Penix has been practicing, may play Saturday

Michael Penix Jr., Indiana's redshirt freshman quarterback, has practiced the last couple of days, but is still a game-time decision on Saturday at Nebraska

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana coach Tom Allen met with the media Thursday for the last time before Saturday's huge game at Nebraska, and he did have some positive news on starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

"He's been able to practice, so we'll see. It's a game-time decision,'' Allen said, also mentioning the he has missed some time this week. "Most of them,'' was how he responded to a question on if Penix had practiced every day or not.

The redshirt freshman left last Saturday's Maryland game early in the second quarter after coming up wobbly following a big hit. He was evaluated by doctors in the medical tent behind the bench and went straight to the locker room. Peyton Ramsey finished the game and played well in IU's 34-28 victory.

It's Allen's policy to not discuss injuries, the what's actually wrong with Penix hasn't been announced. All we can go by is the film, and he was slow to get to his feet after the hit. He did play for four plays afterward, but that was it.

If Penix can play, it would be huge for the Hoosiers, who are 5-2 and looking to become bowl eligible with a win, which would be their third straight in the Big Ten and fourth overall. Penix, who missed two-plus games with a shoulder injury earlier in the year, has only played 15 quarters all season.

Ramsey, a two-year starter who lost his starting job to Penix after fall camp, is ready to go if needed. "I'll practice this week like I do every week, and I'll be ready to go on Saturday,'' Ramsey said Monday. "The guys in this locker room, they mean to much to me to not be ready. So I'll be ready to go.''

Indiana won a big road game last week, so that should help carry over to Lincoln, where a hostile environment surely awaits. Nebraska is having a "Blackout'' too, and the Huskers are wearing black jerseys instead of their usual red.

Learning how to win on the road in a big thing.

"It creates confidence. It's great to experience it (at Maryland), but, obviously, it's going to be a completely different feel from a noise-level perspective. You're still on the road, you're still traveling, you're still doing all those things. At the end of the day, when it gets late in those games, it's just about executing and making plays. 

"There's no doubt that the crowd has an impact, mostly on those third downs when our offense is on the field. That's when it becomes probably the biggest variable. But as far as experiencing it and having a chance to have success on the road, that was  definitely huge for us moving forward."