Hoosier State of Mind
Fansided

Indiana Football: IU’s best chances for pulling off an upset

By Ryan Sullivan

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach Tom Allen of the Indiana Hoosiers and head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions speak at center field before the game on September 30, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach Tom Allen of the Indiana Hoosiers and head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions speak at center field before the game on September 30, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions shakes hands with head coach Tom Allen of the Indiana Hoosiers after the game on September 30, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Indiana 45-14. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions shakes hands with head coach Tom Allen of the Indiana Hoosiers after the game on September 30, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Indiana 45-14. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

At Penn State

Happy Valley is always one of the toughest places to play in college football. There’s no denying that. But, if there’s an upset out there for IU to pull off this season, it’s against the Nittany Lions.

Penn State enters this season as one of the Big Ten’s most inexperienced teams, especially on the offensive side of the ball. After the surprise departure of Tommy Stevens, the reigns of the offense have been handed to talented redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford. Clifford has shown big play capability in his limited time on the field, but has still never started a game at the collegiate level.

Penn State also does not return anybody with more than 50 carries at the running back position and will likely trot out all underclassmen at the starting receiving spots. Additionally, they only return three starters on the offensive line. Granted, these players were highly recruited and are very talented, but inexperience can lead to mistakes which can lead to an upset opportunity.

If the Hoosiers can come up with some big plays on the defensive side of the ball, Stevie Scott and whoever is under center for IU should be able to put up enough points for a potential upset.

Home/Indiana Football