It was not pretty but Penn State (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten) left Purplepalooza at Ryan field with a blowout victory over Northwestern (5-4, 2-3), 34-13. The win was Penn State’s fifth in a row and fourth in straight in the Big Ten.

The Nittany Lions came into the game as the considerable favorite but the host Wildcats would not be intimidated. After Penn State’s Jack Crawford recovered a Mike Kafka fumble on the second play of the game the Nittany Lions took over at the northwestern 23 yard line. The Wildcats stood tall and kept Penn State to a successful field goal attempt by Collin Wagner. Northwestern’s Kafka then found every possible hole and seam in the Penn State defense on a 17 play drive that chewed up over seven minutes and spanned 65 yards. the drive was given a free extension by Penn State when they put 12 men on the field for a punt. The penalty gave Northwestern a first down and the Wildcats took advantage. Northwestern was forced to kick a field goal of their own to tie the game.

The second quarter was tough one for Penn State. Kafka continued to play well against the Penn State defense. Northwestern struck first in the second quarter when Kafka finished off an eight play drive that covered 80 yards by faking a hand off to his running back and running in himself from seven yards out.

Penn State seemed to have a drive developing on the ensuing possession but a second down completion to tight end Mickey Shuler that seemed to be a great play for a first down with extra yardage was overturned by an official’s review. After looking at the replay the officials proclaimed that Shuler’s elbow had touched the ground, negating a valiant effort. Penn State was forced to punt the ball back to Northwestern after a 3rd-and-one running play was stuffed by the Wildcats.

After Penn State held Northwestern to a three-and-out the special teams nightmares continued for the Nittany Lions. the Northwestern snap to punter Brandon Williams was low and Williams was forced to try and pick up a first down. He found an open blocker and tossed the ball to a teammate, who found enough room to pick up the first down. Northwestern extended their second possession of the day but was unable to score any points this time around.

Daryll Clark took manners in to his own hands on Penn State’s next drive, converting on five consecutive pass attempts, picking up three first downs in the process. Penn State tied the game when Clark scrambled into the end-zone for his 20th career rushing touchdown. The score tied the Penn State record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, held by Michael Robinson.

Northwestern looked to take a lead in before halftime but the much maligned special teams of Penn State came up with a blocked field goal by Jared Odrick. The Penn State offense though was held to a three-and-out and poor punt coverage gave Northwestern another decent chance at a late first half score as they started their possession on the Penn State side of the 50 yard line. This time around Northwestern was able to pick up a late field goal to go into the half with a 13-10 lead on the #12 team in the country.

On the same day in which Iowa (9-0, 5-0) put together a furious fourth quarter to come back against upset-minded Indiana (4-5, 1-4), Penn State did almost the same exact thing against Northwestern. after scoring just a field goal on the opening drive of the second half to tie the game, the Penn State defense took over and the offense finally found some opportunities.

Northwestern’s momentum had stalled with the loss of their sparkplug, Kafka. Kafka had passed for 128 yards and rushed for 42 in the first half. In the second half Penn State held Northwestern to less than 100 yards of offense. In the fourth quarter Penn State blew the door open and slammed the door shut on the Wildcats.

In the span of about five minutes Penn State scored three touchdowns on a total of nine plays. The last two scores came on consecutive one play possessions. Running back Brandon Beachum, seeing more playing time with the absence of Stephfon Green, put the finishing touches on a seven play, 58-yard drive. Beachum scored his first rushing touchdown of the season to put Penn State up 20-13. Penn State’s next possession would waste time in reaching the end-zone. Clark completed a deep pass along the right sideline for Derek Moye for a touchdown of 53 yards. Penn State’s quick strike offense did it again on the fist play of their next possession. This time it was starting running back Evan Royster who found an opening straight up the middle. Royster scampered 69 yards for the final score of the game to put Penn State up 34-13.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

It was not the prettiest outing, but once again quarterback Daryll Clark put up good numbers. Clark not only tied the Penn State quarterback record for rushing touchdowns but he completed over 70% of his passes in a game in which the Northwestern defense was bringing the pressure early. Clark cut down on mistakes too. Although he threw some inaccurate passes early on, including a pair of passes to the end-zone on Penn State’s first drive, he avoided turning the ball over. for the third straight game Clark did not throw an interception.

A runner-up for player of the game could be running back Evan Royster, who rushed for 118 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. But 69 of those yards came on his lone touchdown run.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

A loss would have been devastating for Penn State, as it would have taken them completely out of the BCS bowl picture. A win simply keeps the possibility alive. At least a share of the Big Ten title also remains within grasp if Iowa should happen to stumble before the season is over.

The whole team appeared sluggish in the first half as Northwestern was controlling the tempo on offense and defense. Still, the Nittany Lions managed to keep the game within reach by only allowing 13 points before halftime. The 13 points was the most points allowed in the first half by Penn State (they allowed a season high ten against Michigan – and shut them out in the second half) but it was clear that Penn State made adjustments at halftime. In the second half Penn State out-gained Northwestern by a large sum and kept Northwestern off the scoreboard in the second half. The dominance of the defense allowed Penn State to run away with this one and set up a big game next week.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Penn state returns home next week for a highly anticipated match-up with Ohio State (7-2, 4-1). At the beginning of the season this game was deemed the highlight of the Big Ten season as the Big Ten championship and a likely BCS berth was assumed to be on the line. That still holds true in a sense, although Iowa is leading the way in the Big Ten so a Big Ten title may be just out of reach even for the winner of the game. A BCS berth is still in the minds of the Penn State crowd though it is a far reach for Ohio State at this point it would seem.

Northwestern will travel to Iowa next week and will hope to pull the upset against the undefeated Hawkeyes.

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