First shutout of Indiana in 21 seasons

[tboyer]

I thought that was the most significant factoid of the night and worthy of its own thread. This is a really good PSU D.

This is a talented Indiana offense -- a pretty good line, solid backs, top tier wideouts, top tier TE, extremely talented QB (though without his usual mobility).

The typical PSU D of the last 20 years would have given up 17-35 points to this offense. So shutting them out is a bit of a statement.

PSU secondary is the best group we've seen in I can't even remember how long. They are athletic, football smart and extremely competitive. They play well under pressure, it's almost like they relish the high-pressure situations. Reminds me of 1986 secondary.

The DL has been really, really good against the run. Not getting enough pass rush IMHO to beat really elite teams. Iowa will be a big step up for them. But they are playing sound football and the D-tackles are improving every game. Mustipher is becoming the player he was expected to be when he was recruited.

LBers are the wild card. They are super talented and improving and if they can improve a lot, they could be the difference-makers. I think we are seeing Brandon Smith, before our eyes, grow into a great linebacker, and Curtis Jacobs is really impressive too, just a little further back on the developmental curve.

As good as this D is, it's a work in progress and it is improving. If they stay healthy, watch out... I Iowa is a big step up physically for them, but I think they're ready for that step up.

 

[psu_et_vt]

I thought that was the most significant factoid of the night and worthy of its own thread. This is a really good PSU D.

This is a talented Indiana offense -- a pretty good line, solid backs, top tier wideouts, top tier TE, extremely talented QB (though without his usual mobility).

The typical PSU D of the last 20 years would have given up 17-35 points to this offense. So shutting them out is a bit of a statement.

PSU secondary is the best group we've seen in I can't even remember how long. They are athletic, football smart and extremely competitive. They play well under pressure, it's almost like they relish the high-pressure situations. Reminds me of 1986 secondary.

The DL has been really, really good against the run. Not getting enough pass rush IMHO to beat really elite teams. Iowa will be a big step up for them. But they are playing sound football and the D-tackles are improving every game. Mustipher is becoming the player he was expected to be when he was recruited.

LBers are the wild card. They are super talented and improving and if they can improve a lot, they could be the difference-makers. I think we are seeing Brandon Smith, before our eyes, grow into a great linebacker, and Curtis Jacobs is really impressive too, just a little further back on the developmental curve.

As good as this D is, it's a work in progress and it is improving. If they stay healthy, watch out... I Iowa is a big step up physically for them, but I think they're ready for that step up.

This is a nice summary. As far as B Smith. He made a couple of great plays and a couple of bonehead plays last night. He definitely has been a net plus all season. But the bonehead plays that stick out are celebrating (not blocking) while we were actually trying to run back the blocked kick and failing to break down the ball carrier when he had him dead to rights for a loss (can't remember if that was the QB or RB) but we gang tackled him a few yards later.

 

[tboyer]

The Jones/Flounders wrapup is usually just annoying but Jones got right to the point last night. "Can you think of another time when a Penn State defense intimidated a quarterback like that?"

To be fair, Penix was playing with a knee brace and had been roughed up by Iowa so he may have not been his best self. But still, you could see confusion and fear on Penix's face all night. They couldn't run the ball and he didn't know where to throw the ball because receivers weren't open.

 

[HartfordLlion]

I thought that was the most significant factoid of the night and worthy of its own thread. This is a really good PSU D.

This is a talented Indiana offense -- a pretty good line, solid backs, top tier wideouts, top tier TE, extremely talented QB (though without his usual mobility).

The typical PSU D of the last 20 years would have given up 17-35 points to this offense. So shutting them out is a bit of a statement.

PSU secondary is the best group we've seen in I can't even remember how long. They are athletic, football smart and extremely competitive. They play well under pressure, it's almost like they relish the high-pressure situations. Reminds me of 1986 secondary.

The DL has been really, really good against the run. Not getting enough pass rush IMHO to beat really elite teams. Iowa will be a big step up for them. But they are playing sound football and the D-tackles are improving every game. Mustipher is becoming the player he was expected to be when he was recruited.

LBers are the wild card. They are super talented and improving and if they can improve a lot, they could be the difference-makers. I think we are seeing Brandon Smith, before our eyes, grow into a great linebacker, and Curtis Jacobs is really impressive too, just a little further back on the developmental curve.

As good as this D is, it's a work in progress and it is improving. If they stay healthy, watch out... I Iowa is a big step up physically for them, but I think they're ready for that step up.

The typical PSU D of the last 20 years would have given up 17-35 points to this offense. So shutting them out is a bit of a statement.

Typical PSU team would have pounded the shit out of IU then emptied the bench in the early in the 4th qtr only to giving up some points. We had starters on D deep into the 4th qtr, 2nd/3rd string got in on the 2nd to last drive and only subbing freely on the last IU drive.