Opponent View: Penn State

Will the losing streak finally end on Saturday?

That’s the hope for Purdue (1-8 overall; 0-6 Big Ten) when it plays host to Penn State (8-1; 5-1) at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS in Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermakers have dropped eight in succession since a season-opening victory vs. Indiana State.

Penn State has had its way with Purdue since joining the Big Ten in 1993, holding a 16-2 edge. Overall, the Nittany Lions lead the series 16-3-1. Penn State will bring a 10-game winning streak vs. Purdue into this week’s clash.

The Boilermakers last win came in 2004. Most recently, Penn State eased past the Boilermakers, 35-31, in the 2022 season opener on a Thursday night in Ross-Ade Stadium.

Steve Jones, the voice of Penn State football, breaks down the Nittany Lions in advance of their visit to Purdue on Saturday.

GoldandBlack.com: What can we expect from the Nittany Lion offense?

Jones: Drew Allar looks like a quarterback now that has started 22 games, and I think that makes a big difference in today’s college football. The Drew Allar that played a year ago, each start was getting his feet wet. There isn’t anything he has seen this season that he has not seen before, and I think that’s made a big difference. His ability to run, he’s a point A to point B guy, but he’s a very good point A to point B guy. Now, if he’s got to go sideways and so forth, it’s not going to work. But he’s got more speed than people realize, and he’s not a guy the hook slides very much.

Backup Beau Pribula brings great athleticism to the position. When he had to step into the Wisconsin game down 10-7 at halftime, when Allar got hurt, Beau played great. He was 11-of-13 passing, ran the ball effectively. Wasn’t surprised really by anything he did in that game, but it shows you the quality that they have. And Pribula does make appearances during the course of the game. Against Washington, for example, at the goal line, he’s the guy that scored the first touchdown on an option play.

This league has a lot of really terrific running back combinations, like Tre’Veyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins at Ohio State. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are very much like that. Allen’s more of a jump-cut guy, gets into the hole. Singleton brings some power, but also a lot of speed to the edge.

Tyler Warren is the guy that makes the whole thing work. This is one of the truly terrific athletes playing college football right now. And what makes it work in Andy Kotelnicki’s offense is Warren’s really smart. He will line up at all sorts of places during the course of the game. You have to keep track of where 44 is.

They’ve needed to have a wide receiver emerge to balance him. That’s been Harrison Wallace. He has had a really good season. He got off to a great start. Then, in the middle, maybe not so much production. But lately, a lot of production.

Even though they lost three starting linemen in NFL draft, they might be actually playing better in the offensive line this year, especially in the protection area.

GoldandBlack.com: What can we expect from the Penn State defense?

Jones: Let’s start with Abdul Carter, because he’s been the best player up front for Penn State, and that was expected. He’s gone from linebacker to playing defensive end. But when they get to third down situations, you don’t know where he’s going to line up. He’s a great athlete. That burst off the edge, and he really is playing at a high level. Dani Dennis-Sutton is a terrific offset on the other side … size, speed. He brings a lot to the table. I think Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert have played well.

But I think the area where they really approved is defensive tackle. If you go back the last three, four years, you’ve been waiting for them to get that depth at defensive tackle with Zane Durant, Dvon J-Thomas. And you add in Alonzo Ford and Coziah Izzard, they now have depth at that defensive tackle spot.

James Franklin doesn’t normally recruit a middle linebacker. They’ll play middle linebackers, but they’ll recruit guys that can play multiple positions at linebacker. Kobe King is a middle linebacker, and it’s a rarity they recruited a guy like that. He’s playing at a very, very high level. Tony Rojas and Dominic DeLuca are two other linebackers that will play a lot along the way. DeLuca has great football instincts.

Safety. Jaylen Reed is having a spectacular year. In each of the last three games, he has an interception, including one he took back for a touchdown against Wisconsin that put Penn State in front. And Zakee Wheatley has played at a high level with KJ Winston out with injury.

They have very few transfers on this team, but two of them are at the corner spots. Jalen Kimber from Florida and A.J. Harris from Georgia. They’ve both played at a high level, along with Cam Miller, Elliot Washington and Zion Tracy.

So, defensively, they play a lot of people. Thus, when they get to the last quarter and a half, normally, they’re a pretty fresh football team.

GoldandBlack.com: How do you see this game unfolding?

Jones: As I said after the Ohio State game, Pennn State is in a four-game playoff to make the playoff. Now, they’re in a three-game playoff to make the playoff.

The last couple of games, they actually had fast starts, and they’ve actually been an excellent second-half team. One of the keys is going to be to play this possession by possession. Penn State needs to get the lead, and they need to tell Purdue, “Hey, look, it’s not your day today.”

For Purdue, they need to play this game in such a way where they it gets to the second half and they’re gaining more confidence as the game goes, and then the crowd gets going.

But I think Penn State has a lot of talent. I think they’re justifiably the prohibited favorite in the game, and if they go out and they take care of business, they will take another step forward.

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