Hoosiers Ready for Noise and More at Penn State
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It will be loud.
The Indiana Hoosiers understand that about Beaver Stadium with its 106,000-plus crowd. They have prepared for it, pumping up the decibel levels in practice.
They also can refer to an earlier game at Michigan with its 110,000-seat stadium.
Crowd noise is among the challenges IU (2-5) will face Saturday against No. 10 Penn State (6-1).
The Hoosiers used a portable sound-making device in practice. Not only did it blast sound from one location, it was moved to follow the offense up and down the field, even right behind quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
“We want them to be able to communicate,” head coach Tom Allen says. “We’ll make some modifications for the offense and the punt team. We’ll have verbal and non-verbal communication, and the way we use our cadence.”
Overcoming the noise challenge starts with Sorsby, who will battle that as well as Penn State’s powerhouse defense. It ranks No. 1 nationally in total defense and No. 2 in scoring defense.
“Brendan has played at Michigan,” Allen says. “He got some meaningful reps there.
“He has to trust his preparation. Preparation creates confidence. Trust your teammates. Relax and play ball.
“As a quarterback, you have to have a calmness to you. You don’t panic. Play your best football because you know you’re ready and know you’re prepared.”
Sorsby will make his second-straight start. He’s completing 50.6 percent of his passes for 420 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Offensive coordinator Rod Carey says he liked how Sorsby played against Rutgers (126 yards passing, 49 yards rushing, 48.4 percent completion), but more is needed.
“Brendan played his rear end off. He played physical. He used his feet.
“It still wasn’t in the category of good enough to win. He recognizes that. We have to clean up things. It’s not a ton of big things. There were some fundamental things. We saw some high throws on guys who were open.
“Some are young quarterback issues we have to work through, because none of us are young anymore. We’re in Game 8 now. That is gone.”
Allen says IU will need some big offensive plays to beat Penn State. That means being aggressive, but within limits.
“There’s a fine line there. You talk about trying to limit turnovers and help (Sorsby) make good decisions, but you can’t be so conservative that you don’t create explosive plays. It’s a balancing act. It takes a lot of planning and wisdom. You have to have the courage to make those calls at the right time.”
“In this game, we have to take calculated risks,” Allen says. “It’s important to create some explosive, game-changing plays. We’ll need those to win.
“We have to get the ball down the field and play at a high level. We have to be aggressive. We’re going there to win. We have to have that mindset in how we play it and how we call it.”
With a three-game losing streak, the Hoosiers are down, but not broken, says running back Trent Howland.
“Our spirit is good. It’s not going the way we want it to, but on previous teams, I saw guys turn on each other. That’s not happening with this team.
“We’re taking tough losses, but everybody is still regrouping with each other. We’re bringing everybody up. We’re keeping everyone’s mental attitude right.
“We have a good team. We know what we’re capable of. We have to stick together to finish the job. We have to finish strong.”
Stopping the run is a big key. Penn State ranks second in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 181.3 yards. IU is last in the conference in stopping it, allowing 174.4 yards.
Still, the Hoosiers have shown flashes of run-stopping excellence.
“We point out this is what we’re capable of doing at our absolute best,” co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri says. “We hold ourselves accountable when we don’t play to that standard.
“I have to make sure our players are in the best position to be successful. Their job is to play as hard as they can within the fundamentals and mentality. They’ve got to beat blocks. They’ve got to tackle.”
Penn State has a pair of 400-yard rushers in Nicolas Singleton (410 yards, six touchdowns) and Kaytron Allen (401, three).
“We have to do a great job of fitting our gaps,” Allen says. “It’s about block destruction and getting off blocks. That’s a big focus.
“We have to be great tacklers. We missed some tackles the last couple of weeks. We’ve challenged our linebackers to step up and play their best football.”
In the end, Guerrieri says, he’s responsible for what happens on defense.
“Did it work or not work? Did I put our guys in the best position? What are our teaching methods? If there’s a breakdown, point the thumb not the finger. These are the things we’ve done well, this is what we have to do to get better.
“We have to have a high level of discipline, every snap, every game.”