10/5/2023 0 Comments Drew breeze vs penn state![]() And I hope everyone understands that now that it was shown to everyone.If life is like a box of chocolates (you never know what you’re gonna get), then pro days are like a box of donuts (you pretty much know exactly what you’re going to get, but certain varieties are more popular than others). ![]() That's the way the game was meant to be played. I had a lot of confidence.” - Penn State linebacker Derek Wake (The Daily Collegian) I was working on adrenaline on the second one. The rest of the punt return team opened the hole for me. “We practiced going after the punter hard all week in practice. “If we had lost that football game and played hard and played better I could have walked off the field and felt 'hey, we're making progress.' It's a big relief for me to have them understand what it takes to win a tough football game." - Penn State coach Joe Paterno (The Daily Collegian) The Boilermakers lost 34-24 to Washington in the Rose Bowl. Purdue, meanwhile, went 5-1 in the remainder of the regular season, including upsets of Michigan and Ohio State, to clinch a share of its first Big Ten crown since 1967. They went 3-3 the rest of the way to finish 5-7, their worst record since 1936. The Fallout: The Nittany Lions’ struggles that season weren’t over. Eric McCoo had 106 of Penn State’s 221 yards rushing, while Penn State's defense, breaking up 16 passes, held Brees to 281 yards on 50 attempts. Brees found Sutherland for another touchdown in the fourth and tried to lead his team back late in the game, but time expired after a third-down Hail Mary thrown from just inside of midfield fell incomplete. Following a Purdue three-and-out, Wake brought down Dorsch again at the 6, and Casey went in from 2 yards out. ![]() That score was set up by a tremendous special teams play from Derek Wake, who tackled Dorsch (doubling as Purdue’s punter) at his own 11-yard line. Penn State’s foray inside the Purdue 2-yard line stalled and resulted in another Primanti field goal, but the next time Paul Jefferson punched it in from a yard out and, after a blocked extra point, the Nittany Lions led 15-13 with 2:15 to play in the third. Joe Odom’s interception of Rashard Casey on the first possession of the third quarter led to Brees’ 5-yard touchdown reception from wideout Vinny Sutherland, and the Boilermakers led 13-6. Purdue’s potent offense had just 187 yards on 45 plays at the half. The Game: The teams traded field goals in the first half, with Penn State’s Ryan Primanti connecting from 46 and 32 yards and Purdue’s Travis Dorsch from 44 and 25. Purdue was ranked 19th in the country and led by a quarterback named Drew Brees, who had averaged 350 yards passing in his first four games of the season, and a defense that had been stalwart against the run, allowing fewer than 2.5 yards per carry to that point. Worse, Penn State had lost freshman defensive back Adam Taliaferro to a severe spinal injury the week before in the loss in Columbus. They crushed Louisiana Tech before falling 12-0 at Pitt and 45-6 at hated rival Ohio State. They had been smoked by USC in the season opener in the Meadowlands and followed that up with a stunning home loss to Toledo. The Leadup: The Nittany Lions were in the midst of a nightmarish season that few saw coming. The Nittany Lions have a healthy 13-1 advantage in those matchups but six of those games have been decided by a touchdown or less, including a memorable late September tussle in Beaver Stadium in 2000. Penn State and Purdue will meet this fall for just the 16th time since the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993.
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