2025 PSU vs. Indiana

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General Game Information

PSU-INDIANA FINAL GAME STATS LINK

PSU-INDIANA GAME FLOW & SUMMARY LINK

• Game Nine of 2025 season—This is the 4th official Helmet Stripe Game, and the first to feature Indiana. This is Indiana’s second “color out” appearance at PSU having played in the 2021 Stripe Out (a 24-0 loss to State under the lights at Beaver Stadium). This is the third and final regular season “color out” game at PSU this fall. This is also the third and final game of the season against the 2024 CFP Playoff teams from the Big Ten (Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana). This is the first game after time change, and the first game since the first 2025 CFP Poll was revealed on Nov. 4. This is also the 14th Military Appreciation Game at PSU, and the third to feature Indiana. This is the first Military Appreciation Game to share the stage with one of the three current major “color out” scheme games at PSU. This is the 6th and final “Color Scheme” game on this year’s regular season schedule (matching the 6 in the 2024 season if the “unofficial” Whiteout Energy game vs. Illinois is counted). The Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0) come into the Penn State game following a Nov. 1 visit to Maryland in which they rushed for 367 yards and beat the Terps, 55-10 (they also defeated UCLA, 56-6 on Oct. 25th). Indiana moved up to #2 in both the AP & Coaches polls beginning Oct. 19 and have remained there (PSU was also #2 early this season). It’s the highest rankings in IU history. FYI-Indiana has re-introduced its “Bison mascot” for the 2025 season. #2 Indiana is one of 4 remaining unbeaten teams in FBS along with #1 Ohio State.

• Last PSU Game: #1 Ohio State 38 Penn State 14 at Columbus (PSU’s 5th straight loss, 0-5 in Big Ten)—5 game losing streak matches 2020 streak and is 1 loss from matching worst losing streak of 21st century-6 in a row in 2003 & 2004 (PSU all-time record is 7 straight losses in 1931)

• This week’s rankings: CFP Poll: PSU #NR (first rankings of season/released Nov. 4-#1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #9 Oregon & #20 Iowa) / AP Poll: PSU #NR (for 5th straight week)-New AP Poll released Nov. 2-#1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #6 Oregon / Coaches Poll: PSU #NR (for 4th straight week)-New Coaches Poll released Nov. 2-#1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #6 Oregon

• 28th meeting with Indiana all-time: PSU is 25-2 vs. the Hoosiers in a series that dates to 1993. State has won its last 3 meetings with IU since the controversial 2020 season opening 36-35 overtime loss at Bloomington.

• 14th meeting with Indiana at Beaver Stadium: PSU is unbeaten at home vs. IU all-time (13-0).

• Their last meeting was in the 2023 Military Appreciation Game: Coming off a loss at Ohio State, PSU (favored by 32 pts.) pulls out narrow 33-24 win over the Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. Indiana shocked Penn State early with 90- and 69-yard TD passes thanks to blown coverages for a 14-7 lead. This was the game that saw Drew Allar throw his first career INT at PSU (after 311 passes) which set up a game-tying field goal in the 4th quarter. But, Allar righted the ship dropping a bomb into the hands of KeAndre Lambert-Smith down the right sideline for the game-winning 57-yard touchdown. The defense then tacked on 2 with a late safety on a Dani Dennis-Sutton strip sack for the 9-point escape.

