Penn State sitting at a dismal 3-4 record? After all the hype around Matt Campbell bringing in serious talent and building on that “good base” they supposedly had, this is a gut punch. Seriously, they were supposed to be *back*, a real player in the league. Instead, that absolute collapse against Wisconsin just opened the floodgates, and now they are drowning in a brutal four-game losing streak. It’s a disaster, plain and simple.
Penn State’s Turnovers Are a Full-Blown Crisis
Let’s talk about the absolute killer for this Nittany Lions team: turnovers. It’s not just a problem, it’s a full-blown crisis. Go back to the start of the season: zero turnovers in their first three games, and guess what? They were 3-0. Fast forward to this ugly four-game skid, and suddenly they have coughed up the ball seven times. *Seven*. That’s an average of almost two turnovers a game during their losing streak, and it is impossible to win when you are that sloppy. This Penn State squad is okay, sure, but they are not good enough to just shrug off that many mistakes. This is the exact reason they are spiraling.
Meanwhile, Purdue, also at 3-4, has been a wild card this season. They were supposed to get rolled by teams like Minnesota and fall flat on the road in Illinois. Instead, they pulled off some surprises and are actually in the mix to snag six wins and make a bowl game. That’s a huge turnaround from expectations, even with a brutal late November schedule looming. Purdue knows how to force errors, too. They nabbed five turnovers against Washington and two more in their win over Minnesota. If they can keep forcing Penn State to cough it up, they could absolutely pull off the upset. Also, Penn State’s running game has gone absolutely nowhere over the last three games. Stop that run, and you stop the Nittany Lions, period.
How Penn State Can Actually Turn the Tide
For Penn State to finally break this slide, they need to go back to basics. It means getting physical, truly physical, and settling things down by grinding away on the ground. Yeah, running on Michigan and Wisconsin is a different beast than running on, say, Buffalo or Temple, but the offense has to find its rhythm somewhere. The Purdue defense has been decent against the run in spots, but they are not invincible. UCLA absolutely ran wild in the second half of their 52-38 win, and Washington still averaged a hefty 5.5 yards per carry in its 38-26 victory, even with their own mistakes. Here’s the kicker: Purdue is 3-0 when they hold opponents to under 4.5 yards per carry, but they are a brutal 0-4 when they give up that much or more. Penn State has to exploit that.
This weekend’s matchup, Saturday, October 31, at 4:15 PM ET on BTN, is going down at Beaver Stadium. Penn State just needs to keep the mistakes to an absolute minimum and get some momentum early in front of their home crowd. Purdue is going to be plucky, they always are, and they will battle hard. But the prediction says Penn State finally gets on the right side of a tough fight. Why? Because they are finally going to score. Penn State is 0-4 when they put up fewer than 27 points. Purdue, on the flip side, is 0-4 when they let teams score more than 19. The line has Penn State at -10.5 with an over/under of 54.5, predicting a 34-24 Nittany Lions win.
Penn State heads to Washington after this before hosting Minnesota. Purdue gets Maryland next, then travels to Iowa. A win here is massive for both teams, but for Penn State, it is all about salvaging a season that’s gone completely off the rails. They need this one bad.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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