Hoosier State of Mind
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Indiana Football vs Penn State: 3 matchups to watch

By Alec Lasley

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Peyton Ramsey #12 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the third quarter of the game at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Peyton Ramsey #12 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the third quarter of the game at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 02: Stevie Scott III #8 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs with the ball against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium on November 02, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 02: Stevie Scott III #8 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs with the ball against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium on November 02, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2. Stevie Scott vs Micah Parsons

After a slow start to his 2019 season, Stevie Scott has been one of the most effective running backs in all of college football over the past month.

With three out of his last four games exceeding 100 yards on the ground, Scott has also punched it in the end zone five times. Averaging just 3.4 yards per carry in the first five weeks of the season, the bye week during week six has been the turning point for Scott and the Indiana offense. Since, Scott has raised that average to 7.1 yards per carry and has given the Indiana offense a new, refreshed look.

With his ability to gain chunk yardage now, it will be critical against a Penn State defense that has been able to shut down the run, starting with Micah Parsons.

Getting past the front four of Penn State gives way to another important matchup in Saturday’s game. With Micah Parsons at the middle linebacker position, he will be the next line of defense that Scott will look to beat. At a team-high 68 tackles this season, Parsons is averaging 12.3 tackles in his last three games, games against grind-it-out opponents who like to also lean on their running attack as well.

With eight tackles for loss on the year as well, Parsons is a huge part of disrupting the running attack of opposing teams.

On Saturday, the winner of this matchup may win the game.

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