Penn State is off this weekend and hosts Purdue Oct. 31 at 4:15 p.m. on Big Ten Network

Penn State does not play this Saturday. The Nittany Lions have a bye on Oct. 24 and return on Saturday, Oct. 31, when they host Purdue at Beaver Stadium in University Park. Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m. ET, and the game will air on Big Ten Network, The Sporting News reports.

The week off comes at a useful time for a team that has stalled. Penn State won its three nonconference games and has lost all four of its Big Ten games since. The latest was an 18-21 loss at Michigan, where wide receiver Chase Sowell caught 11 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, according to The Sporting News. Campbell's team still has no conference win, and Purdue is the first of five Big Ten opponents left on the schedule.

After Purdue, Penn State plays at Washington on Nov. 7, hosts Minnesota on Nov. 14 and Rutgers on Nov. 21, and finishes at Maryland on Nov. 28. To reach six wins and bowl eligibility, the Nittany Lions need three wins from those five games.

What it means for Purdue

The season splits cleanly in two for Penn State. Against Marshall, Temple and Buffalo, the Nittany Lions outscored opponents 127-22. In four Big Ten games they have been outscored 110-74. The details matter, though. Three of those four losses came by one score: 20-24 to Wisconsin, 23-31 to No. 19 USC and the three-point loss in Ann Arbor. The exception was a 13-34 loss at Northwestern on Oct. 2, the only game this season in which Penn State was not within striking distance late.

The offense has been the problem in league play. Penn State has averaged 18.5 points against Big Ten teams, after scoring at least 27 in every nonconference game. Home field has not helped much either. Penn State is 2-2 at Beaver Stadium, and both losses came against conference opponents.

Purdue arrives with the same 3-4 record but more to show in the league. The Boilermakers are 2-2 in Big Ten play after beating Illinois 24-17 on the road and Minnesota 41-13 at home, with losses at UCLA, 38-52, and to Washington, 26-38, last weekend. Their nonconference results were harder on them: a win over Indiana State, a 36-38 loss to Wake Forest and a 10-49 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame.

Purdue's games tend to be high scoring. The Boilermakers have scored 219 points and allowed 226, about 31 points a game on each side. Penn State has allowed 132 points all season, about 19 a game. Even in conference play, no Big Ten opponent other than Northwestern has scored more than 31 against the Nittany Lions. That sets up a clear test on Oct. 31: whether the Penn State defense that has kept most league games close can slow an offense that has put up 36 or more points four times, and whether the extra week of preparation fixes an offense that has not gotten above 23 against a Big Ten opponent.

The loser falls to 3-5 with four games left and very little margin for a bowl trip. For Penn State, the winner of this one also decides whether the Big Ten losing streak ends at four.