No. 24 Penn State (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) took the field in Ross-Ade Stadium hoping to look up its third-straight bowl berth under James Franklin. The Nittany Lions did just that, crushing the Boilermakers 62-24.

How It Happened

Penn State won the toss and elected to receive as junior Jason Cabinda joined fellow captains Brandon Bell, Brian Gaia, and Von Walker at midfield. The Nittany Lions started things off with a lengthy drive that chewed up eight plays and 85 yards. Saquon Barkley burst up the middle for a three-yard score — his Big Ten-leading 10th of the season — to give Penn State an early 7-0 lead with 11:33 to go in the first quarter.

Interim head coach Gerad Parker, who took over for Darrell Hazell, saw his offense step up and respond on its first drive. The Boilermakers went 77 yards on 10 plays and tied the ballgame with 6:26 to play in the quarter. Following three goal-line penalties on Penn State, Markell Jones took it in from one yard out to make it 7-7. The Nittany Lions promptly went three-and-out on their second series. Purdue started with great field position at its own 45-yard line following a nice return by Bilal Marshall.

The Boilermakers rattled off another impressive drive to take the end less than :30 seconds into the second quarter. On its 13th play of the series, Purdue crossed the goal line as quarterback David Blough found Cameron Posey for a one-yard touchdown to give the black and old gold a 14-7 lead. Penn State delivered an immediate response, traveling 82 yards in only five plays. Chris Godwin took a wide-open toss from McSorley for an easy 38-yard score. He practically jogged into the end zone to tie things up at 14-14 with 12:33 to play before the half.

Blough and the Boilermakers dialed up a response of their own on another sustained 13-play drive that stalled on the Penn State 25. J.D. Dellinger’s 42-yard field goal, a new career-best, was pure and Purdue took a 17-14 advantage with 6:57 left in the half. The Nittany Lions would knot the game up once more at 17-17 on a 33-yard field goal from Tyler Davis with 2:36 on the clock.

Purdue’s first punt of the day came less than two minutes before the break, and John Reid called for a fair catch at the Penn State 30. The blue and white struggled on the ensuing drive, going three-and-out to give the ball right back. Following a false start, Blake Gillikin’s 26-yard punt took a nasty backward bounce to the Purdue 47. Brent Pry’s defense needed a big stop with the Boilermakers driving, and it accomplished just that. Dellinger’s 39-yard try sailed wide left and McSorley took a knee into the half with the game still tied at 17-17.

The Nittany Lions and Boilermakers are tied 17-17 at the half. pic.twitter.com/Ell0iOn51i

— Onward State (@OnwardState) October 29, 2016

Penn State opened the second half with a Joey Julius kickoff out-of-bounds, giving the Boilermakers the ball at their 35-yard line. Backup linebacker Brandon Smith provided the first spark by returning a huge interception all the way to the Purdue 24. Four plays later, Chris Godwin picked up right where he left off, capping a short drive in the short-left corner with his second touchdown of the day from one yard out.

Both offenses traded stalled drives their next time out, but Gillikin’s deep bomb of a punt glanced off Marshall and Jordan Smith was there for the fumble recovery. Redshirt freshman tailback Andre Robinson scored his second-career touchdown two plays later to give the Nittany Lions some breathing room. They went up 31-17 with 8:17 left in the third quarter. Penn State’s defense held strong once again, forcing another Boilermaker three-and-out. McSorley led the Nittany Lions on a steady six-play drive, highlighted by a 42-yard grab by Saeed Blacknall down the left sideline. Davis would hit his second field goal of the afternoon — a 29-yarder — to double up Purdue, 34-17, with 6:03 left in the third.

The Boilermakers keep their heads on straight and dialed up a quick score to come within 10 points of the lead, as Blough beat Amani Oruwariye for a 62-yard touchdown toss to DeAngelo Yancey down the left sideline to make it 34-24. Joe Moorhead’s offense hardly broke a sweat driving down the field into Purdue territory before McSorley found a wide-open Miles Sanders for a 21-yard touchdown — his third of the day. Penn State scored a ridiculous 24 points in the third quarter alone to reach 41-24 with 15 minutes to play.

Ryan Buchholz provided Penn State’s first sack of the afternoon on Purdue’s next drive, dragging down Blough for a loss of six yards. When the Nittany Lions got the ball back on their 19-yard line, Saquon Barkley took the first handoff and was gone with the snap of a finger. Barkley went 81 yards to the house for a career-long and his second touchdown of the ballgame. His 277 yards of total offense set a new career-high for the Coplay, Pa., native as Penn State went up 48-24. The Nittany Lions weren’t done lighting up the scoreboard.

Indianapolis native Tommy Stevens checked in at quarterback for Penn State on its next series, orchestrating an impressive seven-play, 58-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard score for Mark Allen to make it 55-24 with 6:09 to go. Purdue went with its backup signal caller in Elijah Sindelar as well, but he would throw a pick right to Christian Campbell, who juked and weaved for an incredible touchdown. However, the play was called back for a block below the waist on Shareef Miller. Robinson’s second touchdown of the day from 19 yards out capped the scoring at 62-24 with 2:25 on the clock. The Nittany Lions put up their most points since 2008 (66-10) against Coastal Carolina and ever under Franklin (previous best 48).

Player Of The Game

Saquon Barkley | Sophomore | Running back

Barkley’s career day led a balanced Penn State offense to 511 total yards in the 45-7 second-half drubbing.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will be back under the lights in Beaver Stadium next Saturday against Iowa at 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network. James Franklin is already calling for a second White Out.