My Two Cents: Indiana's Ugly Loss to Penn State A Tale of 2 Quarterbacks

Watching Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford's connection with his receivers is a stark contrast to what's going on with Michael Penix Jr. and Indiana's offense right now. So Saturday night, it was the best of times for the Nittany Lions and the worst of times for the Hoosiers.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — For the past three years now, whenever Indiana had Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford in a compromising position, he calmly and coolly made a play to keep a drive alive. 

He can slide out of the pocket to make a throw. He can roll out and still keep his eyes downfield, waiting for one of his talented and sure-handed receivers to pop open for him.

And mostly, when he has to, he can take off running to get a first down. He rushed for 58 yards on 10 carries on Saturday night during the Nittany Lions' 24-0 thrashing of Indiana, half of those runs earning first downs.

That's a wily veteran, who's in sync with his offensive unit. 

And it makes you wonder, because it's so blatantly obvious. When you look across the field at Indiana's offense right now, they don't have that luxury.

And it's not even close.

Sean Clifford can do things that Indiana quarterback Michael Penix simply cannot right now. That's the difference between staying healthy for four years and being hurt all the time.

It's a simple fact.

A painful, simple fact.

Now don't get me wrong. Clifford has a few flaws himself, as many Penn State diehards can tell you. But what's real is that Clifford, a 6-foot-2 senior from Cincinnati who was recruited by the Hoosiers, is that he's dependable and reliable. He shows up, and he makes plays.

The best ability, they say, is availability, and Sean Clifford shows up every Saturday. And he shows up every spring, and all summer during workouts. And it shows up on the field. There were at least a half-dozen times on Saturday night where Indiana's defense put Clifford in a compromising position, and he made a play anway.

He's on the same page with all of his receivers right now, and that's obvious.

And it's just as obvious that Indiana is nowhere near that. You can tell that Penix, who rushed back from a second ACL surgery to start this season, just isn't right. Against Penn State, he completed just one of his first 10 passes. Sure, there were a few drops, but there were also a few throws that he just missed, and there were a few plays when receivers zigged when he expected them to zag.

As a unit, it's just not working. And it's not all Penix's fault. Indiana's offensive line is a mess, and they don't give him nearly enough time to throw. Penn State knew they had a huge edge there and it was one of those nights where all of Indiana's three-star offensive linemen were woefully overmatched physically by the Nittany Lions' four- and five-star pass rushers.

Penix's injury history is well known. He's been through two ACL surgeries since coming to Indiana, plus he's had a shoulder strain and a season-ending clavicle injury in 2019. He got hurt again on Saturday night, getting tackled hard on, ironically, a successful scramble play. He was taken down on his throwing shoulder, and did not return. 

When offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan was talking about his unit's struggles earlier in the week, he reminded everyone that Penix has never been able to go through a full spring practice because of all his injuries. Missing out on all those reps does matter. 

To Penix, to his pass catchers, to everyone.

The bigger issue, of course, is that Indiana's schedule has exposed all of their flaws to a greater degree. I asked Tom Allen about it Saturday night after the game. It's not an excuse, it's a magnifying glass. 

They can't block, especially teams that can blitz well like Penn State and Iowa, so they have to throw quick passes. Penix has to throw off his back foot often, and hurry things. It's not a good recipe.

And that's all being exposed. By really good teams.

“I would think so,'' Allen said about great defenses exposing their weaknesses. "I think you saw today what Cincinnati did (winning 24-13 at previously unbeaten Notre Dame), what Iowa did the other night (winning 51-14 at Maryland while forcing seven turnovers). They’re really good football teams. People can decide if they are worthy of their ranking or not, but they’re really good football teams.

“All I know is that we played those three teams and they’re all really, really good. It is what it is and there are no excuses. We’re going to fight. I can promise you that.''

And those three teams are, quite simply, a massive magnifying glass. It's very clear where Indiana is deficient right now.

“The one positive about playing those teams, there’s no question, it exposes exactly what you need to work on,'' Allen said. "And that’s how you get better. You stay together as a football team, and you work.

“The bottom line is that we need to play better. Yeah, we’ve played some good football teams, but we came here expecting to win. That to me is the bottom line and we didn’t get the job done.''

There's no question the past few months have been very hard. Indiana's fall camp was ramped up a notch because of all the expectations coming into this season. There was last year's 6-1 Big Ten regular season and this year's preseason ranking, the first since 1969.

