5 Observations From Purdue's 31-17 Loss to Penn State
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Purdue entered Saturday's game against Penn State hoping to put a scare in the Nittany Lions. The only thing scary about that contest, though, was the Boilermakers' performance inside Beaver Stadium on Halloween.
A few big plays went Purdue's way in the first half, but the Boilers were otherwise dominated by the Nittany Lions. It was particularly disappointing for Barry Odom's squad, especially because it had two weeks to prepare for the Week 9 showdown in State College.
Here are a few quick observations from Purdue's 31-17 loss to Penn State to fall to 3-5 on the season and 2-3 in the Big Ten.
Penn State's early success on the ground
Entering Saturday's game, Penn State didn't have much of a rushing attack. The Nittany Lions averaged just 130 yards per game on the ground this season and hadn't totaled more than 100 rushing yards in their last three games. By the end of the first quarter, Penn State had already racked up 124 yards on the ground.
Running back Cam Wallace sliced up the Boilermakers for 135 yards and a touchdown. Carson Hansen added 96 yards and a score. As a team, Penn State tallied 269 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
Much of Penn State's success on the ground came in the first half. In fact, no Nittany Lion running back had a rush of 10 yards or more against a Big Ten opponent entering Saturday's game. When the first quarter ended, the Nittany Lion backs had a pair of 40-yard carries.
Offense produced nothing
It looked like Saturday's game might look similar to the one we saw in Week 3 when Purdue traveled to UCLA. Ryan Browne threw up a prayer on the team's second drive and it was caught by Xavier Townsend, who fought off a pass interference and found the end zone.
That turned out to be the only big play of the day for the Boilermakers.
Purdue ended the game with just 175 yards, nine first downs and converted just 2-of-11 of its third-down opportunities. The run game was non-existent, totaling only 33 yards on 15 attempts. Perhaps most indicting, though, was the fact that the Boilers never reached the red zone against the Nittany Lions.
Not building any momentum after big plays
Purdue had two big plays that could have potentially changed the momentum of the game. First, the Hail Mary pass from Browne that was caught by Townsend in the first quarter was one of the most ridiculous touchdowns of the season for the Boilermakers. But they weren't able to do anything offensively after that.
Then, Purdue's special teams made a huge play in the second quarter. Bisi Owens blocked a punt and Jalil Hall recovered and raced 31 yards down the field for a touchdown. That score tied the game at 14-14. It seemed like that could have been a momentum-changing moment.
The Boilermakers were unable to seize the momentum from either of those plays.
Special teams continues to be a strength
If you want to look at a positive from Saturday's disappointing loss, it's the play of the special teams. Yes, it did allow Penn State to convert a 4th down on a fake field goal, but it was a well-designed play that caught the Boilermakers off guard.
Still, James Shibest's unit blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown and true freshman Jacobo Echeverria Lozano drilled a 49-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to keep Purdue alive late.
Those might be small victories for Purdue, but it was the only group that receives a positive review from the loss.
Poor performance out of a bye week
There's no other way to slice it, Purdue's performance coming out of the bye week was disappointing. This team had two weeks to prepare for a Penn State squad that hadn't won a Big Ten game and was without its top two receivers, Chase Sowell and Koby Howard.
Saturday was an opportunity for Odom to get a signature win and enter November with some real momentum. Instead, it dropped the ball in one of its most important games of the year.
How will the Boilers respond next week when they welcome Maryland to West Lafayette for Homecoming?
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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