The Penn State Football Show

Penn State heads on the road to West Lafayette, Indiana to face Purdue at 12pm. You may think that it would be 11am Indiana time, but if that's what you thought, then you obviously don't know that Indianians are crazy and refuse to take part in daylight savings time. Rebels. This is a team that should be 4-0, and at least 3-1 right now. They were beating Oregon, but screwed around and lost in OT due to horrendous coaching decisions. Last week they lost at Notre Dame and were dominated by the Irish offense. They gave up over 200 yards rushing and 275 through the air (basically equaling the averages that Purdue has given up so far this year). Penn State should not have a problem scoring as long as they can execute well and hold on to the football. Like Illinois, however, the key will be to come up with big stops on defense. This is another potent offense with a prolific passing game.
Purdue will throw a lot, right now they average over 40 passes per game. Kory Sheets, their running back who seems to have been on the team for 10 years, averages over 100 yards a game via a variety of draw and delay plays. He is not a powerful back, but with all of the drop backs that Painter will be doing, there will be a lot of room at times for this quick back to pick up some big yards. With a solid pass rush and attentive linebackers, Penn State's defense should be able to withstand the predictable Purdue offense. Josh Hull has continually received criticism for his MLB play, even from me, but I feel like this week he will be in a comfort zone with a pocket passer, and an offensive line that zone blocks. It will be easier for him and the other linebackers to get off of blocks and make tackles.
On offense, Penn State needs to be efficient. This should not be a difficult game, but they play the games for a reason. An early score should get the butterflies out of the Lions on this first road test (Syracuse doesn't count!). These players undoubtedly are looking a little ahead at the three games that will make or break the season (@Wisconsin, vs. Michigan, @Ohio State), and it will be important to stay focused, but even JoePa feels that this team has great leadership and with the diversity that they have already been through, they will listen to their coaches and should be ready for the Choo-Choo Trains.
Look for Jordan Norwood to sit another one out as he deals with a hamstring issue, and also watch for Maurice Evans who should have a field day. Last week the DE's could not utilize their full pass rush abilities since they had to contain the pocket and not allow Juice to scramble, but with Painter, the DE's will be off the leash and I expect at least 5 sacks. Navarro Bowman has been used as the primary blitzing linebacker for PSU, and he will certainly have a few cracks at the quarterback. Purdue can be dangerous, but this could be a blowout.