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Redd, Defense Lead No. 25 Nittany Lions Past Purdue, 23-18
Redd tabs fourth 100-yard rushing game; Defense registers season-high three interceptions
UNIVERSITY
PARK, Pa. - Running back Silas Redd (Norwalk, Conn.) collected his
fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and the Nittany Lion defense
generated a season-high three interceptions, as No. 25 Penn State
downed Purdue, 23-18, at Beaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The
Nittany Lions improved to 6-1 overall (3-0 Big Ten) with their
Homecoming win.
Redd, who tallied his fifth touchdown of the
season, powered the Penn State rushing attack with 131 yards on 28
attempts. Curtis Dukes (Evan Mills, N.Y.) added his first touchdown of
the season, while Anthony Fera (Cypress, Texas) connected on all three
of his field goal attempts.
Quarterbacks Rob Bolden (Orchard
Lake, Mich.) and Matt McGloin (Scranton) each orchestrated a touchdown
drive for the Nittany Lions. Bolden finished 2-for-6 for 40 yards,
while McGloin connected on 8-for-17 attempts for 145 yards and an
interception. Justin Brown (Wilmington, Del.) led the air attack with
four catches for 86 yards.
The Nittany Lions outgained the Boilermakers by a 367-344 margin and scored on four-of-five red-zone possessions.
Gerald
Hodges (Paulsboro, N.J.) led the Nittany Lions with eight tackles,
including 3.0 for loss, while Sean Stanley (Rockville, Md.) recorded a
sack. Nate Stupar (State College) and Nick Sukay (Mt. Pleasant)
recorded two and one interceptions, respectively.
The Nittany
Lions took a 7-0 lead with 4:38 left in the opening quarter after Dukes
capped off a seven-play, 73-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
During Penn State's second drive of the game, Redd rushed three times
for 26 yards, while Bolden connected with Brandon Moseby-Felder (Fort
Washington, Md.) for 19 and 21 yards, the latter setting up Dukes'
scoring run.
Purdue responded the following series as Carson
Wiggs connected on a 28-yard field goal to make it a 7- 3 contest. The
drive was highlighted by Caleb TerBush's second down, 50-yard pass
completion to Justin Siller, who brought the ball down to the Penn
State 30 yard line.
The Boilermakers inched closer in the second
half, as they cut the deficit to a single point with 8:30 remaining in
the opening half. With Robert Marve playing his first series under
center, the senior completed passes to Ralph Bolden and Antavian Edison
before Bolden broke loose for a 39-yard run. Three plays later, Wiggs
secured a 32-yard field goal, his second of the game.
With time
winding down in the half, Stupar corralled his third career
interception to help set up the Nittany Lion scoring drive. Penn
State's defensive line forced Marve to his right, where he threw the
ball down the middle of the field. The attempt was intercepted by
Stupar, who returned it 24 yards. Three plays later, Fera kicked a
29-yard field goal as time expired to give Penn State the 10-6 halftime
lead.
In the second half, Penn State took a 13-6 lead with 5:57
left in the third quarter when Fera connected on a career-long 40-yard
field goal. The Nittany Lions opened the drive on the Purdue 31 yard
line after Justin Brown returned a punt 33 yards, Penn State's longest
return of the season.
After Purdue's Raheem Mostert returned the
ensuing kickoff 71 yards, TerBush threw a 14-yard touchdown reception
to O.J. Ross with 4:02 left in the third quarter to make it a 13-12
game. Penn State kept the one-point lead when Wiggs' extra-point
attempt banged off the right upright.
The Nittany Lions grabbed
a 20-12 advantage 1:23 later with Redd's nine-yard touchdown run. After
Penn State opened the drive at its 40 yard line following an
out-of-bounds kick, McGloin completed consecutive passes to Devon Smith
(White Plains, Md., 22 yards), Brown (20 yards) and Joe Suhey
(Deerfield, Ill., nine yards). Redd then tallied his fifth rushing
touchdown of the season to cap off the four-play, 60-yard drive.
With
Purdue driving into Penn State territory the following series, Sukay
made a diving interception on TerBush's third-down attempt. TerBush,
who was hit on the throw, had his pass to Ross knocked in the air by
Chaz Powell (New Freedom). Sukay then dove to collect his eighth-career
interception at the 15 yard line.
The Boilermakers closed the
gap to 20-18 when Akeem Shavers leaped for a one-yard touchdown run
with 8:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. After Albert Evans
intercepted McGloin's pass in the end zone and returned it 55 yards,
Shavers capped off the eight-play, 45-yard drive with the touchdown
run. During the two-point conversion attempt, TerBush rolled to his
right and attempted to run it in but was stopped by a trio of Nittany
Lion linebackers.
Powell returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards
before Fera connected on a 29-yard field goal attempt with 6:24 left to
give Penn State a 23-18 lead.
Later in the game, Purdue
attempted a fourth-down conversion with just over two minutes to play,
but Stupar collected his second interception of the contest. With less
than two minutes remaining and Purdue with no timeouts remaining,
McGloin executed a five-yard quarterback sneak on fourth down to give
Penn State the first down and the win.
The Nittany Lions will
return to action Saturday, Oct. 22 when they face Northwestern at 7
p.m. The game will air on the Big Ten Network and the Penn State Sports
Network.
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