IU Matchup:

[bjf1991]

Without getting into great detail, the matchup w IU is probably the most challenging PSU will face, outside of UMich and OSU.

Preparing for this IU team has to be a coaching nightmare.

First - - - - where IU struggles:

1 - Their placekicking situation is an unmitigated nightmare. Enough said
2 - Their QB makes a LOT of bad decisions/bad throws

Those are two items that have really held IU back.....but not really things you can "prepare for" or count on from the standpoint of preparing for the game from a coaching perspective.

3 - Their Offensive Line does not appear to be as physical and have as much pure athleticism as last year's group. When they do run their "vanilla" power stuff (primarily outside zone runs) they are not nearly as effective as they have been in past years.


Now - what they do well - in a nutshell:

1 - They have an incredible number of "moving parts" - on both O and D

Offensively, they show a ton of different looks and formations, for instance:

2 - Their Offensive Line moves more than any other we have faced.
They will:
Pull multiple linemen - to the point of attack, to try to establish a "hat on a hat" mismatch
Pull multiple linemen - and then run counter or reverse actions off of it
Pull multiple linemen - forcing the center of the defense (LBers and S) to empty out in one direction, and then throw back the other way (screens, slants, etc), thereby creating huge open voids in the defense where their receivers can have one-on-one matchups in space (this has been a staple of the Wilson offensive scheme since he was at Oklahoma.....it gave the PSU defense fits in the game they lost to IU under OBrien)

3 - They will run - in addition to their standard packages, two different forms of "wildcat"
The first being a more common form of wildcat, with Diamont at QB....the other a "jumbo" wildcat - primarily for short yardage situations.

Defensively:

4 - They run a base 4-2-5....and they are in almost constant "motion" on defense
- They will slant/stunt up front on nearly every snap
- They will send backers or DBs either between the tackles, or off the edges, on most snaps
- They play a TON of man coverage underneath

It will be the antithesis of the Iowa defense....and it will be interesting to see how the PSU Offensive line - with "new" OTs - handles these looks

5 - While they are not OSU or UMich, their back 7 is MUCH more athletic than what we are used to seeing from IU. The move to a 4-2-5 - - - - emphasizing speed and athleticism, rather than "second-tier" talent with their "power" positions - - - - has really paid off for IU
They can run, they are physical, and they get multiple defenders to the ball much better than previous IU defenses. They can't "line up and kick your ass" the way that UMich can - - - so they scheme to beat you another way

IU will be susceptible to big plays - for sure - if PSU does a good job of executing when they catch them in "bad" stunts and slants.
The pass game will have to utilize a lot of the type of stuff they used against Pitt (I would think) to beat the pressure-man underneath coverage.....I would be surprised if we don't see a lot more "crossing patterns, slants, rubs, switch routes" etc than we usually have been seeing
The PSU D will have to be very focused and disciplined against all of the motions, sets, schemes, and packages that IU trots out their on offense - - - - and, assuming #21 makes his typical number of FUBARs, they need to capitalize by turning those FUBARs into turnovers (and points)

PSU is playing MUCH better right now than they were in September (obviously).......and if they play as well as they have the last few weeks, they are HIGHLY likely to win on Saturday - and maybe by a comfortable margin.
But this is a quality, well-coached, tough to prepare for, IU team.



,

 

[Obliviax]

Without getting into great detail, the matchup w IU is probably the most challenging PSU will face, outside of UMich and OSU.

Preparing for this IU team has to be a coaching nightmare.

First - - - - where IU struggles:

1 - Their placekicking situation is an unmitigated nightmare. Enough said
2 - Their QB makes a LOT of bad decisions/bad throws

Those are two items that have really held IU back.....but not really things you can "prepare for" or count on from the standpoint of preparing for the game from a coaching perspective.

3 - Their Offensive Line does not appear to be as physical and have as much pure athleticism as last year's group. When they do run their "vanilla" power stuff (primarily outside zone runs) they are not nearly as effective as they have been in past years.


