FINAL: Purdue Boilermakers fall to Penn State, 45-21
By Evan Reller
Nov 16, 2013; University Park, PA, USA; Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Danny Etling (5) drops back to pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The Purdue Boilermakers season of disappointments rolled on with another loss. The Boilermakers looked competitive early on, but ultimately fell to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions managed to pull away late in the game in a 45-21 win. Saturday’s performance was the most points Purdue has scored since September.
Purdue trailed 28-14 at halftime, and opened up the third quarter with another score to close within a touchdown. From there, it was all PSU which rattled off 17 straight points to close out the game.
Purdue managed 261 total yards of offense. Danny Etling had another decent game, completing 21-of-33 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. He also had two turnovers.
Etling had an 11-yard rush for a touchdown, but overall lost yards in the running game after taking seven sacks.
The Boilers struggled to run the ball, and only had one-yard rushing in the first half. They finished with 38 yard off 20 attempts, a 1.9 average.
Raheem Mostert had the play of the day with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Purdue turned the ball over three times, but it could have been worse. The Boilers fumbled the ball four times, but only lost it twice.
Purdue’s biggest problem was stopping running back Zach Zwinak. Zwinak rushed for 149 yards and found the end zone three times. As a team, Penn State racked up 289 yards rushing.
Purdue dropped to 1-9 (0-6) after the loss. This might be the worst season for the Boilermakers in the past 40 years.
Next week might be Purdue’s last winnable game of the season as the host Illinois. The Illini are one of three teams that doesn’t have a conference win this season (the other being Northwestern).
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