Penn State 31, Purdue 17: Disappointment Valley

I could do a lot with this game wrap. I could mention stats. I could mention how Penn State’s defensive pressure caused Ryan Browne all kinds of problems on the day. I could talk about Purdue’s defensive scheme struggling yet again. I could even mention how this game was won in the margins, as Penn State’s offense was grinding and effective while Purdue’s struggled all day. The thing is, it is much easier than that.

Penn State could run the ball. Purdue couldn’t.

That’s really what it boils down to. Penn State ran for 269 yards on 51 carries. Purdue didn’t even have 51 plays on offense (it had 44). They were getting more than five yards per carry and by the end of the first quarter they had two runs of 40+ yards when previously they had zero runs over 10 yards in Big Ten play. That led to a gargantuan advantage in time of possession, as the Nittany Lions had the ball for more than 43 minutes.

Conversely, when Purdue’s offense had the football it didn’t do a lot. The second drive of the game was good as Browne hit on a couple big plays, the second a 33-yard TD to Xavier Townsend that was underthrown and kind of lucked into a score. The 75 yards gained on that drive represents nearly half the yardage gained by the offense on the day, as the Boilers finished with 175 yards of offense. Because we were playing catch up all day there was no real chance to establish the run, which is how Purdue beat Illinois and Minnesota. It got a lead, could run the ball, and kept our defense safely on the sideline. While the blocked punt returned for a TD by Jalil Hall was great and it tied the game, it had the effect of sending a tired and ineffective defense right back out there.

Despite trailing by just one score at halftime the Purdue offense did not earn a first down for two entire quarters of football. It did not get one in the second quarter because the blocked punt returned for a touchdown meant that the offense simply did not have the ball for a long stretch. In the third quarter it got a first down via penalty, only to give up an interception.

You’re not going to beat anyone when you can’t get a first down for two straight quarters. Penn State’s defensive pressure disrupted everything the Boilers tried to do after that first quarter TD drive and only the blocked punt prevented this game from being worse. On the other side of the ball, they could bleed the clock because there was zero threat of the defense slowing down the run.

The run Boilermaker run defense was awful this week.

Awful.

The Nittany Lions entered averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. Also, their top two receivers missed the game. It was blatantly obvious before the game that they were going to at least try to run with an bad running game and set up passes to tight ends in the flat. I knew it. You knew it. Everyone knew it.

Well, except for Kevin Kane, that is.

Penn State averaged over 5 yards per carry today and those tight ends caught eight passes for 103 yards and a score. I really don’t know what it will take to shore things up at this point. There is little reason for teams to pass on us because they can easily get 5-7 yards per carry. The Nittany Lions didn’t do anything fancy, yet Cam Wallace and Carson Hansen had no problems whatsoever in gaining more than 230 yards combined on 39 carries.

That’s what makes this game so frustrating. It was clear that Penn State was going to do once they marched for a 96-yard TD drive that was way too easy on their opening drive. They dared us to stop the run and Purdue was utterly incapable of doing so.

With four games left Purdue has to find a way to win three of them if it wants to reach a bowl game. That’s going to be real hard, but the focus right now has to be on Maryland. The Terrapins are not good by any stretch of the imagination. Even when we thought Purdue was worse, this was a game circled as a good shot at a win. Now it simply has to be. The offense needs to get back on track against a defense that is just as bad as Purdue’s defense. The defense has to slow down the least efficient offense in the conference.

It feels like the momentum of the two game win streak is gone. For two straight games now Purdue has been unable to slow down an opposing offense. There was improvement agaisnt Illinois and Minnesota, but things have taken a major step back since.

For better or worse, Kevin Kane has for more games where he will be stealing a salary from the university. We now have a chance at a get right game and we need to seize on it.