Now - what they do well - in a nutshell:

1 - They have an incredible number of "moving parts" - on both O and D

Offensively, they show a ton of different looks and formations, for instance:

2 - Their Offensive Line moves more than any other we have faced.
They will:
Pull multiple linemen - to the point of attack, to try to establish a "hat on a hat" mismatch
Pull multiple linemen - and then run counter or reverse actions off of it
Pull multiple linemen - forcing the center of the defense (LBers and S) to empty out in one direction, and then throw back the other way (screens, slants, etc), thereby creating huge open voids in the defense where their receivers can have one-on-one matchups in space (this has been a staple of the Wilson offensive scheme since he was at Oklahoma.....it gave the PSU defense fits in the game they lost to IU under OBrien)

3 - They will run - in addition to their standard packages, two different forms of "wildcat"
The first being a more common form of wildcat, with Diamont at QB....the other a "jumbo" wildcat - primarily for short yardage situations.

Defensively:

4 - They run a base 4-2-5....and they are in almost constant "motion" on defense
- They will slant/stunt up front on nearly every snap
- They will send backers or DBs either between the tackles, or off the edges, on most snaps
- They play a TON of man coverage underneath

It will be the antithesis of the Iowa defense....and it will be interesting to see how the PSU Offensive line - with "new" OTs - handles these looks

5 - While they are not OSU or UMich, their back 7 is MUCH more athletic than what we are used to seeing from IU. The move to a 4-2-5 - - - - emphasizing speed and athleticism, rather than "second-tier" talent with their "power" positions - - - - has really paid off for IU
They can run, they are physical, and they get multiple defenders to the ball much better than previous IU defenses. They can't "line up and kick your ass" the way that UMich can - - - so they scheme to beat you another way

IU will be susceptible to big plays - for sure - if PSU does a good job of executing when they catch them in "bad" stunts and slants.
The pass game will have to utilize a lot of the type of stuff they used against Pitt (I would think) to beat the pressure-man underneath coverage.....I would be surprised if we don't see a lot more "crossing patterns, slants, rubs, switch routes" etc than we usually have been seeing
The PSU D will have to be very focused and disciplined against all of the motions, sets, schemes, and packages that IU trots out their on offense - - - - and, assuming #21 makes his typical number of FUBARs, they need to capitalize by turning those FUBARs into turnovers (and points)

PSU is playing MUCH better right now than they were in September (obviously).......and if they play as well as they have the last few weeks, they are HIGHLY likely to win on Saturday - and maybe by a comfortable margin.
But this is a quality, well-coached, tough to prepare for, IU team.



,

Thanks for the info and post.

PSU's zone read offense should be perfectly suited to attach that defense. The challenge for the traditional offense is knowing where to attack. With the zone read, you just attack what they give you. And with #26, look out.

Defensively, the way to win is to not over react to the multiple sets. That is playing right into their hands. PSU traditionally does well defending this kind of offense due to our discipline and LB play.

 

[Nashville Lion]

indiana always plays us very tough and has beaten us in years too. The team better take this game very seriously. This may be one of the tougher games all year.

 

[bjf1991]

indiana always plays us very tough and has beaten us in years too. The team better take this game very seriously. This may be one of the tougher games all year.

IU has had their ass kicked exactly ONCE in the last 2 years (when they came to PSU last year without their QB and TB)

EVERY other game - regardless of the level of competition - they have either been leading, or "one play away" well into the later stages of the game.

Sooner or later, they are going to "complete the deal" and knock off a really good team.
I hope it is not this week.

 

[gbmhoosier]

Without getting into great detail, the matchup w IU is probably the most challenging PSU will face, outside of UMich and OSU.

Preparing for this IU team has to be a coaching nightmare.

First - - - - where IU struggles:

1 - Their placekicking situation is an unmitigated nightmare. Enough said
2 - Their QB makes a LOT of bad decisions/bad throws

Those are two items that have really held IU back.....but not really things you can "prepare for" or count on from the standpoint of preparing for the game from a coaching perspective.

3 - Their Offensive Line does not appear to be as physical and have as much pure athleticism as last year's group. When they do run their "vanilla" power stuff (primarily outside zone runs) they are not nearly as effective as they have been in past years.


