Penn State football cruised to an easy 49-10 victory over Purdue on Saturday in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Drew Allar had a great game while Tyler Warren was once again a star for the offense. With such a large lead, Franklin got 68 players involved, and freshman tight end Luke Reynolds scored his first collegiate touchdown.

While Penn State played nearly flawlessly in the win, there was still a lot to take in at Ross-Ade Stadium and the surrounding campus.

The World’s Largest Drum?

In no conceivable universe was the (admittedly large) drum being wheeled around the field during the game Saturday the “World’s Largest Drum.” In fact, a quick Google search reveals the world’s largest drum is a Korean “CheonGo” drum that stands nearly 20 feet tall and weighs nearly seven tons.

But, according to the Purdue drum’s website, it was the largest when it was built in 1921. Sitting on Ford Model A racing tires, the drum weighs 315 pounds with its steel carriage adding an extra 250 pounds. The drum was featured during the pregame and halftime shows and was wheeled to different spots on the field by its seven-person crew.

Since Saturday was the last home game of Purdue’s season, senior members of the marching band lined up at halftime and each took a turn striking the drum. While “world’s largest” might be an overstatement, Purdue’s big drum is a neat college tradition.

Purdue Hot Dogs

The Purdue-branded hot dogs were featured on Gameday Observations the last time Onward State’s football beat traveled to West Lafayette, and, thankfully, they were still there two years later — even if it’s hard to make out anything but the “P.”

Contrary to the last trip, there was an actual press room for James Franklin’s postgame press conference, and the spread didn’t sound nearly as bad. Good on you, Purdue.

Students Bail Early

If you thought students bailed early on the White Out last week, it was even worse in West Lafayette on Saturday.

Ross-Ade Stadium is starting to clear out before the second half. pic.twitter.com/rD0NCbrwme

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 16, 2024

While this could’ve been chalked up to the typical halftime exodus to the concourse, the stands didn’t fill back in when the players took the field for the second half.

Trailing 21-3 at the half with a 1-8 record and no conference wins, it’s hard to blame them.

Trains, Trains, More Trains, & Purdue Pete

These guys love their trains. The marching band formed a train engine, train horns were a constant from the Ross-Ade sound system, and a Boilermaker Special rolled out pregame.

The name “Boilermaker,” though, comes from the school’s agrarian roots. In 1891, the school purchased an 85,000-pound Schenectady No. 1 Locomotive that the school’s engineering department used for hands-on education from 1891 to 1897, eventually bringing about the train mascot.

After the team defeated Wabash College 44-0 in 1891, a sports writer from the Daily Argus ran a story titled “Slaughter of Innocents: Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers from Purdue,” and the term stuck.

Aside from the trains, the Boilermakers also took pride in their other mascot, Purdue Pete. Pete even got to meet the Nittany Lion, and while it was tense at first, the mascots eventually came together in peace.

The Nittany Lion and Purdue Pete greet each other in the end zone before kickoff. pic.twitter.com/G0WilPrc6p

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 16, 2024