Hoosiers not intimidated

Today's match up in happy valley is going to be a very tough one. All you have to do is look at the roughly 27 point spread to know that the hoosiers are underdogs. However, we've had games like this before where it looked like we were huge underdogs in the game and we came out and competed very well. “Even though we’ve had a couple of heartbreaking losses, I still think they’re an offense we can get at,” Mayberry said. “They’re a good offense led by a good quarterback in Daryll Clark, but we hung in with all the offenses we’ve been playing, and I don’t think they’re any better than what we’ve been facing.” Penn State has an incredible defense and such a balanced offense. I'm not expecting the hoosiers to come out and shock the world (even though that would be nice) but I'm not expecting them to roll over and get blown out. Chappell will have to have close to a mistake free day and make some plays through the passing game. The defense will have to do their best at stopping Darryl Clark and Evan Royster. A big key will be for Kirlew and Middleton to apply some constant pressure on the QB. With the season dwindling down it is very important for some hoosiers to really come out firing if they want to have a chance at getting picked in next year's NFL draft.

Do look for PSU to come out fired up after a loss at home last week. It is also senior day for the the nittany lions.

Getting to know PSU

Penn State comes into this weeks match up with an 8-2 record with losses to Iowa and Ohio State. On offense Daryll Clark takes the snaps and had thrown for 2283 yards and 18 touchdowns this year. He's a veteran QB with lots of experience. He can also be a threat in the run game when PSU runs QB draws or anytime he needs to escape the pocket. Evan Royster is the tailback and he averages 5.7 yards per carry and has 5 rushing TD's this year. Did I mention Clark can run the ball? Clark leads the team with 6 rushing touchdowns. You may not have heard a lot about the PSU receivers but they are very good. In my opinion they are underrated because last year Penn State's top 3 receivers are gone. This is the first time this group of receivers have really been the go-to guys. Derek Moye and Graham Zug both have 5 receiving TD's this year.

On defense PSU has two outstanding linebackers in Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee. They don't have the dominate pass rush they have in years past but they still lead the big ten with 32 sacks. They have two great DT's in Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu. Those 4 players in particular will make it very hard for IU to gain a whole lot on the ground so it will be very important to pass the ball effectively and not have many turnovers if we want to put some points on the board. That’s easier said than done against a Penn State defense that ranks ninth nationally in passing yards/game allowed (166.1) and has surrendered 200 yards in a game only three times this fall. The Nittany Lions’ opponents are completely only 52.1 percent of their throws, and they’ve given up only five touchdowns through the air. But IU's receivers have shown big play capabilities against the top teams in the big ten. The hoosiers have never beaten Penn State albeit they have only been in the conference since 1990. The hoosiers are 0-12 all-time against the nittany lions.

Injury Report

Here is the injury report for the Penn State game.

Out:Darius Johnson, Jarrod Smith, Ray Fisher
Questionable:Chris Adkins, Jarrell Drane, Cody Faulkner, Tyler Replogle, Austin Thomas, Terrance Thomas
Probable: Mick Mentzer, Darius Willis

Matt Weaver from rivals.com said that Ray Fisher is pretty much done for the year unless IU happens to make a bowl game. Although it is never good to have a lot of injuries at least most of the players on the injury list will most likely play this weekend.

Fisher and Willis injuries

Although it is still early in the week the initial depth chart has been released. Ray Fisher, who got injured two weeks ago, is not listed on the depth chart. Don't expect him to play this week. He will have another MRI on his knee sometime early this week to see if there is any opportunity he gets to still play this year. If you have been following Darius Willis you will know that he has been pretty banged up this whole year. He left the game this Saturday against Wisconsin with a leg injury but he is still listed as the starter on the depth chart this week. As of today he will be playing this weekend but there is still a possibility that throughout the week he might not be able to play. If he can't go Bryan Payton is listed as the backup. Payton was able to give the running game a spark in the 2nd half against the Badgers. It seems like with Darius Willis that he will probably just toughen it out the rest of the year then address his ankle/leg injury after the season.

*** The IU vs. Purdue game has been announced that it will be a 3:30 start next Saturday.

Hoosiers comeback stopped short by Badgers

The Hoosiers late comeback fell a bit short while the Badgers won 31-28. On the bright side, the hoosiers secondary held their own for the most part, the receivers played extremely well, and the hoosiers capitalized on some key situations. The only downside was that the Badgers running game was just too much for the hoosiers. Both John Clay and Montee Ball ran for over 100 yards. The Badger offensive line had their way in opening up holes in the running game. This loss will make it very difficult for the hoosiers to get to 6 wins. That would require an upset next week at Penn State followed by a home victory against Purdue to finish out the year. On the bright side, I saw a ton of progress yesterday versus when we played them a year ago.

Chappell threw for 323 yards with 3 TD's and 2 INT's. He made some deep throws that were very good. The wind, just like last week, also played a role in the passing game yesterday. Darius Willis went down with a right left injury but, Bryan Payton came in and played very well. He hit some holes hard and made some good runs to get some pressure off of the passing game. On some keys situations the hoosiers also converted which was promising. On a 4th and goal Coach Lynch put Adam Replogle in at fullback and Trea Burgess plunged into the end zone for a key touchdown. Demarlo Belcher let dropped two keys passes on some important downs only to catch a key pass on 4th and 5 and dragged Wisconsin defenders for a 30 yard game. Tandon Doss finished the game as the leading receiver with 92 yards and 2 TD's.

In the end it was the Wisconsin running game that was just too much for the hoosiers. At least this year they really competed for the whole game. They were down 10 at half time but just kept hanging around and eventually converted on some big plays to cut the lead down to 3. Although it was another tough loss and bowl eligibility might not happen this year the hoosiers are getting to the point where they know we can compete with anybody. A sign of progress for this program.

Final Injury Report

Here is the final injury report for the Wisconsin game.

Out: DE'S Darius Johnson and Terrence Thomas, CB Ray Fisher, Safeties Chris Adkins and Jarrell Drane, DT Jarrod Smith and OL Cody Faulkner

Questionable: Safety Jerimy Finch

Probable: RB's Zach Davis-Walker and Darius Willis, Safety Nick Polk, DE Fred Jones.

Like I said before Adrian Burks will be starting at corner with Donnell Jones. Terrence Thomas gets on the list this week but Fred Jones will likely play.

Enough Gas in the Tank?

Although we have suffered some tough losses the last two weeks I think it showed a lot of promise for this hoosier program. Although this team could be 7-2 at this point I am not going to dwell too much on the what ifs. To outplay the number 4 team in the country for 3 quarters is still very impressive. My only worry about suffering those 2 tough losses the past few weeks is that I'm not sure how much gas we have left in the tank. I say that because Wisconsin runs a unique grind it out style of football. They have a big offensive line and a great running game. This seems to wear teams down late in games. It will be tough in my opinion to stop Clay late in the game and I hope that we will be able to grind out it with them for all 60 minutes. What surprised me last week against Iowa was how much resilience this team had to come back and compete so well against an undefeated Iowa team on the road. It will be nice to come back to Memorial Stadium but the past few years Wisconsin has had out number. Not only will this be a big week for the hoosier squad if we want to remain in the bowl picture but it will show a lot about this hoosier squad in how they bounce back. I hope this hoosier squad has a lot left in the tank and that we can bounce back after a few tough games and pull off the upset.