Lions' victory over Purdue not so sweet

The score, 31-14 in favor of Penn State, seems to dictate an easy win for the No. 10 Nittany Lions.

But it wasn't.

But they didn't.

The Lions' offense sputtered at times and the defense that started the game fired up was a little flat to start the second half.

"We have a long way to go yet," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "We're not consistent. We look good at times. At other times, we have too many plays in the backfield, too many losses in the backfield to be a good football team. So we're going to have to struggle from here on in. We're obviously not very good, but we'll get better."

In the first half, it looked as if the Lions had fully recovered from last week's 38-7 loss to Ohio State.

On the Lions' second possession of the game, Lion tailback Curtis Enis scored the first of his three touchdowns, a 9-yard rush to the left side of the field.

A combination of good defense and solid special teams helped the Lions (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) control the game in the first half.

The Lion defense held Purdue (2-4, 1-2) to just 24 yards through the air and 117 on the ground. The average field position for the Boilermaker offense was its own 24-yard line.

The Lions put 17 more points on the board in the second quarter. Kicker Brett Conway connected on a 23-yard field goal, and later Enis scored from 3 yards out.

The first-half scoring was capped off by Chris Campbell, who found himself cutting and stumbling his way to the end zone on a 59-yard punt return.

"I think it was a big lift for us," Campbell said. "I was able to go out there and make a couple of guys miss."

But maybe the lift wasn't big enough.

The Lions' first possession of the second half was unsuccessful. Enis ran up the middle on first down for no gain. Quarterback Wally Richardson, who was 14 of 22 for 159 yards and two interceptions, found fullback Jason Sload for 3 yards on second down. The next play, cornerback Jamel Coleman intercepted the second of his three picks on a pass intended for Joe Nastasi.

Purdue began driving. Using a mix of passes, quarterback runs and fullback runs the Boilermakers converted on second-and-eight, third-and-eight and the biggest one of the day.

On third-and-15, Purdue quarterback John Reeves' pass was incomplete, bringing a fourth-and-15 at Penn State's 33.

A punt seemed unlikely, and it would have been a 50-yard field goal attempt. The Boilermakers went for all or nothing.

Reeves, who was 13 of 16 for 182 yards, found wide receiver Willie Tillman open over the middle for a 33-yard touchdown and Purdue's first points of the day.

"The fourth and, I guess it was 15," Lion linebacker Gerald Filardi said, "was just a breakdown in coverage. It's something you can't let happen. But I don't think you can base the whole game on that one play."

The Lions' final touchdown came early in the fourth quarter after fullback Aaron Harris rumbled 49 yards to the Purdue 12. Four plays later, Enis scampered into the end zone from 2 yards out.

However, Enis wasn't the leading rusher for the Lions. But he was the leading receiver.

Enis caught seven passes for 94 yards, while rushing for 83 yards on 23 carries.

Maybe this was because starting wide receiver Joe Jurevicius was serving a one-game suspension for skipping classes.

Purdue was given opportunities to score in the second half, but the Boilermakers were unable to capitalize on them. In the second half the Lions threw two interceptions, missed a field goal attempt and punted.

But what may have ultimately hurt the Boilermakers was the poor performance from their special teams unit.

Punter Danny Rogers punted seven times, averaging 37.9 yards. Only one of his punts landed inside the 20. Purdue displayed poor tackling, which allowed Campbell to spring free, and only returned one punt for 3 yards.

"We missed on all aspects of special teams today," Boilermaker coach Jim Colletto said. "We spend so much time on them during practices. It is very disappointing that we're not getting any better at them."