Those massive expectations are a heavy load to carry around. And now, it hasn't gone well. That's why this is the perfect time for Indiana to have a bye week. This team needs to regroup, and hit the reset button. 

I asked Indiana linebackers Micah McFadden exactly that. Do they need a break? Do they need to hit the reset button?

Absolutely, was the response.

"We've got to take a self-reflecting look on everything we are doing,'' McFadden said. "I think so (on hitting the restart button). The overall feeling of our team, I think guys need to take a look at themselves in the mirror and decide what's going to come of this. 

"The Hoosiers are 2-3, so how are we going to respond? So yeah, this comes at a good time.''

It's going to be an interesting week. First off, of course, is getting the medical news on Penix and his throwing shoulder. He went down hard, and I've seen a lot of separated shoulders on plays like that. We probably won't know more until Monday at the earliest. There is no media availability on Monday because of the bye week.

With the bye week, it's just an obvious time to think about getting Jack Tuttle ready to play against Michigan State. I am absolutely NOT saying that should happen, but Penix hasn't been very good so far partly because of his health and stability. The shoulder just exacerbates that.

There are many fans, of course, who would like to see a quarterback change. But you have to remember that Penix at his best is a far better quarterback than Jack Tuttle at his best. It was same with the Penix and Peyton Ramsey debate. Peyton was good; Penix was better.

The problem is, so far this season, Penix hasn't been at his best. Neither have his receivers, and neither has his offensive line.

You're fooling yourself if you think things will magically get better with the offensive line just because Tuttle is the quarterback. Those are real issues with that group.

And those are real issues with the receivers, they aren't going away either. Ty Fryfogle is the nicest kid in the world and he earned that Big Ten Receiver of the Year award a year ago. But this year, he hasn't been very good, and he's even admitted that. He needs better focus, and he needs to catch the ball. He also needs to do a better job of getting separation. All the receivers do.

It was ironic watching Clifford and Jahan Dotson work so well as one on Saturday night. Dotson had two touchdown catches Saturday night, and the second one was his 18th from Clifford, a school record.

Penix and Fryfogle had that magic last year, but it's not there now. 

It was right there for all to see.

Yes, Indiana hasn't been very good. Yes, Penix is really struggling. Yes, this offense isn't good and there's plenty of blame to go around, both with the players and coaches.

But let's remember this. Indiana has played the toughest schedule in the nation so far this season. Whatif they had played UConn instead of Cincinnati? What if they had opened the Big Ten season with Minnesota and Maryland instead of Iowa and Penn State?

Indiana would be 5-0 and that bandwagon would be jam-packed. HOW you play and WHO you play really does make a huge difference in college football. Just ask Arkansas that.

I have watched Minnesota and Purdue and Maryland play, and this Indiana team is better than they are. Rutgers, too, probably. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Indiana is favored in two weeks against Michigan State, and I definitely won't be surprised if they win.

In other words, that 1-0 mindset is real. It's never any fun to lose, but you have to consider the opponent in these losses. It happens. Indiana football is not Alabama football. You all should be used to that by now.

This hasn't been good at all so far, but that doesn't mean some good things can't still happen this year. 

We'll see how that goes in a couple of weeks.

Related stories on Indiana football

• GAME STORY: Indiana gets shut out for the first time in 21 years in a tough 24-0 loss to No. 4 Penn State in a game where quarterback Michael Penix Jr. also got knocked out with a shoulder injury. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SCHEDULE: Here is Indiana's complete 2021 college football schedule, including links to all game stories, Tom Brew gameday columns and report cards. CLICK HERE
• CAM JONES UP FOR ANY CHALLENGE AT INDIANA: Indiana recruited Cam Jones on the offensive side of the ball, but once he arrived on campus, Tom Allen knew Jones would be a good addition to the Hoosiers' defense. CLICK HERE
• WHAT MICAH MCFADDEN AND CAM JONES SAID ON PODCAST: Indiana linebacker Micah McFadden brought along his running mate, fellow linebacker Cam Jones, for the Mike & Micah podcast at Yogi's Bar & Grill on Tuesday night. CLICK HERE
• D.J. MATTHEWS OUT FOR SEASON: Florida State transfer D.J. Matthews has been Indiana's best player the first three weeks of the season, but a torn ACL in his left knee during the Western Kentucky game on Saturday has ended his season. It's be a big blow for Indiana's receiving corps and special teams group. CLICK HERE