In a game that almost didn’t go well for the Nittany Lions, Penn State opened its season with a significant victory on Thursday night. They won 35-31 at Ross-Ade Stadium on the road against the Purdue Boilermakers. In a contest that got off to a sluggish start, Purdue scored first. Penn State was able to rally after the Boilermakers took a 3-0 lead with a field goal from 36 yards out.
Mitch Tinsley, a wide receiver, was hit underneath by Sean Clifford as the Nittany Lions advanced down the field. Tinsley was able to score on his debut grab as a Nittany Lion after running back Kaytron Allen successfully blocked his opponent’s entry into the end zone.
King Doerue ran hard for three yards to finish off a lengthy drive that Purdue’s offense used to equal. At that point, the momentum swung in the Nittany Lions’ direction. On a 43-yard drive, they took advantage of a short field to score on a two-yard rush by Sean Clifford.
After Zakee Wheatley pushed the ball out for a fumble that Joey Porter Jr. recovered, Clifford then found Brenton Strange for a 67-yard touchdown. With just two seconds remaining in the half, Strange returned for the ball, broke a tackle, and ran it in for a score to give Penn State a 21-10 lead.
After Clifford left the game due to an unspecified injury, the Nittany Lions switched to rookie quarterback Drew Allar. He did, however, return soon after and entered the game during an Allar drive that had two completions on four tries for 26 yards. Aidan O’Connell’s touchdown pass to Charlie Jones gave Purdue the lead as they continued to outpace Penn State on the field.
After a defensive stop, Penn State immediately fought back, with Clifford leading the charge. The Nittany Lions started to throw the ball more, and the redshirt senior quarterback made passes to his wide receivers, including a touchdown pass of 29 yards to regain the lead in the game, 28-24. After that, Clifford made a mistake and threw an interception that Chris Jefferson returned for a touchdown.
