Penn State lost another one-score game, this time at the hands of No. 2 Indiana in Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
With the 27-24 loss, the Nittany Lions slid to 3-6 on the season and will fight to keep their bowl hopes alive through three remaining games.
Here are Penn State’s full offensive and defensive snap counts from the matchup, per PFF.
*Season total in parentheses
Quarterbacks
Ethan Grunkemeyer: 66 (225)
Jaxon Smolik: 0 (12)
Drew Allar: 0 (349)
Allar and Smolik remained out with injury, while true freshman Bekkem Kritza was listed as questionable and didn’t warm up pregame. With a startling lack of depth at the position, Grunkemeyer garnered all the offensive snaps against the Hoosiers.
Wide receivers
Trebor Peña: 41 (397)
Kyron Hudson: 37 (428)
Devonte Ross: 23 (277)
Koby Howard: 22 (60)
Tyseer Denmark: 1 (25)
Liam Clifford: 0 (95)
Aaron Enterline: 0 (7)
For the second consecutive week, Peña led all wide receivers in snaps, though he was only on the field for roughly two-thirds of the offense’s total plays. He also posted his best game of the season, with six catches for 99 yards, earning a 72.3 PFF grade, his highest in Big Ten action. Howard saw a career high in snaps and in turn produced a career high two receptions for 28 yards.
Running backs
Nick Singleton: 35 (288)
Kaytron Allen: 34 (309)
Cam Wallace: 0 (15)
Corey Smith: 0 (11)
Singleton slightly beat out Allen in snaps and had a season-high 59 yard run, which made up for an otherwise poor performance (12 yards on the other nine carries) on the ground. He added three receptions for 22 yards and totaled three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Allen broke Evan Royster’s program record for career carries, moving to 697.
Tight ends
Khalil Dinkins: 47 (365)
Andrew Rappleyea: 39 (225)
Luke Reynolds: 36 (324)
Joey Schlaffer: 0 (7)
Dinkins led the way in snaps, hauling in a career-best four receptions for 40 yards. Rappleyea caught three passes for 13 yards, while Reynolds had just one for five yards. The group’s six collective catches were the most since playing at UCLA, following interim head coach Terry Smith’s comments about getting the tight ends more involved in the passing game.
Offensive linemen
Nick Dawkins: 66 (553)
Drew Shelton: 66 (551)
Nolan Rucci: 66 (457)
Anthony Donkoh: 66 (449)
Vega Ioane: 66 (444)
Cooper Cousins: 14 (91)
TJ Shanahan Jr.: 0 (322)
Garrett Sexton: 0 (28)
Dom Rulli: 0 (28)
Owen Aliciene: 0 (22)
Eagan Boyer: 0 (4)
J’Ven Williams: 0 (2)
Chimdy Onoh: 0 (2)
Alex Birchmeier: 0 (2)
Ian Harvie: 0 (1)
Penn State opted to start Donkoh at right guard over Shanahan, who didn’t see any time; it’s unclear whether this stems from injury or performance, as he started last week and logged 61 snaps against Ohio State. Cousins, who Smith said “battled some injuries that set him back” this season, continued to see time in heavy packages.
Defensive linemen
Dani Dennis-Sutton: 55 (443)
Zuriah Fisher: 53 (319)
Zane Durant: 50 (384)
Xavier Gilliam: 25 (291)
Alonzo Ford Jr. 25 (245)
Yvan Kemajou: 19 (137)
Ty Blanding: 16 (103)
Jaylen Harvey: 9 (109)
Chaz Coleman: 0 (143)
Owen Wafle: 0 (78)
Enai White: 0 (34)
Randy Adirika: 0 (19)
Cortez Harris: 0 (13)
Bobby Mears: 0 (11)
Liam Andrews: 0 (11)
Sam Siafa: 0 (6)
Penn State kept a smaller rotation of defensive linemen against Indiana, with Dennis-Sutton, Fisher and Durant playing most of the game. Fisher finished with the highest PFF grade among the group and third highest on the defense at 74.5. Coleman was listed as out for the first time this season, resulting in a blow to depth at the position.
Linebackers
Amare Campbell: 63 (516)
Dom DeLuca: 38 (375)
Alex Tatsch: 22 (59)
Keon Wylie: 9 (134)
Tony Rojas: 0 (176)
Anthony Speca: 0 (47)
DaKaari Nelson: 0 (2)
Cam Smith: 0 (1)
Penn State got Tatsch more involved, rotating him in for DeLuca, which resulted in a career-high in snaps. The freshman finished with a respectable 69.0 PFF grade, taking advantage of increased playing time. Wylie continued to be utilized in three-linebacker looks.
Defensive backs
Zakee Wheatley: 64 (480)
Audavion Collins: 58 (368)
Zion Tracy: 57 (261)
A.J. Harris: 51 (410)
King Mack: 30 (326)
Daryus Dixson: 20 (131)
Dejuan Lane: 18 (170)
Antoine Belgrave-Shorter: 15 (144)
Kenny Woseley Jr.: 4 (187)
Elliot Washington II: 3 (226)
Vaboue Toure: 0 (51)
Jahmir Joseph: 0 (48)
Kolin Dinkins: 0 (37)
Tyler Armstead: 0 (12)
Wheatley continued to dominate in total snaps and recorded five tackles on the day, but it was Mack and Tracy who earned the two highest PFF grades on the defense at 85.1 and 75.2, respectively. Mack had a critical interception for the Nittany Lions and allowed only one reception for one yard, while Tracy continued to be effective against screens and on pass rushes. Washington saw a season-low in snaps, likely related to giving up a 53-yard reception on his only target faced.
