games, Indiana has to avoid mistakes there to hang on to this one
Predicting the outcome without a non-conference schedule, with two new offensive coordinators and no fans in the stands is an insane task
Maybe 2020 is just crazy enough that this is the year IU starts taking down the big boys
Penn State Football
World News – USA – Day of the IU Football Game: Penn State Intro & Prediction
