Penn State football is gearing up for the White Out this week after falling to Ohio State inside Beaver Stadium on Saturday. James Franklin and the Nittany Lions will then travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to face a struggling Purdue team.
Announced on Monday, that battle against the Boilermakers will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and air on CBS.
The Nittany Lions are 16-3-1 against the Boilermakers since 1951, including an 8-2 record on the road.
Penn State won the last meeting between the two programs, a Thursday night primetime matchup in Ross-Ade Stadium to open the 2022 season. Down three with 2:22 remaining, Sean Clifford led the Nittany Lions 80 yards in eight plays, finding Keyvone Lee for a touchdown pass with 57 seconds remaining to earn the 35-31 victory.
Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Things aren’t trending toward as thrilling of a matchup this time around. Purdue is 1-7 (0-5 Big Ten) on the year, losing seven consecutive games after a season-opening win over Indiana State.
Although battling then-No. 23 Illinois to a 50-49 defeat, the Boilermakers haven’t been nearly as competitive against their other ranked opponents. In games against Notre Dame (then No. 18) and Oregon (then No. 2), Purdue has been outscored 101-7. The Boilermakers face No. 3 Ohio State this weekend.
Coming off its own defeat to the Buckeyes, Penn State football is making sure to not overlook any opponent on the schedule between now and the end of the season.
“It’s a long season in general, not just everything that goes on after the regular season, but the regular season is a long, long season,” Drew Allar said after Saturday’s loss. “And the thing we talked about [after the game] is we can’t let one [loss] turn into two turn into three. We have to right the wrongs that we made today. And offensively, we’re not going to point any fingers. It wasn’t one person that blew the game for us.
“Personally, I’m going to reflect on my performance, watch the film, be hard on myself. See what I could have done better. See the things I did well. And then just be honest, have honest conversations with the coaches. See what they thought. So, it’s just going to be a lot of reflection over the next 24-36 hours.”
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