Penn State vs. Indiana score, takeaways: Offensive issues remain critical even as Nittany Lions eke out win

A win is a win is a win, but they don’t erase the problems. Penn State was not near its best today. Had it played a team of a higher caliber than the Indiana Hoosiers, it’s probably sitting on a two-game losing streak. While it had its moments, the Penn State offense continued to struggle running the ball and finding explosive plays.

Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton may have finished with 131 yards rushing, but they needed 33 carries to get there. As a team, Penn State finished with 132 yards rushing and averaged only 3.1 yards per carry with no runs of more than 12 yards.

In the passing game, quarterback Drew Allar hit Keandre Lambert-Smith for a 57-yard go-ahead score. What made it stand out was the fact you just haven’t seen this team make those kind of plays all year. Indiana deserves some of the credit for today’s struggles; the Hoosiers continually heated up Allar in the pocket and forced him into throws earlier than he wanted to make.

But Allar looked hesitant at times, too. He looked like a QB lacking confidence after a performance last week that, in his own words, “sucked.” There are too many times when Allar looks like he’s more afraid of making a mistake than he’s willing to make a play. Perhaps that will change over time, but it’s a problem right now.

The good news is things looked much smoother in the second half. The passing game was more miss than hit, but the Nittany Lions found a groove on the ground. They didn’t pop any long runs, but they were able to put themselves in third-and-manageable situations routinely.

It was enough for today, and it could be enough next week at Maryland, but will it be enough against Michigan in two weeks? Probably not.