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Penn State has fun with its high-powered offensive attack GOING DEEP NATE BAUER | N B A U E R@B L U EWH I T E O N L I N E . c O M WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – With 3 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first quarter against Purdue, Penn State senior fullback Michael Zordich took a handoff from quarterback Matt Mc- Gloin, stretched to his left, shuffled past a Boilermaker defender and plunged into the end zone. The score gave the Nittany Lions a 10-3 lead that they wouldn't relin- quish en route to their latest thrash- ing of a Big Ten road opponent. Considerably more impressive, how- ever, was the fact that Zordich's touchdown gave the Nittany Lions their 145th point of this year's confer- ence slate. Or, exactly five points more than they scored in all eight games of last year's conference schedule. By the time the clock ran out on the Boilermakers, the Nittany Lions had put up 34 points, amassed a season- high 506 total offensive yards – 321 through the air and another 185 on the ground – and reached 169 points in Big Ten play. It's good enough for an average of 33.8 points per game in conference, nearly double last sea- son's 17.5 points per game average against Big Ten opponents. "It's all working," Zordich said. "It's fun to play, and it shows on the field." Playing with new head coach Bill O'Brien's game plan, the Nittany Lions' offensive unit has had plenty of success this season. Even in Saturday afternoon's cold, rainy and windy conditions, Matt Mc- Gloin eclipsed 300 yards passing while breaking Kerry Collins' record of four career 300-yard passing games in the process. He's poised to do even more. His 211 completions this season check in at No. 3 in Penn State his- tory, while his 18 passing touch- downs moved him into an eighth-place tie. "I think you've gotta give him a lot of credit this year," O'Brien said. "He's had a helluva year to this point. "Look, has he played perfect? No, Steve Manuel HANG TIGHT Brandon Moseby-Felder had a ca- reer game, hauling in 129 yards and a score. but he's competitive, he's tough, he's productive, he's smart, and you gotta give him a lot of credit for the way he came and played today." Said McGloin, "Purdue has a bunch of great players on their team, but we have a bunch of good players, too. I gave my guys the opportunity to make great plays." Against the Boilermakers, McGloin had plenty of help. Specifically, wide- out Brandon Moseby-Felder had a big afternoon, racking up 129 yards and a touchdown through the air on six receptions. Twice, McGloin connected with Moseby-Felder for completions of more than 40 yards, including his first career touchdown – a 41-yarder to build the Nittany Lions' lead to 34- 3 late in the third quarter. Though Moseby-Felder acknowl- edged the personal significance of having a breakout game, he insisted that the team's collective goal is more important. "[What is] more important is the win overall," Moseby-Felder said. "I'm looking forward to Nebraska and hopefully I can have the same type of game [that] I had today." N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 2 6 GAME GRADES QUARTERBACKS Purdue's defensive front put plenty of heat on Matt McGloin initially, but he still hit his share of big plays. GRADEB+ RUNNING BACKS Zach Zwinak started the game and slithered through holes in Purdue's front seven. Michael Zordich was his usual punishing self in scor- ing both of Penn State's first-half touchdowns. GRADE A RECEIVERSBrandon Moseby-Felder en- joyed another strong afternoon, even without the injured Kyle Carter draw- ing the attention of Purdue's defense. GRADE A OFFENSIVE LINE Facing the Big Ten's worst rushing defense, Penn State's offen- sive front opened up some nice holes for Zwinak and company. GRADE A DEFENSIVE LINERobert Marve proved to be a surprisingly elusive target for a guy with a torn ACL. But the Nittany Lions did put tremendous pressure on him, even though Jordan Hill left the game in the second quarter with a knee sprain. GRADE A LINEBACKERS Purdue's game plan put more pressure on the secondary than on the linebackers, but these guys still made their share of big hits, es- pecially Gerald Hodges. GRADE A DEFENSIVE BACKS Purdue attacked Penn State with an array of screen passes, giving Adrian Amos, Stephon Morris and Stephen Obeng-Agyapong a chance to make some big hits. GRADE A SPECIAL TEAMS Things started badly, with Penn State surrendering a 47-yard kickoff return to open the game. But otherwise, this was another step for- ward for Sam Ficken, Alex Butter- worth and company. GRADEB+ COACHES You could tell even during warmups that Penn State was jacked up and ready to play – a testament to the coaching staff's success at getting the team refocused following its loss to Ohio State. GRADE A CROWD Small and disgruntled, Purdue's crowd didn't have much of an impact on the game. The cold, breezy weather no doubt kept many people away, but the Boilermakers' 0-4 Big Ten record (now 0-5) was likely a much bigger factor. GRADED B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M

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