Big Ten play has arrived, and No. 4 Penn State football will open its slate with a prime-time battle against Indiana at Beaver Stadium.

Saturday’s game will be the final of a four-game homestand for James Franklin’s group. After taking down FCS squad Villanova 38-17 last week, the Nittany Lions welcome a Hoosiers team that sits at 2-2 on the season with losses to No. 5 Iowa and No. 7 Cincinnati.

Let’s take a closer look at who Penn State welcomes to Beaver Stadium this weekend:

The Team

These two sides know each other well. The Nittany Lions took down the Hoosiers in 2018 and 2019, but by just five and seven points, respectively. Of course, in 2020, Penn State fell 36-35 in an ugly overtime loss at the season opener in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers return 22 starters from last year’s squad, including quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and stud linebacker Micah McFadden. While they’ve gotten off to a 2-2 start and aren’t currently receiving votes in the AP Poll, Tom Allen’s squad is coming off of a solid 2020 campaign, which included a 6-2 record and a trip to the Outback Bowl.

Entering his fifth full season as Indiana’s head coach, Allen boasts a 26-24 record overall and a 15-20 mark in the Big Ten. While the Hoosiers have lost to two top-ten squads so far this season, they have wins over Idaho and Western Kentucky, the latter of which included a 373-yard day through the air for Penix.

Now opening Big Ten play, the Hoosiers start a brutal run against the Nittany Lions. After the trip to Beaver Stadium, Indiana gets a bye, but will then play No. 17 Michigan State and No. 11 Ohio State.

Offense

Indiana’s offense is clearly led by Penix under center. The redshirt junior has battled injuries throughout his career in Bloomington, including a torn ACL that cut his impressive sophomore campaign short in 2020. After coming out of the gate a bit slow this year, including three-interception games in the losses to the Hawkeyes and the Bearcats, he bounced back with a nice performance against Western Kentucky last week.

Despite not throwing for a touchdown in the 33-31 win over the Hilltoppers, Penix paced the offense with 35 completions worth 373 yards and even rushed for a score. The veteran signal caller also avoided any turnovers in the victory.

The Hoosiers’ rushing attack currently stands as just the 11th-best in the Big Ten, as it’s averaging just 135.5 yards per game. However, it’s led by USC graduate transfer Stephen Carr. After a fairly productive career for the Trojans, Carr has totaled 336 yards and three touchdowns on 87 attempts this season. He’s had two 100-yard days this season, including a 118-yard performance with a score in the win over Idaho.

Last week, Carr managed 109 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.

Carr is the undisputed leader of this group, and Brent Pry’s defense should certainly expect to see a lot of him, as the next leading rusher has 60 fewer carries than the former Trojan. That next man up is Tim Baldwin Jr., who’s seen 27 attempts this year while spelling Carr. The sophomore has totaled 102 yards on the ground this season without any scores, including a 35-yard day against Western Kentucky last week.

Ty Fryfogle and Peyton Hendershot are Penix’s undisputed top targets through the air. Fryfogle, the senior wideout, has 224 receiving yards on the season and a touchdown to boot. His top performance came last week against the Hilltoppers as he put up a ten-catch, 98-yard day.

As for Hendershot, the big-time tight end has made 16 catches this season worth 186 yards and a score. The redshirt senior has been a constant for Indiana’s offense over the past few seasons, and he’s coming off a 2020 campaign that included 23 receptions and four scores.

Miles Marshall and Javon Swinton are the other expected starters at wide receiver this weekend. The pair have totaled for just over 200 receiving yards thus far, while Swinton already has one score to his name. DJ Matthews Jr. would’ve been a huge concern for the Nittany Lions’ pass defense this week as well, but he went down with a season-ending torn ACL last week.

Up front, the Hoosiers boast experience in left tackle Luke Haggard, who started four games in 2020, along with center Dylan Powell. The 2019 transfer from Stanford played in all eight games last season and started six at the guard positions. Right tackle Caleb Jones also already has 18 starts as a Hoosier.

Defense

Defensively, the Hoosiers are allowing the most points of any Big Ten teams up to this point with an average of 29.2 per game. However, the group has the fourth-best rush defense in the Big Ten, as it’s allowed just 111 yards per game on the ground.

That second stat can be credited most to Indiana’s solid front seven. Veteran linebacker Micah McFadden, a 2020 third-team All-American, serves as the leader for the group in his fourth season with the Hoosiers. McFadden already has 19 tackles to his name this season — including five for a loss — along with two sacks and two forced fumbles.

McFadden was everywhere last week for the Hoosiers, as he finished the win with 12 total tackles, a sack, and even a pass deflection.

His counterpart at linebacker is Cam Jones, who’s currently second on the team with 20 total tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery. A fellow senior who also had a solid 2020 campaign, Jones has been a constant in each of Indiana’s four games thus far, as he totaled six tackles against both Western Kentucky and Cincinnati.

The Hoosiers are anchored on the defensive line by edge rusher Ryder Anderson. The Ole Miss transfer came to Bloomington with 37 college football games under his belt and has already proven his worth with Indiana. Anderson has put up 20 total tackles this season — including 5.5 for a loss — and two sacks. He put up seven tackles and a sack in both of the Hoosiers’ losses to Iowa and Cincinnati.

Help up front will also come from tackles Weston Kramer and Demarcus Elliot, who’ve combined for 17 total tackles on the season.

Indiana’s tackle leader is free safety Raheem Layne II, who has 22 on the season along with a forced fumble. He’s expected to be joined by fellow senior Devon Matthews at strong safety, who has eight total tackles on the year and a pass deflection.

Cornerbacks Tiawan Mullen and Reese Taylor each have double-digit tackles on the season, while the first of the pair leads the team with three passes defended. The Nittany Lions should also expect to see redshirt senior Marcelino McCrary-Ball in coverage, who’s the only Hoosier with an interception on the season.

Special Teams:

Redshirt junior kicker Charles Campbell, who was second-team All-Big Ten in 2020, has continued to ball out this season. Campbell has been money on all 12 extra point attempts and has hit 7-of-7 field goals attempted. Four of those kicks have been from more than 40 yards out.

The Nittany Lions will see freshman James Evans at punter on Saturday. The New Zealand native has attempted 18 punts on the season for an average of 42.17 yards. James has hit four punts worth more than 50 yards and has pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line four times.