Penn State football dominates Indiana en route to shutout home victory
Penn State football moved to 5-0 on the year with a 24-0 shutout victory over the Indiana Hoosiers Saturday night at Beaver Stadium in front of a crowd of 105,951.
Penn State set the tone early in the game, stopping the Indiana offense time and time again when it had the ball. Indiana starting quarterback Michael Penix couldn’t find a rhythm, missing on nine of his first passing attempts in the game. Those misses were caused by numerous Penn State pressures and tight coverage downfield by the Nittany Lions.
The strong defensive play allowed the Penn State offense to drive down the field and control the game to the tune of a 14-0 lead at the half.
The offense earned those two scores on two long drives, with both lasting at least nine plays and eating up at least 80 yards on their way to touchdowns. The offense struggled at times during the half, but the defense allowed it to get plenty of opportunities.
The results were similar on both sides of the ball in the third quarter, with the Nittany Lions scoring on another pass from redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford to senior wide receiver Jahan Dotson to make it 21-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
Penn State was able to close the game out from there and earn the 24-0 victory over the Hoosiers.
Player of the game
Penn State WR Jahan Dotson: Dotson continues to establish himself as, not just the best wide receiver in the conference, but the best wide receiver in the country. He finished with eight receptions for 84 yards and two touchdowns and tacked on his second completion of the year, this time hitting Parker Washington on a 21-yard pass. Dotson has very few flaws in his game and continues to decimate defenses week after week.
There doesn’t seem to be much opponents can do at this point to stop him, because he’s crafty enough and fast enough to beat defenses even when two defenders are focused on him. Dotson is an elite player and has shown no sign of slowing up this season.
Turning point
Penn State stops Indiana on 4th-and-1: Indiana’s offense couldn’t get anything going all game but it had an opportunity to score early. The Hoosiers had the ball in the red zone after Clifford threw an interception. The Penn State defense stayed strong to force a third-and-long, but a Penix rush cut that to a fourth-and-one. The Hoosiers decided to go for the touchdown rather than kick the field goal but the PSU defense buckled down and earned the stop, getting the ball back for its offense.
That was Indiana’s best opportunity to get in the game early, but the stop allowed Penn State to set the tone and establish that points would not come easy for Indiana in the game.
Stat of the game
18: That’s how many times Clifford has connected with Dotson for a touchdown in their careers at Penn State. The duo broke the record for touchdown connections between Penn State players. Clifford and Dotson have both been mainstays for the past two years when the wide receiver emerged as the quarterback’s favorite target in the passing game.
Clifford has received plenty of criticism but he’s made a concerted effort for the past two years to get the ball to the best playmaker on the field and has made history with Dotson in the process.
Up next
at Iowa: Penn State will have its toughest test of the year so far next week when it travels to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. Iowa is undefeated and coming off a 51-14 trouncing of the Maryland Terrapins Friday night on the road. The win moved the Hawkeyes to 5-0 on the season and should help them maintain their ranking in the top five heading into the game.
The matchup will be a battle between two of the best defenses in the country and should have a major impact on both the East and the West divisions in the Big Ten the rest of the season.
