Penn State holds off Purdue

Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

A Purdue extra-point attempt bounced off the upright. Two tipped passes landed in the hands of Penn State defenders for interceptions.

The Boilermakers offense gashed Linebacker U., but special teams miscues, three picks for Penn State’s defense and Silas Redd’s 131 yards and a touchdown helped the Nittany Lions hold on for a 23-18 win on a windy Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley.

Another close call in a season full of tight games for Penn State (6-1, 3-0).

“Any time you win a game, I feel fortunate,” coach Joe Paterno said. “Fortunate? Yeah, that we got a couple bounces, and unfortunately that we had a couple closer than they should have been ... I just want to enjoy this one.”

Akeem Shavers had a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:08 left but Purdue was stopped on a 2-point conversion attempt to keep the deficit at 20-18. A missed field goal and extra-point attempt earlier in the game also haunted Purdue (3-3, 1-1 Big Ten).

Chaz Powell returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards to the 3, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed Penn State (6-1, 3-0) back. The Nittany Lions settled for Anthony Fera’s 29-yard field goal with 6:24 left and a five-point lead.

Nate Stupar intercepted a tipped pass at the Purdue 19 with 1:59 left, though the Boilermakers still had one last chance to make a play defensively.

On fourth-and-1 from the 10 with about 1:30 left, Paterno elected to run a play instead of kicking a field goal. Matt McGloin’s 5-yard run on a quarterback sneak and a first down finally had the homecoming weekend crowd breathing a collective sigh of relief.

“We were hoping to get a couple takeaways. On defense, we felt like we needed to come out and stop the run,” Purdue coach Danny Hope said.

Redd did most of the damage, pounding away at Purdue for 28 carries. It was the third straight game of at least 129 yards for the sophomore tailback.

But Penn State also benefited from Purdue’s special teams mistakes.

Carson Wiggs missed a 44-yard field goal, then an extra-point attempt banged off the right upright after Caleb TerBush found O.J. Ross from 14 yards for a touchdown to leave the deficit at 13-12.

Wiggs said afterward he thought he heard a whistle before the kick, potentially from the student section.

“So I don’t know, it’s a little bit of a distraction on my way to the ball, but there’s no reason,” Wiggs said. “I should’ve been able to put that in.”