No. 6 Penn State Heads to Purdue
UNIVERSITY PARK – No. 6 Penn State travels to West Lafayette to take on Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday, November 16. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
NITTANY LIONS ON CBS: Penn State will play its 29th game on CBS on Saturday. The Nittany Lions are 18-10 all-time on CBS, including their 33-30 overtime win at USC on October 12.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State meets Purdue for the 21st time in program history. The Nittany Lions own a 16-3-1 record in the series and have won 10-straight matchups. In 2022, Penn State earned a 35-31 win in West Lafayette. Sean Clifford threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns, while adding a rushing score. The Nittany Lions scored on a go-ahead touchdown with 57 seconds. Joey Porter Jr. notched eight tackles, six pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
WARREN SETS SEASON RECORDS: On a pair of catches in the fourth quarter against Washington, Tyler Warren set Penn State tight end season records. On a 9-yard grab, Warren broke the PSU tight end season receptions record, previously held by Mike Gesicki (57; 2017). Warren has 59 catches this year. On a 2-yard catch, Warren overtook Gesicki (679; 2017) for the PSU tight end season receiving yards record. Warren owns 681 receiving yards this season.
TOUGH AGAINST THE RUN: Penn State limited Washington to 74 rushing yards on 33 carries (2.24 yards per carry). Penn State has held 17 of its last 20 Big Ten opponents under 100 rushing yards. Since 2022, Penn State leads the FBS, holding 25 opponents under 100 rushing yards. The Nittany Lions rank 10th in the nation, allowing 100.1 rushing yards per game this season. Twelve of Washington’s 33 rushes went for a loss or no gain as Penn State tallied nine tackles for loss and five sacks.
THE OPPOSITION: Purdue is 1-8 overall and 0-6 in Big Ten play after falling 45-0 at No. 2/3/3 Ohio State last Saturday. Hudson Card threw for 108 yards, while Devin Mockobee rushed for 73 yards. Dillon Thieneman led the Boilermakers with 11 tackles, including eight solo, and broke up a pass.
BY THE NUMBERS
110,233 – The Nittany Lions welcomed 110,233 fans against Washington for the Penn State White Out Game. It is the ninth-largest attendance in Beaver Stadium history.
3+ – Since 1956, Tyler Warren is one of three Big Ten tight ends with 3+ rushing touchdowns in a season.
15.5 – After posting four tackles for loss against Washington, Abdul Carter ranks third in the nation and leads the Big Ten with 15.5 tackles for loss this season.
3 of 4 – Jaylen Reed has an interception in three of the last four games.
PURDUE SCOUTING REPORT
Ryan Walters was hired as Purdue’s head coach on Dec. 13, 2022.
He has a 5-15 record at Purdue, including 3-11 in Big Ten games.
At age 38, he is the fourth-youngest head coach in the FBS.
Prior to Purdue, Walters served two seasons as defensive coordinator at Illinois, helping the Illini to a ReliaQuest Bowl appearance in 2022.
Purdue is 1-8 overall and 0-6 in Big Ten play.
The Boilermakers fell 45-0 at No. 2/3/3 Ohio State last Saturday.
QB Hudson Card threw for 108 yards, while RB Devin Mockobee rushed for 73 yards. DB Dillon Thieneman led the defense with 11 tackles.
Purdue ranks 18th in the Big Ten in scoring offense (18.0) and 16th in total offense (320.4), while sitting 10th in rushing offense (143.3) and 15th in passing offense (177.1).
Card is completing 60.1 percent of his passes for 1,113 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
Mockobee leads the Boilermakers with 612 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while RB Reggie Love III has 358 yards and two scores.
The Boilermakers’ defense ranks 18th in the conference in scoring defense (37.8), total defense (446.4) and rushing defense (199.9), while sitting 16th in passing defense (246.6).
Thieneman paces Purdue with 75 tackles to go with 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and five pass breakups. He ranks second in the Big Ten, and sixth in the country, averaging 5.6 solo tackles per game.
LB Kydran Jenkins leads the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, while Rush End Will Heldt has 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.
DB Kyndrich Breedlove has a team-high three interceptions.
P Keelan Crimmins sits fourth in the conference with a 44.8 punt average.
WASHINGTON NOTES
Penn State is now 4-0 all-time against Washington.
The Nittany Lions are 10-6 in full-stadium Penn State White Out games, including five-straight wins.
Penn State welcomed 110,233 fans. It is the ninth-largest attendance in Beaver Stadium history.
It marks the sixth full-stadium Penn State White Out game with 110,000+ fans.
On a catch in the fourth quarter, TE Tyler Warren broke the Penn State tight end season receptions record, previously held by Mike Gesicki (57; 2017). Warren has 59 catches this season.
Later in the fourth quarter, Warren broke the Penn State tight end season receiving yards record, held by Gesicki (679; 2017). Warren owns 681 receiving yards this season.
S Jaylen Reed intercepted a pass in the second quarter. He has interceptions in three of the last four games (at USC, at Wisconsin, Washington).
DE Abdul Carter collected six tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble.
