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JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Nittany Lions' win over Purdue PLAYER OF THE GAME This category goes to a whole group instead of one guy. Penn State dominated Purdue along the line of scrimmage in what was the offensive line's best performance of the season. PLAY OF THE GAME Having given up a kickoff return for a touchdown and another just minutes into the second half, the Nittany Lions needed to stop the bleeding. Following a field goal to take a 10point lead, Penn State's defense returned to the field and forced a Danny Etling fumble. The turnover put Penn State at the Boilers' 40-yard line. Six plays later, Zach Zwinak scored a 5-yard touchdown to build a 17-point lead. BEST PASS Rolling to his right, Christian Hackenberg cut back across his body and found a wide-open Jesse James for a 58-yard catch-and-run. The play marked career-highs for both Hackenberg and James. BEST CATCH Allen Robinson led the Nit- n o V e m b e R tany Lions in receptions, again, hauling in eight passes for 98 yards while moving himself into the No. 4 spot for career receptions and eclipsing his own record for single-season receptions. WORST DROP Fumbles continue to be a problem for Penn State, as demonstrated by Bill Belton's first-and-10 turnover early in the second quarter. The fumble handed excellent field position to Purdue. Not to be outdone, Zwinak put one on the ground in the second half, but was able to recover it. BEST SACK Adrian Amos snagged Danny Etling's foot for a 12-yard loss midway through the second quarter. Matters got even worse for Etling a play later when DaQuan Jones added a 5-yard sack. BEST HIT On Purdue's second pass of the game, Glenn Carson barreled toward Etling and hit the freshman with a severe blow moments after the football's 1 6 , 2 0 1 3 5 release. The deep pass resulted in an incompletion... and a jarring shot to Etling. BEST RETURN Purdue return man Raheem Mostert slipped his way past the Lions' kick coverage for a 100-yard TD. BEST DECISION Running the ball and sticking with it paid major dividends for Bill O'Brien and the Nittany Lions on Saturday afternoon. The team's 289 yards on the ground – including a 5.0 yards-per-carry average – helped pace Penn State's offense on its way to 45 points and 501 total yards against Purdue. MOST TELLING MOMENT At O'Brien's postgame press conference, he needed less than a minute to take a subtle dig at Darrell Hazell's Boilermakers for his pregame comment that the Nittany Lions weren't as good running the football as Wisconsin or Iowa. – NATE BAUER b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m

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