Penn State 31, Purdue 17: 269 rushing yards and 43 minutes of the ball

Penn State beat Purdue 31-17 at Beaver Stadium on Saturday by keeping the ball away from the Boilermakers. The Nittany Lions ran for 269 yards, held possession for 43:27 and did not turn it over. Purdue had the ball for 16:33 and managed 175 yards.

The win ends a four-game losing streak for Penn State, which moves to 4-4. Purdue falls to 3-5.

How it was won

The first half was level for a while. Rocco Becht found Andrew Rappleyea for a 4-yard touchdown at 5:13 of the first quarter, and Purdue answered two minutes later when Ryan Browne hit Xavier Townsend for 33 yards. Becht ran in from 6 yards with 50 seconds left in the quarter to make it 14-7.

Purdue's second score came from special teams. Jalil Hall returned a punt 31 yards for a touchdown at 8:52 of the second quarter, tying it at 14. Penn State took the lead back before half when Carson Hansen scored from 1 yard at 1:48, and it was 21-14 at the break.

The second half belonged to the Penn State offense. Ryan Barker hit a 44-yard field goal at 2:11 of the third quarter, and Cam Wallace scored from 2 yards at 9:23 of the fourth for a 31-14 lead. Jacobo Echeverria Lozano's 49-yard field goal at 6:08 closed the scoring.

Wallace led the ground game with 135 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. Hansen added 96 yards on 17 carries. Becht was efficient, 16 of 24 for 175 yards and a touchdown, with Benjamin Brahmer catching 4 passes for 58 yards and Rappleyea 4 for 45. Penn State finished with 457 total yards and 22 first downs.

Purdue could not stay on the field. Browne completed 10 of 29 passes for 142 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The Boilermakers ran for 33 yards; Fame Ijeboi had 20 on 11 carries. Asaad Waseem caught 3 passes for 64 yards and Townsend 4 for 46. Purdue converted 2 of 11 third downs and had nine first downs. With a punt return accounting for one touchdown, the offense produced 10 points.

Against the number

Penn State closed as a 10-point favorite and won by 14, so the Nittany Lions covered. The closing moneylines were Penn State -375 and Purdue +295, which put the market's view of a Purdue upset at roughly one in four.

The total closed at 55.5 and the teams combined for 48, an under. The possession split did most of that work: Penn State's long drives drained the clock, and Purdue's offense had little time and little success. Scoring stopped with more than six minutes to play.

Full pricing history is on the game page.

What's next

Purdue hosts Maryland on Saturday, November 7, on BTN. The Boilermakers are 3-5 and have lost two straight after back-to-back wins over Illinois and Minnesota. Their pass game has to be more accurate than it was here, and the run game needs more than 33 yards.

Penn State travels to Washington on Saturday, November 7. The Huskies beat Purdue 38-26 two weeks ago. Penn State's four losses have come by 3, 8, 21 and 4 points, and the run-first approach that worked against Purdue will be tested against a stronger opponent on the road.