Saturday, November 16, 2013 12:00 PM (ET)

Recap: Penn State 45, Purdue 21

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 16, 2013

Penn State 45, Purdue 21: Zach Zwinak rushed for 149 yards and a career high-tying three touchdowns as the host Nittany Lions rolled past the Boilermakers for the seventh straight time.

Bill Belton added 81 yards and a score on the ground for Penn State (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten), which needed overtime to win each of its first two conference home games. Allen Robinson finished with 98 yards on eight catches, giving him 81 receptions for the season and allowing him to break his own single-season school record.

Danny Etling threw for a touchdown and ran for another for Purdue (1-9, 0-6), which has dropped eight straight – including the last seven by at least 14 points. The Boilermakers rushed for 38 yards, the fifth consecutive game they were held to 66 or fewer.

Belton concluded the game-opening 13-play drive with a 5-yard burst and Zwinak capped the next possession with a short run to stake Penn State to a 14-0 first-quarter advantage. Zwinak’s second 1-yard TD and Christian Hackenberg’s 8-yard strike to Adam Breneman stretched the margin to 21 before Raheem Mostert ran the ensuing kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown before the break.

Etling cut the deficit to 28-21 with an 11-yard run to open the third quarter, but he fumbled on a sack by Deion Barnes after the Nittany Lions added a short field goal and Zwinak capitalized six plays later with a 5-yard score. Etling fumbled again following another sack in the fourth quarter and Hackenberg accounted for the final score on a 4-yard bootleg with 4:27 left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Penn State improved to 7-1 following a loss under coach Bill O’Brien. … Purdue’s 21 points marked its best output in Big Ten play this season as well as its highest scoring effort during its losing streak in this series. … The Nittany Lions ran for 289 yards and are 19-0 when rushing over 200 yards since 2008.
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