• The Cignetti connection to Penn State: Curt Cignetti is in his second season as head coach at IU and this is his first ever meeting with Penn State as the Hoosiers coach. But, it’s not his or his family’s first run-in with the Nittany Lions. Curt’s father, Frank Cignetti, Sr. was the head coach at West Virginia (1976-79), and he had four battles with Joe Paterno. None of them went well for Frank. State drilled the Mountaineers all four times posting wins of 33-0, 49-28, 49-21, and 31-6. Frank was also an assistant at Pitt (1966-68) and at WVU (1970-75) and he suffered through 9 additional losses to Paterno (he was 0-3 with Pitt & 0-6 with WVU as an assistant), and his son Curt says he was on the sidelines for many of those games. Curt Cignetti has some Pennsylvania ties; he is a native of Pittsburgh and, not surprisingly, had been briefly mentioned by various media as a possible replacement candidate for James Franklin at PSU (But Cignetti reportedly signed a $93 million contract extension through 2033 with IU in mid-October making him one of the highest paid coaches in college football). Curt is also a former assistant at both Temple and Pitt, and he was the head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011-2016. As a player, he was a reserve QB at West Virginia (1980-82)—Penn State won all three meetings against WVU with Curt Cignetti on the varsity roster (Cignetti did not appear in any of those games vs. PSU). As an assistant at Pitt, Temple and Alabama, Curt has faced Penn State on 10 occasions. At Pitt (GA 1983-84, Asst. 1993-99), Cignetti and the Panthers had a 1-3-1 record vs. the Lions. At Temple (1989-92), Cignetti and the Owls went 0-4 vs. Penn State. And at Bama, he shared in the Tide’s 2010 win in Tuscaloosa. Coming into the 2025 game, the Cignetti all-time father & son record vs. PSU: 2-23-1 (only 1 of the 2 wins was at Beaver Stadium-1984 vs. Pitt).

• Helmet Stripe Game records: PSU is 1-2 in Helmet Stripe Games (2021 loss vs. Michigan, 2023 win vs. West Virginia under the lights, and 2024 loss vs. Ohio State). Michigan and Ohio State are the only opponents to have appeared in all 3 major “color out” schemes at PSU (Full Stadium Whiteout, Stripe Out, & Helmet Stripe games—OSU & UM also appeared in early “Student-only” Whiteouts). The Helmet Stripe concept was created, in effect, to give Penn State a second regular season “Whiteout”, and to replace the old “student-only” Whiteout which was the original plan for the 2021 Michigan game.

• Military Appreciation Game records: PSU is 12-1 all-time in this event which began in 2012 vs. Navy. PSU is also 8-1 vs. Big Ten opponents and 2-0 vs. Military Academy teams (wins over Navy in 2012 and Army in 2015). The lone Nittany Lions loss (35-19) came vs. Maryland in 2020. Last year’s game featured a 56-0 win over Kent State. Note: only 9 of the 14 games in this annual tradition have been scheduled in November in reasonable proximity to Veterans Day on November 11. In Fact, only the 2017 game vs. Rutgers (a 35-6 PSU win) was actually played on Nov. 11, and it was also Homecoming. Indiana is 0-2 in Military Appreciation Games (losses in 2019 & 2023).

• 3rd Noon ET kick for PSU in 2025: FIU home (BTN) and Ohio State road (FOX) games also kicked at Noon. This the first game this season to be played after time change to Standard Time. This is the first game this season to be scheduled on the “6-day advance selection window”. Game time and TV were officially announced in the evening of Nov. 1

  TV Information

• FOX Big Noon Gameday Announcers: Gus Johnson Play-by-play, Joel Klatt Analyst, with Jenny Taft Sideline Reporter. This is Gus and Joel’s second PSU telecast in 2025. They also called the PSU at Ohio State game last weekend.

• FOX Big Noon Kickoff Show will NOT air from Beaver Stadium this weekend. It will be live at the Iowa vs. Oregon game in Iowa City instead (program airs beginning at 10am EST and will run to the 12 noon kickoff of PSU-Indiana)—This is the first time that a PSU home game has been featured on FOX Big Noon without the pre-game show also originating live from State College (previous Big Noon Kickoff Show visits to PSU were 2022 Ohio State, 2023 Michigan, 2024 UCLA & 2024 Ohio State).

• This is the second straight weekend for PSU on FOX Big Noon. This is the first PSU home game on FOX Big Noon since the 2024 PSU vs. Ohio State game which ended in a 20-13 Penn State loss. Since its debut in 2019, this is the Nittany Lions 14th game appearance all-time on FOX Big Noon (only the 5th game played at Beaver Stadium).

• This is the 5th traditional network TV game of the 2025 season for PSU. CBS aired both the Nevada home win and UCLA road loss, NBC carried the Oregon home loss, and FOX also carried the Ohio State road loss last weekend.