Here’s 5 things to watch in Saturday’s Penn State vs. Indiana college football game
The No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions will open their season by taking on Indiana in Memorial Stadium in Bloomington at 3:30 p.m. Saturday (FS1). Here are five things you should keep an eye on:
PRODUCTION OF PENN STATE WRS
As if it hasn’t been said enough during this extended offseason, here’s another reminder: Penn State’s biggest question mark on offense is its wide receivers corps.
K.J. Hamler finished last season with 904 receiving yards and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection, but he departed for the NFL as a second-round draft pick. Hamler alone accounted for over 30 percent of the Nittany Lions’ receiving yards in 2019. So, what’s next for a group that will undoubtedly miss its biggest asset from last year?
Junior receiver Jahan Dotson — who was the team’s third-leading pass catcher (behind junior tight end Pat Freiermuth) last season with 488 receiving yards — returns. After Dotson, though, there are plenty of question marks. On Penn State’s Week 1 depth chart (released Tuesday), redshirt junior Cam Sullivan-Brown and true freshman Parker Washington are listed as the other two starters. Sullivan-Brown caught eight passes for 56 yards in 2019; Washington was a four-star prospect but is unproven at the collegiate level.
Still, based on head coach James Franklin’s praise of Washington this week, there may be good reason to believe that he can contribute right away.
“He’s got elite ball skills and body control,” Franklin told reporters Wednesday. “... I think the quarterbacks trust him, and he knows his assignments. He’s gonna be where he’s supposed to be. And he’s been great in contested catch situations.”
It’ll be interesting to see which of the three starting wide receivers leads the way for the Nittany Lions on Saturday.
HOW PENN STATE’S RBS SPLIT THE LOAD WITHOUT JOURNEY BROWN
Toward the end of last season is when redshirt junior running back Journey Brown went from an under-the-radar three-star prospect to a name to know in college football. Brown finished 2019 by rushing for 593 yards in Penn State’s final five games.
The 5-foot-11, 217-pound Meadville product was poised to be one of the best running backs in the country this fall, and likely a high pick in the 2021 NFL draft. But Penn State confirmed Monday night that Brown could potentially miss the 2020 season due to an undisclosed medical condition discovered this offseason. Now, the Nittany Lions must learn to operate without one of the spark plugs of its offense.
Though the loss of Brown certainly hurts, Penn State’s running backs room is deep. Sophomore Noah Cain finished 2019 with 443 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, and sophomore Devyn Ford totaled 294 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The duo of Cain and Ford is joined by two four-star freshmen in Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee. Both should see at least some time on the field this season.
“We’re gonna keep plugging along,” redshirt senior center Michal Menet said Wednesday. “We always have to kinda have a next-man-up mentality. I got a ton of confidence in all of our backs. … With Noah and Devyn, we know what they can do already.”
Whether one of the four running backs separates himself from the group, or whether filling Brown’s shoes is a group effort will be something to keep an eye on.
CONTAINING IU’S WHOP PHILYOR
In last season’s Penn State-Indiana game, Hoosiers star receiver Whop Philyor left the contest in the second quarter after taking two hits to the head on the same play. On a catch-and-run, Philyor first took a slight blow to the head from sophomore cornerback Marquis Wilson before redshirt junior linebacker Ellis Brooks flew in and made direct contact with Philyor’s helmet. The controversial play wasn’t deemed to be targeting — still, Philyor never returned to the game.
The now-senior receiver finished with just two catches for 50 yards, but the Nittany Lions only won by a touchdown.
Philyor ended 2019 with 70 catches for 1,002 receiving yards and five touchdowns. This season, it’s expected that he’ll pick up right where he left off. How well Penn State’s secondary — which last year ranked 110th out of 130 FBS teams in opponent passing yards per game — can limit Philyor throughout the duration of an entire game will help determine the outcome Saturday.
“He’s dangerous with the ball in his hands,” cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said of Philyor on Thursday. “They obviously want to get the ball in his hands. … He’s a tough matchup for us.”
Smith also said Penn State’s current starting secondary — made up of redshirt freshman Joey Porter Jr., senior cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields, senior safety Jaquan Brisker and senior safety Lamont Wade — has “the chance to be the very best” the program has ever had.
How the group handles its first big test in Philyor will go a long way in proving Smith right or wrong.
CAN PSU QB SEAN CLIFFORD TAKE THE NEXT STEP?
Alright, it may not be fair to use one game to determine an answer to this question. But Saturday could definitely provide a glimpse at whether redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford made significant strides this offseason or not.
Last season, Clifford threw for 2,654 yards, 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions. While those numbers don’t look bad on paper, Clifford only had a 59.2 completion percentage for the year, which ranked 72nd nationally. The 6-foot-2, 217-pound Ohio native can help put the game away early against Indiana if he demonstrates an improved accuracy — particularly with his deep ball.
First-year offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca — who had the same position at Minnesota in 2019 — helped Golden Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan to an All-Big Ten season last year. If he can do the same with Clifford, Penn State’s offense could be potent.
“For Sean, it’s just continuing to grow in his total development a little bit better, really, in each area,” Franklin said earlier this month. “And I think that naturally comes with age and maturity and experience. Obviously, him and Coach Ciarrocca have clicked, so that helps.”
Franklin has mentioned during this offseason that Nittany Lions fans can expect to see “a little bit more confident, a little bit more comfortable” version of Clifford this fall.
If the seventh-year head coach is correct, Penn State should have no problem putting points on the board against Indiana — which ranked just 43rd last season in opponent passing yards per game.
PLAYING IN A LARGELY EMPTY MEMORIAL STADIUM
When the Big Ten announced in mid-September that it would reverse course and play football this fall, the conference made it clear that fans would not be allowed in the stands.
Parents and families will likely be allowed to attend Saturday’s game in Bloomington, but there’s a big difference between playing in front of a couple hundred people and playing in front of a Memorial Stadium capacity crowd of 50,000-plus. This could impact every player differently.
“We’re not playing for all the eyes that are on us; we’re playing for our teammates,” junior kicker Jordan Stout said Tuesday. “... For me, it doesn’t really change anything. But when there are a lot of fans, I know my adrenaline’s up — I feel like I can kick the ball a little farther.”
While there’s no doubt players will miss the energy that would’ve been gained from the opposing crowd, Menet said it’s the energy that he and his teammates can “pour into each other” that will be key.
Keep an eye on how fast — or slow — the Nittany Lions start on Saturday as they finally kick off the 2020 season.
