IU opens Big Ten against PSU 2-quarterback attack

A week after falling to a fellow team with a new head coach, IU Coach Kevin Wilson’s football team faces a much different situation this weekend.

The Hoosiers’ Big Ten season opens Saturday when Penn State, coached by Joe Paterno in his 45th season, comes to Memorial Stadium. The Nittany Lions are 3-1 on the year, and their only loss is against the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide.

“I know they’ve had a few years where they might not have been up to their standards, but they’ve kind of gotten back on track,” Wilson said. “It’s not just Coach Paterno. It’s their whole staff, who seem to have been together forever, for the most part.”

In comparison to IU’s all-new coaching staff, Paterno and his nine assistants have been at Penn State for an average of 21 seasons.

For all the consistency of the Nittany Lion coaching staff, though, the team has far less stability at the quarterback position where Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin have split time, often both playing extensively in the same game.

“As we go through and break down tape, every play is noted as to who is at the quarterback spot,” Co-Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach Doug Mallory said. “As you go through and study as to when No. 1 is in there and No. 11 is in there, I don’t know that their offense really changes a whole lot. I think they are both very capable quarterbacks.”

Whoever is throwing the ball for Penn State usually looks to wide receiver Derek Moye, a preseason

All-Big Ten selection that leads the team with 285 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

“They have a talented receiving corps, a veteran offensive line,” Mallory said. “I think it is a very talented offense.”

While the quarterback rotation-led offense ranks 11th in the conference in yards per game, Penn State’s defense has allowed an average of 249 yards each game. They are led by defensive tackles Devon Still and Jordan Hill, each of whom has 21 tackles on the season.

“Penn State’s defense is very good,” Co-Offensive Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach Kevin Johns said. “They’re sound and they run well and they’re physical. They bring lots of challenges. I tell you what is unique is they line up and they do one thing and they do it very, very well, and they’ve been doing it for a very long time.

“From our standpoint, it is a matter of us picking the right plays that we want and really being able to execute those plays.”

The IU offense hopes to have senior wide receiver Damarlo Belcher return for Saturday’s contest. Belcher did not travel with the team to Denton, Texas last weekend after being sidelined with a bone bruise. He returned to practice this week.

Though entering Big Ten play with a blemished record for the first time in three seasons, senior left tackle Andrew McDonald said he believes the team is ready for the Big Ten.

“We’re not under-motivated because we know this is the start of Big Ten,” he said. “We’re excited. We’re hyped, about to go out there and actually play in conference.”