Now - what they do well - in a nutshell:

1 - They have an incredible number of "moving parts" - on both O and D

Offensively, they show a ton of different looks and formations, for instance:

2 - Their Offensive Line moves more than any other we have faced.
They will:
Pull multiple linemen - to the point of attack, to try to establish a "hat on a hat" mismatch
Pull multiple linemen - and then run counter or reverse actions off of it
Pull multiple linemen - forcing the center of the defense (LBers and S) to empty out in one direction, and then throw back the other way (screens, slants, etc), thereby creating huge open voids in the defense where their receivers can have one-on-one matchups in space (this has been a staple of the Wilson offensive scheme since he was at Oklahoma.....it gave the PSU defense fits in the game they lost to IU under OBrien)

3 - They will run - in addition to their standard packages, two different forms of "wildcat"
The first being a more common form of wildcat, with Diamont at QB....the other a "jumbo" wildcat - primarily for short yardage situations.

Defensively:

4 - They run a base 4-2-5....and they are in almost constant "motion" on defense
- They will slant/stunt up front on nearly every snap
- They will send backers or DBs either between the tackles, or off the edges, on most snaps
- They play a TON of man coverage underneath

It will be the antithesis of the Iowa defense....and it will be interesting to see how the PSU Offensive line - with "new" OTs - handles these looks

5 - While they are not OSU or UMich, their back 7 is MUCH more athletic than what we are used to seeing from IU. The move to a 4-2-5 - - - - emphasizing speed and athleticism, rather than "second-tier" talent with their "power" positions - - - - has really paid off for IU
They can run, they are physical, and they get multiple defenders to the ball much better than previous IU defenses. They can't "line up and kick your ass" the way that UMich can - - - so they scheme to beat you another way

IU will be susceptible to big plays - for sure - if PSU does a good job of executing when they catch them in "bad" stunts and slants.
The pass game will have to utilize a lot of the type of stuff they used against Pitt (I would think) to beat the pressure-man underneath coverage.....I would be surprised if we don't see a lot more "crossing patterns, slants, rubs, switch routes" etc than we usually have been seeing
The PSU D will have to be very focused and disciplined against all of the motions, sets, schemes, and packages that IU trots out their on offense - - - - and, assuming #21 makes his typical number of FUBARs, they need to capitalize by turning those FUBARs into turnovers (and points)

PSU is playing MUCH better right now than they were in September (obviously).......and if they play as well as they have the last few weeks, they are HIGHLY likely to win on Saturday - and maybe by a comfortable margin.
But this is a quality, well-coached, tough to prepare for, IU team.



,

A comment on your perception of the wildcat package. The most common wildcat package that IU is currently using is the jumbo package. The 280 lb RB takes the direct snap with the backup qb aligned to one side. They ran this package probably 35% of snaps in the Maryland game and both the RB and backup QB each ran for over 100 yards.

 

[bjf1991]

A comment on your perception of the wildcat package. The most common wildcat package that IU is currently using is the jumbo package. The 280 lb RB takes the direct snap with the backup qb aligned to one side. They ran this package probably 35% of snaps in the Rutgers game and both the RB and backup QB each ran for over 100 yards.

I know.....(but they didn't run for over 100 each against RU - they ran for 100 each against UMd's horrendous run defense, which we also saw "up close and personal )

FWIW, as you probably recall, PSU got a "sneak peek" at Diamont last year (when he was clearly NOT ready to be the primary QB), and did see that he had the potential to be an elusive, effective runner.

He has - obviously - stepped up that part of his game this year, and is much more capable than he was in 2015 (and is a more effective option as a "change of pace", rather than an every-down QB)

 

[Zenophile]

IU has one special offensive package that has me especially concerned. They run a Penn State-specific trick play where Zander Diamont fakes a pout in order to draw Dr. Barron out to see if he's been the victim of a microagression.

 

[KCLion]

indiana always plays us very tough and has beaten us in years too. The team better take this game very seriously. This may be one of the tougher games all year.

Just to pick at nits, they have Beaten us in a singular year, not years.