IU football game day: Indiana at Penn State primer and prediction

Preseason No. 2 meets the current No. 2 as Indiana travels to Penn State.

This game looks completely different now than it did just a few months ago.

But in a stadium where they’ve never won against a team full of talent, IU knows better than to take this one lightly.

Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s week 11 matchup against Penn State.

No. 2 INDIANA (9-0, 6-0) at PENN STATE (3-5, 0-5)

• Kickoff:  Noon ET, Saturday
• Location:  University Park, Pa.; Beaver Stadium (106,572; natural grass)
• Television:  FOX — PxP: Gus Johnson; Analyst: Joel Klatt; Sideline: Jenny Taft
• Stream:  FOX Sports
• Radio:  IU Football radio network
• Odds:  Indiana is around a 14.5-point favorite
• Weather at kickoff:  56 degrees, partly cloudy, wind 6 mph, 2% chance of precipitation.
• Series:  Penn State leads the series 25-2.
• Tickets:  Use our StubHub affiliate link
• The Coaches:
  • Curt Cignetti is in his second year as the head coach at IU.  He holds a 139-37 record in his 15th season as a college head coach.  He’s 20-2 at Indiana.
  • Terry Smith is the interim head coach at Penn State.  He is 0-2 in this his only college head coaching opportunity to date.

Ready to play our brand of football. pic.twitter.com/PvPpVW68oK

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) November 8, 2025

TALE OF THE TAPE 

THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK 11 SLATE

PENN STATE RESULTS

8.30 Nevada W, 46-11
9.6 FIU W, 34-0
9.13 Villanova W, 52-6
9.27 Oregon L, 24-30 (2OT)
10.4 at UCLA L, 37-42
10.11 Northwestern L, 21-22
10.18 at Iowa L, 24-25
11.1 at Ohio State L, 14-38

PENN STATE NOTES AND NUMBERS

Widely thought to be a favorite to win the Big Ten and contend for a national title, Penn State has fallen on unimaginable hard times.

The Nittany Lions lost starting quarterback Drew Allar for the season during their loss to Northwestern, and head coach James Franklin was fired.

Penn State associate head coach Terry Smith is serving as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. He played wide receiver for the Nittany Lions from 1987-91. He was a high school head coach, but this is his first time leading a college program.

The PSU AD — former IU football player Pat Kraft — is leading a national search for the next head coach. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, a Pennsylvania native, received a raise and a contract extension soon after Franklin was fired.

The Nittany Lions are No. 49 in scoring offense at 31.5 points per contest. They’ve only scored 24 a game during the five-game losing streak. They are No. 41 on defense, giving up 21.8 per game including 31.4 a game during the losing streak.

PFF grades Penn State as having the No. 62 offense and No. 29 defense in the country.

6-foot-2 freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer has taken over as quarterback for the Nittany Lions. He has completed 42 of 67 throws (62.7%) for 343 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions this season. He’s been sacked five times in two full games as the starter. Grunkemeyer’s average depth of target is just 6.0, compared to 8.2 for Allar.

Penn State’s running backs are the feature of their offense.  At Ohio State, for the 12th time as teammates and fifth time this season, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton both scored rushing touchdowns in a game. Singleton posted his 39th career rushing touchdown, moving into second all-time at Penn State and breaking a tie with Lydell Mitchell. He is just four rushing touchdowns behind Saquon Barkley’s all-time PSU mark. Allen recorded his 34th career rushing score, tying Ki-Jana Carter for fifth at PSU.

Allen has 10 rushing touchdowns this season, including at least one in every game this year, while Singleton has seven. Allen is one of 11 FBS running backs with 680+ rushing yards and 10+ rushing touchdowns this season. He leads all current FBS players with 3,565 career rushing yards, while ranking fourth in career rushing touchdowns. Singleton paces all FBS players in career rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns (48) and all-purpose yards (5,088), while sitting third in rushing yards (3,204).

At defensive coordinator, Penn State replaced former IU head coach Tom Allen with former Ohio State DC Jim Knowles.  The Nittany Lions’ overall defensive performance has declined, despite the averages through eight games including three games vs. non-Power 4 teams.  Here is a comparison of Penn State’s defensive statistics for the 2024 and 2025 seasons:

MORE COVERAGE

• Three key matchups for Indiana football against Penn State
• Watch: 12 years ago IU football earned first ever win against Penn State
• Radio show: IU football’s Curt Cignetti previews road trip to Penn State
• Unhappy Valley: IU football’s run of first time accomplishments meets Beaver Stadium
• Penn State interim HC Terry Smith talks Indiana: “Curt Cignetti is a friend of mine”
• IU football has key players trying to work back from injuries to play vs. Penn State
• Watch: IU football coach Curt Cignetti Monday media Q&A — Penn State week

PREDICTIONS

This game is going to be more difficult than many expect.  The Nittany Lions are undeniably talented.  The only question is their mindset.

The challenging atmosphere and quality opponent make things stressful for the Hoosiers.

But they find a way.

TDH PREDICTION:  INDIANA 24 PENN STATE 20

• ESPN SP+ (Computer):  Indiana 32 Penn State 21 (77% win probability for IU)
• ESPN FPI (Computer):  Indiana has a 82.7% chance to win.

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