Penn State Report
PLAYER OF THE GAME
QB Christian Hackenberg, Penn State: Hackenberg was mostly masterful as the Nittany Lions cruised on offense. He completed 21-of-39 passes for 262 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, including two on the ground.
GAME BALLS
DE Garrett Sickels, Penn State: The sophomore dominated off the edge for the second straight game, registering five tackles and a sack.
Safety Marcus Allen, Penn State: In his first game back off an injury, Allen tied for the team lead with nine tackles, adding 1½ for loss, helping to keep Indiana’s spread offense largely away from big plays.
QB Zander Diamont, Indiana: Before leaving the game with a shoulder injury in the second half, Diamont was Indiana’s lone big-play threat. He threw for 90 yards, but he gained 38 on the ground, including a 16-yard touchdown.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 — Missed extra points for Penn State kicker Joey Julius.
17 — Career 200-yard passing games for PSU QB Christian Hackenberg, moving him into second place in program history.
30 — Points scored by Penn State off seven turnovers in its last three games.
57 — Points scored by Penn State in its two Big Ten games this season against Rutgers and Indiana.
310 — Total yards gained by Penn State in the first half. It had 264 yards against Army in its previous game.
REPORT CARD
Quarterback: Christian Hackenberg didn’t look like he was running a system Saturday. He looked like he was just playing quarterback. He finished with 262 yards passing for two touchdowns and even ran the ball effectively, scoring twice. Best game in a long time. GRADE: A-
Running back: Nick Scott and Mark Allen both broke long runs, but it was how well they ran in between the tackles that gets them high marks. The Lions’s backs averaged 6.2 yards per carry, but Allen did lose a fumble when he mishandled a handoff. GRADE: B
Receiver: Penn State needed to get DaeSean Hamilton more involved, and it did. He caught two passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. Chris Godwin was solid again, and Eugene Lewis and Kyle Carter came up with some big first-down catches. There were some drops, though. GRADE: B+
Offensive line: There were some ups early, and the run blocking was fairly decent the entire game. But Paris Palmer was not effective in the second half, as DE Nick Mangieri had several free shots at Hackenberg off the edge. Andrew Nelson returned at RT, and while he fought hard, he clearly wasn’t 100 percent. GRADE: C-
Defensive line: Who didn’t make a big contribution? Carl Nassib had two sacks. Austin Johnson had another. Anthony Zettel batted down a pair of passes, one on fourth down, and Evan Schwan had another. Even given all of that, Garrett Sickels might have had the best all-around game. GRADE: A
Linebacker: Against a tough offense to defend, the young linebackers settled in fairly quickly. Jason Cabinda led the way with nine stops, and both Troy Reeder and Brandon Bell were solid tacklers, as usual, in a game they needed to be. GRADE: A-
Secondary: This is the group that has struggled the most with tackling this season, but they came up big Saturday. Marcus Allen had nine tackles in his return, and several came at big junctures on short-yardage situations. John Reid had an interception. GRADE: A-
Special: Joey Julius may have lost his job, missing two extra points and costing PSU in the field position battle with a kickoff that sailed out of bounds. Daniel Pasquariello averaged 44.3 yards per punt, filling in for injured Chris Gulla, and DeAndre Thompkins had a few solid punt returns. GRADE: C
Coaching: The weather got better. The defense stacked the box. And lo and behold, Penn State took some chances downfield. Defensive scheme was brilliant against a tough offense. But offensive play calls were largely on the mark. PSU took what it was given again. GRADE: A-
— Complied by Donnie Collins