If I told any of you that Penn State was going to have 579 yards of total offense, but only score 21 points last week against Iowa, you probably would’ve told me to go find another writing job.

Well, I didn’t tell you that, in fact, I told you the Nittany Lions would win big.

But then there was Kinnick.

Kinnick Stadium showed its voodoo magic once again, which in my opinion is only rivaled by Pedro Cerrano’s Joebu shrine from the motion picture “Major League.”

Not only did Penn State score just 21 points, but it needed to put together a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to get out of Kinnick with a “W.”

I think most Penn State faithful can agree they wanted to see a more dominant showing from the Nittany Lions, but like usual — and to a fault sometimes — I like to look at the glass half full rather than half empty.

A true road win at one of the most difficult places to win in the country along with showing the ability to make big time plays when the game is on the line is something that will only pay dividends down the line for this team. With games yet to play against Michigan at home and both Ohio State and Michigan State on the road, building that late game confidence is key.

Everything will not always go your way in the game of football even if you’re the more talented squad, so the ability to respond, react, and then finish is a valuable asset. Penn State proved that even when down late in the game and in a tough environment, you can’t count it out, and a lot of players and coaches around the country saw that last Saturday night.

Obviously the win was the main story in the Iowa game, but story 1A was Saquon Barkley. Barkley had one of those games that I used to have with Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson back when I was all about winning dynasty championships in NCAA Football video games. But seriously, Barkley showed last week why there should absolutely be no conversation about who the best running back in the country is. Barkley rushed for a career high 211 yards, scoring a touchdown, and also catching 12 balls for 94 yards.

Barkley leads the country in all-purpose yardage with 1,013 and he’s already 124 yards to the good of where Christian McCaffrey was in 2015 after four games when McCaffrey broke Barry Sanders all-purpose yardage record.

Now, onto the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers (2-1, 0-1 Big Ten East) will visit Happy Valley later this afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN). This game is an interesting one, because right off the bat what comes to my mind is that it’s always tough to come out and play at a high level after such an emotional win. If you talk to James Franklin he will almost certainly tell you different, but keep an eye on the first quarter in this one. Penn State could start slow, and it might take it a little time to get going after all the late game heroics a week ago in Kinnick.

The first key for the Nittany Lions is their defense against Indiana’s passing offense. Over the years, the Hoosiers have been a team that likes to air it out with strong armed quarterbacks, big wide receivers, and running backs that catch the ball exceptionally well out of the backfield.

Richard Lagow and his stable of wide receivers showed the country just that in week one, throwing a scare into Ohio State before the Buckeyes pulled away in the second half. Simply put, if Penn State doesn’t make Lagow uncomfortable he will hurt it. Wide receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr. is a match-up nightmare at 6-4 220 pounds and leads the team in receiving with 18 catches for 228 yards. Tight end Ian Thomas is someone the Nittany Lions will have to keep an eye on. He can create match-up issues in the middle of the Penn State defense at 6-5, 248. Thomas has 163 yards receiving on the season with three scores.

Penn State has been pretty solid against the pass this season, giving up just 159 yards passing per game, making six interceptions. The Nittany Lions have been rotating their defensive backs a lot so far, so it seems they’re always fresh in coverage. Grant Haley at cornerback and Marcus Allen at safety have been a very good combination to this point in the year and I like Christian Campbell in coverage as well with his bigger frame at 6-1.

The play of the defensive front for Penn State will also be key in this match-up. Obviously if the Nittany Lions are able to create pressure, that will in turn take some pressure off of their defense on the back end. The “Wild Dogs” defensive line has been averaging three sacks per game, which isn’t bad, but they could definitely be better. I think Penn State fans will see this defensive front get better as the season goes on. I think defensive coordinator Brent Pry will probably drop the linebackers back into coverage a lot to help against the Hoosiers air attack, so it will be up to the defensive front to win their one-on-one battles and create pressure.

Defensively, Indiana is giving up almost 28 points per game and almost 200 yards per game on the ground. Look for Penn State to exploit that. The Hoosiers will probably take a page out of Iowa’s defensive playbook from a week ago and try to really limit the Nittany Lions big plays. Meaning, they’ll force PSU to take the short and underneath routes in the passing game.

As noted, the Nittany Lions were successful moving the ball last week, they just couldn’t finish off drives. I don’t expect that to happen at home.

Las Vegas has Penn State as an 18.5 point favorite and I like the Nittany Lions to cover.

The Nittany Lions might start slow in this one, but Indiana’s run defense just isn’t good enough to stop Barkley. Add that to the fact that the Hoosiers are banged up — Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen mentioned this week that top players at defensive tackle, and defensive back are questionable for the game this afternoon.

My pick is Penn State 40, Indiana 17.