Penn State beats Purdue to open its season on the road. How important is the win?
Penn State opened its season with an important win Thursday night in a game that nearly ended poorly for the Nittany Lions. They defeated the Purdue Boilermakers on the road at Ross-Ade Stadium, 35-31.
Purdue got on the board first in a game that started with a slow pace. The Boilermakers hit a 36-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead, but Penn State was able to respond. The Nittany Lions drove down the field and Sean Clifford hit wide receiver Mitch Tinsley underneath. Running back Kaytron Allen blocked his man into the endzone, freeing up Tinsley to score on his first catch as a Nittany Lion.
Purdue found its way offensively to match with a long drive of its own that ended with a strong three-yard run by King Doerue. That’s when the tide turned in the Nittany Lions’ favor. They took advantage of a short field to score on a two-yard run by Sean Clifford on a 43-yard drive.
Then, Zakee Wheatley punched the ball out for a fumble recovered by Joey Porter Jr., which was followed by a 67-yard touchdown pass from Clifford to Brenton Strange. Strange came back for the ball, broke a tackle and ran it in for a score with only two seconds left in the half to give Penn State a 21-10 halftime lead.
Purdue once again cut the lead to open the second half with another Doerue touchdown.
The Nittany Lions then turned to freshman quarterback Drew Allar after Clifford ran into the locker room with an undisclosed injury. However, he returned shortly thereafter and came back in after one Allar drive that included two completions on four attempts for 26 yards.
Purdue continued walking down the field on Penn State, taking the lead on a touchdown pass from Aidan O’Connell to Charlie Jones.
Penn State battled right back after a stop by its defense, with Clifford leading the way. The Nittany Lions began throwing the ball more and the redshirt senior quarterback connected with his wideouts, including on a 29-yard touchdown pass to go back up 28-24. Clifford followed with a mistake, throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Chris Jefferson.
The veteran quarterback regained his composure late in the game to lead the Nittany Lions on an eight-play, 80-yard drive to take the lead, 35-31.
That proved to be enough as the defense stopped Purdue and gave Penn State the season-opening win.
Player of the game
Purdue WR Charlie Jones: Jones was the best offensive player on the field Thursday night, and made a living finding space and making plays for the Boilermakers. He finished the game with 12 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown in his debut for Purdue. Jones is one of the best players in the country in the open field but made plays before he got the ball Thursday. He continued to find gaps in Penn State’s secondary and fought for separation right at the line of scrimmage on slant routes. He made timely plays and helped the Boilermakers consistently move the chains in the game.
What the win means
Penn State earning this victory could go a long way in getting the team back to double-digit wins for the first time in three years. The Nittany Lions needed to win several of their perceived coin flip games and this was one of them. Now they’re out in front in that area with another 50/50 matchup looming in two weeks against Auburn. Beating Purdue sets the tone for Penn State and now they have a real chance at earning 10 wins this season.
This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 12:04 AM.
