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Bill O'Brien said. "They practice hard, they play hard and they love to play for Penn State. They love to play for each other, and it's fun to coach them." The Lions' offensive totals – which included 134 rushing yards from Zach Zwinak – were all the more im- pressive given that it took a while for Penn State to adjust to Purdue's max- pressure defensive scheme. "They pressured us quite a bit," O'Brien said. "We struggled with that, but we started to play a little bit faster and protected a little bit more and we were able to make some plays. Give credit to our offensive guys. They ad- justed well." So did the defense, which gave up an early field goal then clamped down hard. The Lions pounded three Pur- due quarterbacks – Robert Marve, Rob Henry and Caleb TerBush – and held the Boilermakers to their lowest point total of the season. "I thought we did a pretty good job," defensive end Sean Stanley said. "They tried to pick up the pace on us, which I guess they got from [watching] Ohio State last week. But I thought we did a pretty good job keeping up with their pace." The game was played in a gray, chilly Midwestern gloom, and the weather seemed to mirror the pregame mood at Purdue. The Boilermakers went into the game on the heels of four consec- utive Big Ten losses. The most recent of those was a 44-28 defeat at Min- nesota, a game they trailed at one point 44-7, giving rise to speculation that players had quit on Hope, their embattled fourth-year coach. Large swaths of Ross-Ade Stadium were vacant when the Boilers resumed their season Saturday. With an an- nounced crowd of 40,098 on hand, the atmosphere was reminiscent of a Football Championship Subdivision game. There were pyrotechnics, in- cluding a fireworks show timed to ac- company the Boilers' entrance, but players' enthusiasm heading into the final month of the season seemed to be very much in question. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions were in a different frame of mind alto- gether. O'Brien had said earlier in the week that the team had put its loss to Ohio State behind it, and the Lions SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 12:59 6:03 3:53 2ND 3:47 1:16 3RD 12:19 8:28 4TH 0:00 PUR PSU PSU PSU PSU PSU PSU PUR McCartney, Sam 21-yard field goal 7 plays, 49 yards, TOP 2:01........................................................................0-3 Ficken, Sam 27-yard field goal 8 plays, 47 yards, TOP 2:32........................................................................3-3 Zordich, Michael 6-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 2 plays, 48 yards, TOP 0:25...................................................................... 10-3 Ficken, Sam 24-yard field goal 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:20.......................................................................13-3 Zordich, Michael 5-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 5 plays, 55 yards, TOP 0:42.......................................................................20-3 James, Jesse 12-yard pass from McGloin, Matt (Ficken, Sam kick) 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:41.......................................................................27-3 Moseby-Felder, Brandon 41-yard pass from McGloin, Matt (Ficken, Sam kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:12.......................................................................34-3 Edison, Antavian 2-yard pass from TerBush, Caleb 6 plays, 49 yards, TOP 0:48.......................................................................34-9 seemed as stoked as ever during pregame warmups. Maybe more than ever. Strength coach Craig Fitzgerald stepped onto the field wearing shorts and a T-shirt even though the ther- mometer read 37 degrees. After the Nittany Lions finished stretching, he ripped off his shirt and did a belly flop onto the turf. Players went bonkers, especially Michael Mauti, who looked for a second as though he was going to strip off his own jersey. Purdue seized the momentum once the game started but looked a little wobbly in doing so. Akeem Hunt re- turned the opening kickoff 47 yards, and Akeem Shavers followed with a 37-yard run. But Adrian Amos blew up Dolapo Macarthy on a first-and-goal screen pass and Purdue was fortunate to come away with three points after Sam McCartney's 21-yard field goal at- tempt bounced off the left upright be- fore tumbling over the crossbar. "That was a big stop. It set a tone," Amos said. "They came out with only three points and basically only scored three points for the rest of the game until the last play." The Lions came hard after Robert Marve, the sixth-year senior who is gutting out his final season on a torn left anterior cruciate ligament. They didn't get him often, but they repeat- N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 2 2 edly forced him to rush his throws and hustle out of the pocket. Meanwhile, Penn State's offense was starting to put together drives. It scored 20 first-half points on Sam Ficken field goals of 27 and 24 yards and Michael Zordich touchdown runs of 6 and 5 yards. When the Lions opened the sec- ond half with a seven-play, 80-yard drive touchdown drive – Jesse James finished it with a 12-yard reception – the game was essentially over. Just to be sure, McGloin later hit Moseby- Felder for a 41-yard touchdown. "As a quarterback, you have to be ready to take shots," McGloin said. "You have to know they're coming and keep moving forward." Penn State is indeed moving forward – to Nebraska, the final road trip of its season. The 20th-ranked Corn- huskers rallied to defeat Michigan State, 28-24, Saturday and their pres- ence on the November schedule will give the Nittany Lions another chance for a high-profile victory in a bowl-like setting. It's a challenge that players and coaches are eager to take on. "This is a very, very fun team to coach," O'Brien said. "They love to play football for Penn State and they take a lot of pride in it. I take a lot of pride in coaching them, and so does our staff." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M

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