Steamrolling the Boilermakers
It’s always fun to watch a game we know Penn State is going to win, isn’t it? This 49-10 demolishing of Purdue did not disappoint.
Drew Allar was nearly perfect. He boasted an 89.5% completion rate, the best by a Penn State QB in a single game in 25 years. He completed 17 of 19 (with one of the two missed being a drop) for 247 yards and three touchdowns. True Purdue was a fairly low-stakes game, but Drew put in one of his best performances all season.
Tyler Warren is making a case for Heisman. He had three catches for 59 yards on the first drive of the game alone. On the opening drive of the second half, he turned a third and one into a 48-yard touchdown. Warren also took a direct snap, threw a backward pass to Allar who immediately threw it back. All in all, he totaled 190 yards, 127 receiving and 63 rushing, and two touchdowns.
No interceptions by the defense this week, ending a three-game streak, but Tom Allen’s group looked solid as ever. Abdul Carter led the team with five tackles, two for loss. Dani Dennis-Sutton, Coziah Izzard and Amin Vanover took care of the sacks.
We didn’t need any field goal attempts, but Ryan Barker was perfect on his extra points. Riley Thompson punted four times and twice put it inside Purdue’s 20.
It was refreshing and confidence-boosting to see that Penn State took Purdue seriously despite their 1-8 record. Minnesota is up next, and we all remember the need to take them seriously. In 1999, the Golden Gophers dashed the national championship hopes of a 9-0 Nittany Lion team with a last second field goal to win by one point. In 2019, a 17th ranked Minnesota picked off Sean Clifford to secure the first loss of the season for our 4th ranked Penn State team.
Coach Franklin is already being asked about playoff preparations and his response is spot on. “If I start talking about things other than Minnesota, then so do our coaches and so do the players, and we lose focus, and then we come out and don't play well," Franklin said. "Right now, our focus is on Minnesota completely.” Go State! Beat the Golden Gophers!
