Blue White Illustrated

O c T O B E R 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 12 T I M O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ g M A I L . c O M WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Despite his best efforts, Brandon Smith simply couldn't live up to his wife's hopes on Saturday. Following the Nittany Lions' 62-24 thumping of Purdue, the junior linebacker said his wife has had a request each week that, to date, he simply hasn't been able to fulfill. For maybe the first time in his ca- reer at Penn State, however, the walk-on came close against the Boilermakers. "My wife asks all the time if I'm going to score a touchdown this week. I [tell her] it's pretty hard," Smith told reporters. Locked in a 17-17 battle against Purdue, the Nittany Lions needed a spark to open the second half, and Smith obliged. Dis- guising a blitz on a third-and-3 play early in the third quarter, Smith dropped back into space while reading the eyes of Boil- ermakers quarterback David Blough. Sensing the opportunity as the ball darted through the air, Smith reached to his right and picked off the pass, which had been intended for wideout Terrance Landers. Not satisfied with simply making the interception, his second of the season and his career, Smith sought more. Grabbing the interception at the Pur- due 46-yard line, Smith dragged Landers several yards to the 35, continuing upfield another 11 yards until finally being pushed out of bounds by Boilermaker running back Richie Worship. Said Smith, "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get in. But I tried my hardest." Immediately shi?ing the game's mo- mentum, the interception provided the Nittany Lions with their best starting field position of the a?ernoon. They wouldn't waste the opportunity, either. Beginning with a 9-yard carry by Saquon Barkley, the Nittany Lions reeled off four consecutive plays to traverse the 24 remaining yards into the Purdue end zone. Chris Godwin finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown catch, giving the Nittany Lions a 24-17 lead. Franklin cited turnovers as the key to Penn State's 62-24 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium, a game in which the Lions outscored the hosts 45-7 in the final two quarters. Starting with Smith's intercep- tions, PSU had four takeaways in the sec- ond half, all of which led to touchdowns. "When they were doing such a good job of controlling the ball, the turnovers were huge," Franklin said. "Brandon just has got really good football intelligence. He has got really good instincts, and then you saw his athleticism. A?er he caught the ball, he was able to make a big run, break some tackles. "What an awesome story that is. We've had that two years in a row. Last year we had [Carl] Nassib [as a former walk-on turned major defensive contributor]. This year you've got B-Smith, who is doing some wonderful things. It's awe- some." Sparked by Smith's play, the Nittany Lions dominated Purdue throughout the remainder of the game. Confident in his teammates, however, Smith insisted the result would have been largely the same even if he hadn't come up with his mo- mentum-changing play. "I think the points that it produced were important, but our team was fo- cused at the half. We were going to come out regardless if we got a turnover or a three-and-out," Smith said. "I was con- fident that the offense was going to come out and do what they did in the second half. It was pretty awesome to watch." CATCH OF THE DAY Brandon Smith's interception proves to be a turning point in Lions' victory PSUtixman@gmail.com www.PSUtixman.com Get your PSU Football Tickets at go t ti cke t s? k c i t t t e k man@g .PSUtixm www.PSUtixman.com at ootba Get yo k c i t t o gm .PSUtixman.com all ur s t s e k Smith's pick was his second of the sea- son. Photo by Steve Manuel

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