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Penn State passes first major road test

Oct 4, 2008 - 8:50 PM WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Ticker) -- Penn State showed that it does not live on offense alone.

Despite being held 30 points below their average, the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions passed their first major road test of the season Saturday with a 20-6 victory over Purdue in a Big Ten Conference contest.

Evan Royster paced Penn State's offense by rushing for 141 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. His 4-yard TD run gave the Nittany Lions (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) a 17-0 lead with eight minutes left in the third quarter.

Daryll Clark turned in another mistake-free game for Penn State, completing 18-of-26 passes for 220 yards with no interceptions. He also scored on a 1-yard keeper for the game's first score midway through the second period.

While the Nittany Lions only reached the end zone twice, they came within 6 1/2 minutes of a second straight shutout at Purdue, which was held to just 241 yards.

"We played hard; we played tough," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "Mistakes were made but they can be corrected. We're a good, solid football team."

Blanked by Penn State, 12-0, here in 2006, the Boilermakers (2-3, 0-1) finally got on the board on Kory Sheets' 1-yard burst with 6:28 remaining. Sheets scored his 40th career rushing touchdown, breaking the school record he shared with Mike Alstott.

But the Boilermakers never saw the ball again, as Penn State chewed all the time off the clock on its next possession. Any momentum Purdue might have had was erased when Royster ripped off a 26-yard run on the first play following Sheet's touchdown.

Saturday's contest began a stretch in which Penn State will play four of its next five games on the road, including contests at No. 17 Wisconsin and No. 12 Ohio State. Entering Saturday, the Nittany Lions were just 19-26 on the road since 2001.

"We're excited for Wisconsin (next week) and excited for the opportunity to prove ourselves," Penn State receiver Derrick Williams said.

Penn State sputtered early, punting on its first two possessions, but the Nittany Lions put together a pair of 72-yard drives in the second quarter, resulting in 10 points.

Clark's 1-yard keeper on fourth down opened the scoring midway through the period and Kevin Kelly booted a 25-yard field goal as time expired to give Penn State a 10-0 halftime lead.

The Nittany Lions got a break prior to Clark's touchdown, as he was stopped short of the goal line on his first attempt on fourth down. But the play was negated as the officials ordered a review to see if Dan Lawlor crossed the plane on the previous play - even though the replay seemed to show that a review was not even necessary.

The no-touchdown call on third down was upheld, but it gave Clark a second chance and this time, he barreled into the end zone behind Penn State's offensive line.

Purdue twice drove inside Penn State's 30 in the first half, but Chris Summers missed field goals on each possession. He also failed to convert the extra point after the Boilermakers' only score.

"You just can't come out of the red zone with no points, otherwise it acts as a back-breaker to the team," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "It would have been a different ballgame with those field goals converted."

On Purdue's second trip into Penn State territory in the second quarter, the Boilermakers had a 3rd-and-1 on the 17, but a fumbled snap resulted in a two-yard loss.

"They have a very good defense, but it was bigger than that today," Sheets said. "I can't believe we played the way we did today. We had a great week of practice, and everyone seemed ready for this challenge."

Royster's score capped a 61-yard drive on Penn State's second possession of the third quarter. Kelly added a 20-yard field goal with 13 minutes to play, extending the Nittany Lions' lead to 20-0.

Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter, who passed for 359 yards in last week's 38-21 loss at Notre Dame, was held to 112 yards Saturday, completing 13-of-22 passes.

Penn State is 6-0 for the 13th time under the 81-year-old Paterno, who watched Saturday's game from the press box due to a lingering hip injury. Paterno suffered the injury while attempting an onside kick during practice on August 28.

"I put a lot of faith in the assistant coaches," Paterno said. "They're the ones there with the day-to-day interactions (with the players)."