Penn State continues climbing the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. However, coming into the week ranked #4 in the AP poll and the CFP rankings, the ceiling is established. This is thanks to their one-loss status, with the lone defeat at the hands of #2 Ohio State. Penn State took care of business at Purdue, beating the Boilermakers by a score of 49-10. Following last week’s 35-6 win over Washington, Penn State currently finds itself as one of the top projected non-conference winning teams in CFP seeding. Head coach James Franklin had the team ready to play and avoided a letdown against a Purdue opponent that now has a 1-9 record. Moving to 9-1 on the season, with Penn State’s victory, enhances their CFP resume.
In the 49-10 win, Penn State established their dominance early. They scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. Additionally, the Nittany Lions found the endzone on their first three possessions of the second half. Penn State’s stars shone as brightly as the full moon in West Lafayette. Drew Allar was efficient in limited playing time. Tyler Warren continued to build his case as the nation’s best tight end, as well as being a quality running back (with some snaps at quarterback for good measure). Abdul Carter led the defense and has pushed his game to another gear over the past few weeks. In the second half, the reserves and young up-and-comers saw the field and kept the momentum going.
Key Takeaways: Penn State Enhances CFP Resume
More and More of Warren
Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki seems destined to ride star tight end Tyler Warren as far as he can take the offense. So far, this has proven to be a very solid strategy. Warren continued to build his own resume for postseason awards like the Mackey Award, and potentially even the Heisman.
Warren has had a record-setting campaign in 2024. Against Purdue, he continued proving why he should be in the conversations for best tight end and potentially best player. Not only is Warren a safety blanket for Allar, but he is also a weapon in his own right. In the Purdue game, he even set a career-high for rushing yards in a game. In fact, he had a game-high 63 yards on the ground with a touchdown. If that wasn’t enough, Warren also led all receivers in the game. After finishing the first half with seven receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown, his final receiving stats were eight catches for 127 yards and the touchdown.
Players like Warren don’t come around often. He is one of those that makes you wonder what he will do next. His playing time was limited in this game, as the starters received some much-deserved rest after building a big lead. However, before he left Warren made his presence felt. With Warren providing a solid option in the passing game, Allar was able to amass a great statistical performance. Allar also exited early, either to avoid injury or avoid further injury as he was limping a bit between plays before exiting. This will be a situation to watch moving forward. Whether it’s Allar or backup Beau Pribula under center, Warren will be a key part of the game plan going forward.
Calling on Carter
While the offense should receive the accolades that they earned, coordinator Tom Allen and his defense also held serve. After holding Washington out of the endzone last week, Purdue was able to score a touchdown in the second half of this matchup. While the injury bug may have made an appearance for another star in the defensive backfield, the defender with the most talent stepped up again.
Abdul Carter is the undisputed star of the Penn State defense. He dons the coveted #11 jersey, which unofficially signifies the leader of the defense. Despite the accolades and notoriety, Carter got off to a bit of a slow start this season. However, at least part of that can be attributed to switching positions. He made the move from linebacker to defensive end for 2024. With his performance over the past few weeks, it is now safe to say he’s now fully adjusted. Carter entered the game leading the Big Ten with 15.5 tackles for loss. Against Purdue, Carter led Penn State with five tackles. He added to his tackles for loss total with two more, though he is stuck at eight sacks for the year.
Further reinforcing Carter’s importance moving forward is the status of Jaylen Reed. Reed, a star hybrid safety in Allen’s offense who leads the team in tackles, exited with an injury in the second quarter. Though Reed did return, any potential injury at this point in the season bears watching. The defensive backfield is a strong point of the Penn State defense. Star KJ Winston has already been lost to a long-term injury. Any lingering injury effects on a talent like Reed puts more pressure on players up front like Carter to make big plays and rush the quarterback.
By the Numbers: Penn State Enhances CFP Resume
Offense
Passing: Penn State threw for 305 yards, compared to 217 for Purdue. Allar completed 17 of 19 for 247 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Pribula completed five of his eight pass attempts for 58 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions. Purdue starter Hudson Card completed 11 of 20 for 151 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Ryan Browne completed three of seven pass attempts for 40 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Christian Gelov completed one of three passes for 26 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Rushing: Penn State had 234 yards, compared to 85 yards for Purdue. Warren led Penn State, and all players, with 63 rushing yards on only three carries, and a touchdown. Backup quarterback Pribula had five carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Nick Singleton returned from injury and had seven carries for 40 yards and a touchdown. Devin Mockobee led Purdue with 40 yards on 11 carries.
Receiving: Warren led Penn State with a game-high 127 yards on eight catches including a touchdown. Trey Wallace had two catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Luke Reynolds contributed three receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown, while another receiving touchdown was by running back Kaytron Allen. For Purdue, Max Klare led the team with seven receptions for 91 yards, including the only touchdown for the Boilermakers.
Defense/Special Teams
Defense: Carter led Penn State defenders with five tackles, including two for loss. Dani Dennis-Sutton, Coziah Izzard, and Amin Vanover had Penn State’s three sacks. Dillon Thieneman led Purdue with a game-high eight tackles, while Kydran Jenkins added seven tackles.
Special Teams: For Penn State, Ryan Barker did not attempt any field goals, but converted all seven of his extra-point attempts. Riley Thompson punted four times, averaging 42.5 yards per punt. For Purdue, Ben Freehill converted one of two field goal attempts, as well as his only extra point attempt. Keelan Crimmins punted eight times, averaging 46.0 yards per punt.
