Penn State-Purdue preview

Penn State at Purdue

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Saturday, noon, at Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Ind.

TV: 6ABC. Radio: WNTP-AM (990), WNPV-AM (1440).

Records: Penn State 5-2, 3-1 Big Ten, ranked No. 24 in the AP poll. Purdue 3-4, 1-3.

History: Penn State has won the last seven games in this series and leads, 13-3-1. The last game was played in 2013, a 45-21 victory for the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Purdue's last win came in 2004.

About Penn State: Avoiding a letdown from last week's historic 24-21 upset of No. 2 Ohio State is the top priority for the Nittany Lions, who are trying to break a seven-game losing streak on the true home fields of their opponents. . . . Special teams in the fourth quarter were huge last week. . . . A field goal attempt that was blocked by Marcus Allen and returned 60 yards for a touchdown by Grant Haley with just under 41/2 minutes to play proved to be the winning score for the Lions. . . . That happened about five minutes after Penn State's Tyler Davis kicked a field goal that was set up on a blocked punt by Cameron Brown. . . . The Lions' defense shut out the Buckeyes for the final 25 minutes and sacked J.T. Barrett six times, five in the second half. . . . Linebackers Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda came back from injuries, with Bell being in on 19 tackles. . . . The Lions are tied for fourth in the country in tackles for loss per game (9.0). . . . The Penn State offense gained just 276 yards and Trace McSorley completed only eight passes, but four of those completions were for 20 yards or more. . . . McSorley is 12th in the nation in yards per completion (14.32). . . . Saquon Barkley has 681 yards rushing on the season.

About Purdue: The Boilermakers are playing their first home game under interim coach Gerad Parker, who replaced the fired Darrell Hazell on Oct. 16 . . . They threw a scare last week into unbeaten Nebraska, holding a 14-10 halftime lead before going scoreless in the second half and losing 27-14. . . . Sophomore David Blough, who has thrown for more than 300 yards in each of the last two weeks, leads the Big Ten in passing yards with 2,065 yards and has thrown for 14 touchdowns, but he also has had 11 passes intercepted. . . . DeAngelo Yancey is Blough's top target, having caught 28 passes for 491 yards. . . . The Boilermakers do a good job of protecting Blough, having allowed just 11 sacks in seven games. . . . They haven't had much balance in their offense, with a rushing attack that gains 120 yards per game, good for only 116th in the Football Bowl Subdivision. . . . Defensively, Purdue allows 33.3 points and 441.0 yards per game. . . . Senior defensive end Evan Panfil leads the team with four sacks and 91/2 tackles for loss.

- Joe Juliano EndText