The Most Interesting Stats of Penn State's Win Over Purdue

How did the Lions defeat Purdue 35-31? These numbers tell the story.

The Penn State-Purdue box score was dotted with unique storytelling stats from the Lions' 35-31 victory over Purdue.

For example: Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford finished with a better completion percentage (54%) and passer rating (148.3) than Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell (50%, 107.2).

In addition, O'Connell went 7 for 20 passing in the fourth quarter, throwing on 11 consecutive plays while the Boilermakers held the lead. As Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said, one more first down might have ended it.

What else stood out from the state package? Here's a look.

0: Penn State offensive penalties accepted. The Lions were called for one offensive holding penalty, which Purdue declined

1: Touchdown passes for Purdue's Aidan O'Connell. The quarterback threw 19 TDs over his final five games of 2021

3: Penalties Purdue committed on one play. Penn State accepted pass interference and declined offsides and holding

3:59: Elapsed game time

7: Number of Penn State true freshmen who played: QB Drew Allar, RBs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, WR Omari Evans, LB Abdul Carter, DT Zane Durant and DE Dani Dennis-Sutton

12: Targets to receiver Mitchell Tinsley in his first game for the Lions. Tinsley caught a team-high seven passes, one for a touchdown

12: Yards covered on Penn State's longest run (by Keyvone Lee)

16: Passes broken up by Penn State's defense (per updated box score released Saturday). It marked a school record and the most in an FBS game since 2018. Joey Porter Jr. also set a school record with 6

20: Consecutive games in which Penn State has forced a turnover, the second-longest active streak in FBS

23: Number of players who played for Penn State's defense

30%: Penn State's third-down completion rate (3 for 10)

46.9: Punting average for first-year Penn State starter Barney Amor, who had not punted in a game since November 2019, when he played for Colgate

72: Yards covered by Purdue's Chris Jefferson on his fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown. It was the first pick-6 against Penn State since 2018

100%: The team's combined red-zone success rate. Penn State scored touchdowns on all three of its red-zone trips. Purdue converted three TDs and a field goal

136: Third-quarter passing yards for Aidan O'Connell, when Purdue scored two touchdowns to take the lead

193: Yards after catch gained by Penn State receivers. Brenton Strange (56), KeAndre Lambert-Smith (45) and Mitchell Tinsley (41) led the group.

9,029: Career yards of total offense for Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, who threw for 282 and ran for 11

Penn State hosts Ohio in its home opener Sept. 10. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Beaver Stadium.

Read More

Penn State's night of redemption at Purdue

What we learned from Penn State's 35-31 win over Purdue

The Penn State-Purdue report card

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.