Pee-king Ahead to Indiana

Penn State travels to DC to face Indiana at Fed Ex Stadium.  The Hoosiers sold out their home game to make some bucks.  I didn't feel like previewing this game after the second half collapse this past weekend.  So here we go.

Indiana to date:

W Towson 51-17
W @ Western Kentucky 38-21
W Akron 35-20
L  THEM 42-35
L  @ OSU 38-10
W Arkansas State 36-34
L @ Illinois 43-13
L Northwestern 20-17
L Iowa 18-13
L @ Wisconsin 83-20

The thing that really jumps out to me is . . . they played AT Western Kentucky?  Holy Crap!  Penn State might play Coastal Carolina, but PSU will never play AT Coastal Carolina.

Anyway, at 4-6, the Hoosiers are a dangerous opponent.  Granted, they beat Arkansas State by 2, but they almost beat Iowa.  They beat Akron 35-20, but Akron has not won a game all season and Temple beat the Zips 30-0.  The Hoosiers hung in comparably with Illinois compared to Penn State, and Ohio State for that matter.

So which Hoosier team shows up Saturday?  The one that almost defeated the Hawkeyes, or the one that got pwned by the Badgers?

Penn State is already bowl eligible.  Indiana must beat both Penn State and Purdue to get six wins.  Indiana has never beaten Penn State in football.

The line is currently is currently 10, with the Lions favored of course.

Injury-wise, Anthony Fera will be out (appendix) and I wonder if we will see Silas Redd (bladder.)  Sean Stanley also has a bladder problem.  Hey!  We put the Pee in Party.  Let's Go PEE ess you.

McGloin will start, but has his confidence been shaken?  Does he still have IT?  Will he have to urinate in public too?

Kick-off is at noon.  Coverage is on the Big Ten Network.

Here's the stats comparison from the NCAA site:

NCAA Stats Comparison
Category:	Penn St.	Indiana
Rushing	71	108
Passing Offense	66	16
Total Offense	74	53
Scoring Offense	89	62
Rushing Defense	83	92
Turnovers Gained	106	106
Passes Had Intercepted	73	73
Pass Defense	19	81
Net Punting	11	98
Punt Returns	67	49
Kickoff Returns	26	37
Turnover Margin	76	91
Fumbles Recovered	107	92
Passes Intercepted	75	86
Fumbles Lost	7	21
Turnovers Lost	31	52
Passing Efficiency	85	62
Pass Efficiency Defense	81	114
Total Defense	52	89
Scoring Defense	38	100
Fewest Penalties Per Game	2	10
Fewest Yards Penalized Per Game	1	27
Punt Return Yardage Defense	49	28
Kickoff Return Yardage Defense	18	106
Offense Third-down Efficiency	55	28
Offense Fourth-down Efficiency	77	80
Defense Third-down Efficiency	8	97
Defense Fourth-down Efficiency	34	37
Tackles for Loss	81	98
Offense Tackles for Loss	5	48
Pass Sacks	98	98
Pass Sacks Allowed	12	12
Time of Possession	47	29
First Downs	73	35
First Downs Allowed	31	53
Red Zone Efficiency	92	41
Red Zone Efficiency - Defense	113	113
Average NCAA Rank:	54.95	65.46
Weighted Avg. Rank:	62.08	80.5

The average NCAA rank is simply the average of all categories.  The weighted average gives more weight to certain categories (like total defense/offense) and less weight to other categories (first downs allowed or penalties.) 

Indiana has a slight edge in offense, but that would appear to be offset by Penn State's better defense.  This is a game Penn State should win, but Indiana can score points and if our offense sputters, things could get ugly.  I still predict a Penn State win.