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| Kevin Kelly's two field goals were the only points for either team through three quarters. |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.; October 28, 2006 - Putting together a winning streak is a matter of confidence. Today??s performance should give Penn State the kind of confidence it needs as it builds on two consecutive victories.
Battling 38 mile-per-hour wind gusts at Ross-Ade Stadium, the Nittany Lions used a total team effort to capture their sixth win and become bowl eligible. Tony Hunt (Alexandria, Va.) recorded his twelfth career 100-yard game, Dan Connor (Wallingford, Pa.) tallied 12 tackles and an interception and the Nittany Lion defense held the Boilermakers to 240 total yards, more than 200 yards below their season average.
The win was Penn State??s first shutout since blanking Northwestern 49-0 on Homecoming in 2002, a span of 49 games, and the first shutout on the road since 1993 against Iowa.
The Lions have gone nine straight quarters without allowing a touchdown. Paul Posluszny (Aliquippa, Pa.) added nine tackles and Sean Lee (Pittsburgh, Pa.) made seven stops and a sack to help pitch the shutout. Anthony Scirrotto??s (West Deptford, N.J.) fourth-quarter interception was his third in the last two games.
??I thought [the defense] tackled great today,?? said coordinator Tom Bradley after the game. ??It could have been our best tackling game of the season."
Justin King (Pittsburgh, Pa.) agreed. "We played them tight and used the wind to our advantage," he said. "If they were going to beat us, they would have had to do it over the top."
To lead the offense, Hunt tied a career high with 31 carries ?C most of them between the tackles ?C for a backbreaking 142 yards. Anthony Morelli (Pittsburgh, Pa.) threw for 182 yards and his favorite target was freshman tight end Andrew Quarless (Uniondale, N.Y.), who caught a career-high three passes for 36 yards in the win.
| Paul Posluszny recorded nine tackles - all solo - against Purdue. |
Long drives were a staple for both teams, but only Penn State managed to put points on the board. The Nittany Lions opened the scoring with a 29-yard field goal from Kevin Kelly (Langhorne, Pa.) that capped a clock-eating, 12-play, game-opening drive keyed by a career-long 23-yard run by Derrick Williams (Greenbelt, Md.). Kelly??s kick made the score 3-0 with 9:39 to play in the first quarter.
The Boilermakers seemed poised to respond, but Connor ended Purdue??s first drive with an interception, his second of the season and third of his career. At the end of the first quarter, Penn State led by three points.
Each team saw field goal chances go awry in the second quarter. On the drive following Connor??s interception, the Lions marched 17 plays but didn??t score a point because of the swirling winds at Ross-Ade Stadium ?C Kelly missed a 50-yard field goal that would have been his career-long.
Purdue missed a chance to tie the game with four minutes left in the half when Chris Summers?? field goal from 37 yards got caught up in the stiff breeze and sailed right.
Kelly did however drill a 44-yard field goal as the first half clock expired to give Penn State a 6-0 lead at the break.
The teams battled through a scoreless third period before the Lions cemented the win with a 12 play, 80-yard drive that made the score 12-0 early in the fourth quarter.
| Tony Hunt's 142 yards moved him past Matt Suhey and Ki-Jana Carter and into seventh place on Penn State's career rushing charts with 2,830 yards. |
Hunt rushed for 55 yards on the game??s only touchdown drive and scored on a 2-yard plunge with 12 minutes remaining in the game; the Lions attempted but did not convert a two-point conversion, ending the scoring.
Scirrotto made his interception on the ensuing Purdue drive, stopping the last true Boilermaker threat.
The game marked the first time a Joe Tiller-coached Purdue team has been shut out and the first scoreless effort for the Boilermakers since 1996.
??It??s a great win for us,?? said Connor after the game. ??We??re very proud to earn the shutout but we??re already focused on next week.??
With the win, Joe Paterno??s career record stands at 359-120-3 in his 41st year as Penn State??s head coach. The Nittany Lions lead the series over the Boilermakers, 8-3-1, including an 8-2 mark since the Lions began Big Ten play in 1993.
Both Penn State and Purdue are on the road next week. The Nittany Lions travel to Madison to face Wisconsin in their final away game of the season before wrapping up with Temple and Michigan State at Beaver Stadium. The Boilermakers travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State.