Penn State exorcised its demons on All Hallow’s Eve, taking down Purdue at home and earning its first Big Ten win of the Matt Campbell era.

The Nittany Lions displayed so many facets of the game that had been lacking in previous weeks, including the run game, but the real change wasn’t necessarily about X’s and O’s, but rather a mindset.

Complementary football is winning football, and Matt Campbell has preached it since the day he stepped foot in Happy Valley.

It might’ve taken four losses in a row for Penn State to truly learn that lesson, but the locker room is focused on playing for one another now more than ever.

“I think it’s exciting for this group because it is really the culture we’re trying to create here, Campbell said. “You win with team. You win with not paying attention to the outside noise. You win with having the ability to stay focused on your crowd, and you win with team football. Tonight, we played team football for four quarters, which was great to see.”

Penn State needed to embrace that selfless mentality from the get-go in Saturday’s game after the team announced Chase Sowell would be sidelined with an injury.

Sowell has proven to be a true WR1 over the past couple of weeks, particularly after notching a 151-yard performance two weeks ago against Michigan.

His absence was presumably supposed to be detrimental for the Nittany Lions, a group that has lacked significant production from the other offensive position groups. But the unsung heroes of this team made sure that was not the case.

Whether it’s the star players coming up big or some of Penn State’s depth pieces eating into those touches, the team is beginning to buy into that next-man-up mentality.

“Amarion [Jackson] stepped up, another young man that’s really showcased himself in practice over the last couple weeks and waiting for his opportunity,” Campbell said. “You know, I kind of think that’s what offensive football is. You have good players go down; the next guy’s got to step up.

Jackson had two receptions for 31 yards, his first catches since Penn State’s Week 1 victory over Marshall. Brett Eskildsen had just one.

If there’s anyone who has grown especially privy to the idea of playing for something bigger than yourself, it’s tight end Andrew Rappleyea.

He’s shown all season that putting in the dirty work leads to Penn State reaping the fruits of its labor, and he continues to be the voice in the locker room that emphasizes it.

“‘You need me to lead block, you know, pull that hole?’ I got you. ‘You need somebody to cut it off on the backside?’ We got you. ‘We need a little dump route for the flat?’ We got you,” Rappleyea said. “Just having a room that can complement each other, and having no emotion to it, too.”

Playing the style of football that Penn State demonstrated against the Boilermakers is key to finding immediate success, but more importantly, it enables the team to build momentum, both in-game and long term.

There was a moment on Saturday night when Yvan Kemajou was called for roughing the passer on a critical third down in the third quarter. It was a questionable call, as it appeared Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne still barely had the ball in his hand.

A moment that would have resulted in a Purdue punt turned into a fresh set of downs for the black and gold.

Unfortunately for the Boilermakers, Jamison Patton wasn’t in the mood to let them off the hook.

Just a few plays after the Kemajou penalty, Patton picked off Browne, giving Penn State the possession it deserved.

The Nittany Lions have struggled to respond to adversity all season long, so the defensive response to misfortune was refreshing to see.

“I felt at different times in the second half of a couple of these games where it was going against us, and we fold,” Campbell said. “We didn’t have the, for whatever reason, ability to respond. At Michigan, I saw this group respond, and to me, gain some momentum for itself.”

Campbell’s risk-taking also proved beneficial in giving his team a jolt.

Penn State elected to fake a field goal deep in Boilermaker territory, with holder Nathan Tiyce shoveling a pass to Benjamin Brahmer for the first down.

The decision not only gave the offense a fresh set of downs, but also a boost of determination to finish the job special teams had started.

The Nittany Lions capitalized, scoring their first touchdown of the game and first opening-drive touchdown of the season after the trickery.

“[Special teams] showed out tonight. Defense showed out tonight, and the offense. So we just played complementary football, and we need to continue to do that for our season,” Rocco Becht said.

With four games remaining, Penn State will look to build on the foundation it set tonight.

When all three phases of the game are in sync, the Nittany Lions open a pathway forward that will ultimately put them in a better spot to push for bowl eligibility.

“Losing, it’s uncomfortable. It exposes a lot of things,” linebacker Kooper Ebel said. “It was very uncomfortable for four weeks. But I think it helped us. To be uncomfortable, that’s when you can always grow.”

Campbell has this locker room in the right headspace at the most pivotal point of its season, no doubt.

He’s talked all season about the work his players have been putting into practice to flip the script, and it could finally be paying off.

There was a consensus amongst the players that the bye week practices were their most successful to date. There was a different vibe in Holuba Hall and the Lasch Football Building, as they knew dropping another game was off the table.

In college football, it really is a game of who wants it more. Penn State made its decision.

“It sucks for the prior results, but we continued to stay the course,” Becht said. “We continued to grow, and everybody just continued to stay bought in. Nobody complained. Nobody wanted to walk away. Everyone wanted to just come to work every single day, and that’s what our result was.”

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