One team in Saturday’s matchup between Indiana and Penn State is ranked No. 2 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, but it isn’t the team most experts would have predicted two months ago.
The undefeated Hoosiers find themselves behind only Ohio State in the initial CFP rankings and will look to back that positioning up when they visit the reeling Nittany Lions in University Park, Pa.
Indiana (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) has cruised through its schedule to this point, highlighted by double-digit wins against Illinois (63-10) and Oregon (30-20), both of which were ranked in the top 10 at the time.
Most recently, the Hoosiers crushed Maryland 55-10 largely due to 367 rushing yards. Kaelon Black rushed for 110 yards and scored a touchdown, while Fernando Mendoza added a rushing touchdown and threw for 201 yards and another TD.
At this point, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is largely trying to guard against overconfidence.
“Obviously, we’ve turned that page,” Cignetti said in reference to his team focusing on Penn State. “Everything in this game is earned, not given, and you’ve got to earn it every single day. The game gives you nothing. You get out what you put in. We’ve got to really be sharp this week and have a great mindset.”
Penn State (3-5, 0-5) is looking to reset as well, although overconfidence is not a problem for interim coach Terry Smith. His team has dropped five straight games — with the program firing coach James Franklin in the midst of that stretch — as the Nittany Lions’ No. 2 preseason ranking continues to feel like a distant memory.
Still, Cignetti was complimentary of Smith and his program this week.
“Terry has done a really good job of sort of rejuvenating these guys, and it’ll be his first opportunity to play a game at home,” Cignetti said. “Tough place to play — 100,000-plus people. They’re a really good football team.”
Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt have combined for 91 catches for 1,278 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Hoosiers, who average a national-best 46.4 points per game. That could spell bad news for a Nittany Lions defense that gave up 316 passing yards — and 480 total yards — against Ohio State.
“Yeah, we’ve definitely got to get it fixed this week,” Smith said of his passing defense. “Those two receivers they have in Indiana have more touchdowns than the Ohio State guys, so it doesn’t get any easier.”
Penn State’s other issues at the moment include a passing offense that only produced 145 yards last week with Ethan Grunkemeyer under center. The redshirt freshman has three interceptions and no touchdowns since taking over for Drew Allar (ankle), who is out for the season.
“Ethan continues to grow,” Smith said. “I think he’s getting better. I thought he was better in game two than game one.”
Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen is aiming to bounce back after averaging just 3.6 yards per carry against the Buckeyes, a season low. He did score a touchdown in that game and has found the end zone in all eight games this season.
