Cam Wallace rushed 22 times for 135 yards and a touchdown Saturday as Penn State snapped a four-game losing streak with a 31-17 win over visiting Purdue in State College.
Carson Hansen added 96 yards and a score on 17 attempts for the Nittany Lions (4-4, 1-4 Big Ten Conference), which pounded out 269 yards on the ground. Penn State dominated possession, controlling the ball for 43:27 and converting eight of 16 combined third- and fourth-down opportunities.
Quarterback Rocco Becht turned in an efficient outing, going 16 of 24 for 175 yards with a touchdown. Penn State won the yardage battle 457-175 to earn its 12th straight win against the Boilermakers.
Ryan Browne completed just 10 of 29 passes for 142 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Purdue (3-5, 2-3). The Boilermakers rushed for just 33 yards and weren’t able to consistently sustain drives, going only 2 of 11 on third down.
Becht opened the scoring at the 5:13 mark of the first quarter with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Rappleyea, capping a 96-yard drive that lasted 6:06. Purdue tied it with 3:09 left in the quarter when Browne hooked up with Xavier Townsend for a 33-yard scoring strike.
The Nittany Lions took a 14-7 edge when Becht rushed for a 6-yard touchdown with 50 seconds remaining in the period. They averaged 10.7 yards per play in the period.
Special teams helped the Boilermakers tie the game with 8:52 left in the second quarter. Bisi Owens blocked a punt and teammate Jalil Hall recovered it, running 31 yards to even the score at 14.
However, Penn State regained the lead for good on a 65-yard, 15-play drive that chewed up 7:04. Hansen cashed it in with a 1-yard run, giving Penn State a 21-14 halftime lead.
Ryan Barker converted a 44-yard field goal at the 2:11 mark of the third quarter to make it 24-14, followed by a 2-yard touchdown run from Wallace with 9:23 left in the game for a 17-point lead.
Jacobo Echeverria Lozano hit a 49-yard field goal with 6:13 remaining for Purdue.