What We Learned from Penn State's Dominant Win Over Purdue

The Nittany Lions rout the Boilermakers 49-10 as they continue pursuing a home date in the College Football Playoff.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State took care of business on Saturday, dispatching one-win Purdue to remain in the driver’s seat for a first-round home game in the College Football Playoff. Here’s what we learned from the Nittany Lions’ lopsided 49-10 victory in West Lafayette, Indiana. 

Warren leads the way again for Penn State offense

Penn State’s offense revolves around tight end Tyler Warren. Purdue knew that coming in but still had no answers for one of the nation’s most versatile players. 

Warren was the Nittany Lions’ leading receiver with eight catches for 127 yards, including a pretty toe-tap touchdown in the first quarter. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 63 yards, highlighted by a 48-yard touchdown scamper out of the Wildcat. 

The big plays brought Warren up to 991 yards from scrimmage (808 receiving, 157 rushing and 26 passing) and 10 touchdowns this season. He has set the Penn State tight end record for single-season receptions and yards and now is tied with Pat Freiermuth for most receiving touchdowns (16).  

Quarterback Drew Allar had an extremely efficient day, throwing more touchdowns (3) than incompletions (2). Running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen were effective on limited carries, gaining 60 yards on 13 total carries. They also impacted the passing game with six catches for 64 yards. 

The biggest building block for Penn State was third down. The starters converted seven of 10 third downs with an average third-down distance of 3.5. That followed a 7-for-7 performance on third down in the first half against Washington last week. If the Nittany Lions can maintain that efficiency, as well as the turnover-free play, they’ll have continued success this year. 

Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren is defended by Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Kyndrich Breedlove during the first quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Defense takes care of business

It was a familiar story for the Penn State defense, which clamped down on inferior competition. Purdue running back Devin Mockobee ran well early, but the Boilermakers went away from him as they started to fall behind. Quarterback Hudson Card was decent but couldn’t stretch the Penn State defense the way he needed. 

Purdue finished 5-for-14 on third down. Its two good drives in the first half ended in field-goal attempts (one good), which prevented the Boilermakers from making this much of a game. 

Defensive end Abdul Carter got plenty of pressure but couldn’t get a sack for his efforts. Instead, it was fellow defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton, Coziah Izzard and Amin Vanover who earned sacks. Carter did make two tackles for loss.

The only weakness for Penn State was stopping Purdue's star tight end Max Klare, who led the team with 91 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. No other Purdue player had more than two catches. 

Freshmen get involved 

Penn State coach James Franklin said before the game that more of his true freshmen would get involved during the final three weeks of the regular season. Penn State put in most of its backups by the end of the third quarter, which provided opportunities for more of the Nittany Lions’ true freshmen to get into the game. 

Luke Reynolds kept up the tight end production with 53 yards and his first career touchdown. Third-string running back Corey Smith got more run, gaining 37 yards on eight carries. Wide receiver Tyseer Denmark also played late and had a nice punt return. Offensive linemen Eagan Boyer and Cooper Cousins played multiple series down the stretch. 

A bunch of freshmen got involved on defense. Defensive backs Kenny Woseley Jr. and Antoine Belgrave-Shorter made three tackles each. Cornerback Jon Mitchell, defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam and linebacker Anthony Speca all got into the game as well. Defensive end Jaylen Harvey got snaps at defensive end but left the game with a leg injury in the fourth quarter. 

Up Next

Penn State visits Minnesota on Nov. 23 in its last regular-season road game. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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The Penn State Football report card: Purdue edition

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Meet the coach behind Penn State's quarterback success

Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson