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" any team is a big thing, Gilliam said. "We got challenged this week to go out and do that, and I think we answered the bell. " The challenge that players spoke of after the game came from the coaching staff, and from each other. Penn State was coming off a loss at Minnesota in which the offense, despite gaining 190 yards on the ground, managed to score only 10 points. Everyone in the Nittany Lion camp thought they could do better against Purdue, which went into the game with the 11th-ranked rush defense in the Big Ten. And they were right. "We came in and practiced that all week, and we felt like we could run the ball," coach Bill O'Brien said. "I'm not sure [the Boilermakers] felt like we could run the ball on them. I think they felt that Wisconsin and Iowa were better than us. … But we rushed the ball for 290 yards today, so I'd say that's pretty good." Zach Zwinak finished with 149 yards on 26 carries, and Bill Belton added 81 on 19 carries. With those two juniors doing most of the legwork, the Lions scored nearly as many points as they had in their previous three games combined. And while the offensive avalanche came against a Purdue defense that was allowing just over 37 points a game, it was welcome nonetheless. Said guard John Urschel, "We were having a blast today." With the offensive line moving Purdue off the ball, the Lions didn't fritter away red zone opportunities the way they had in previous weeks. Zwinak crashed through for three short touchdowns, and as a team, Penn State scored TDs on all but one of its seven trips inside the Boilermakers' 20-yard line. Having missed their share of opportunities against Ohio State, Illinois and Minnesota, that was a gratifying development. "At the beginning of the season, that was something we were pretty good at," center Ty Howle said. "We fell off a little bit, but obviously every time we get in the red zone, we want to get seven." Penn State did just that on its first two drives, ending the first with a 5-yard touchdown run by Belton and the second with a 1-yard Zwinak plunge. Purdue scored on a 2-yard catch by Justin Sinz and threatened again after a Belton fumble. But Jordan Lucas intercepted his third pass of the season to set n o V e m b e R SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 9:11 PSU Belton, Bill 5-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:49.......................................................................7-0 3:03 PSU Zwinak, Zach 1-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 13:48 PUR Sinz, Justin 2-yard pass from Etling, Danny (Griggs, Paul kick) 10 plays, 66 yards, TOP 4:54.....................................................................14-0 2ND 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:15.......................................................................14-7 9:35 PSU Zwinak, Zach 1-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 6 plays, 33 yards, TOP 2:13.......................................................................21-7 1:18 PSU Breneman, Adam 8-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 10 plays, 78 yards, TOP 4:56.....................................................................28-7 1:05 Mostert, Raheem 100-yard kickoff return (Griggs, Paul kick)...................28-14 11:19 PUR Etling, Danny 11 -yard run (Griggs, Paul kick) 8:51 3RD PUR PSU Ficken, Sam 29-yard field goal 7 plays, 84 yards, TOP 3:36.....................................................................28-21 6 plays, 62 yards, TOP 2:22.....................................................................31-21 5:21 PSU Zwinak, Zach 5-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 6 plays, 40 yards, TOP 2:40.....................................................................38-21 4TH 4:27 PSU Hackenberg, Christian 4-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 11 plays, 74 yards, TOP 5:17...................................................................45-21 up Zwinak's second 1-yard TD run of the day. By halftime, with help from Purdue's third pass interference penalty of the day, the Nittany Lions were up 28-14. They got a twisting, lunging 8-yard touchdown reception by Adam Breneman – "A great effort," O'Brien said – and surrendered a 100-yard return on the kickoff that followed, as Raheem Mostert sprinted past the Penn State coverage unit and became the first player to return a kick 100 yards against the Lions since Michigan State's Derrick Mason in 1994. And if the end of the first half went badly for Penn State, so did the start of the second. Purdue scored its first rushing touchdown of the season when true freshman quarterback Danny Etling sprinted in from 11 yards out to slash Penn State's lead to 28-21. But the Lions responded with touchdown runs by Zwinak and Christian Hackenberg and a Sam Ficken field goal, and the defense toughened up. It finished the game with six sacks and produced three takeaways: two fumbles and Lucas's interception. Said O'Brien, "Our 1 6 , 2 0 1 3 2 defense came to play today. We created some turnovers and we were able to take advantage of them. It was good to see. " Having assured themselves of a nonlosing season, the Nittany Lions now brace for a challenging homestretch. Nebraska is up next, followed by a season-ending trip to Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers have been an enigma. They collapsed in the second half against UCLA and were physically manhandled by Minnesota. But they had won all the rest heading into Saturday's game against Michigan State, even with senior Taylor Martinez bothered by a variety of injuries including a broken foot that may have ended his college career. The Lions are hoping to finish strong, and the performance of the running game in recent weeks, particularly against Purdue, has raised hopes. "For our guys up front to open up holes and stay on blocks downfield and make that happen, it feels good, Gilliam said. " "Our goal was to get 400 yards rushing, and we obviously fell a little bit short of that. But to get close to 300 is a great game regardless. " b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m

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