Travis Dorsch couldn't take his eyes off the field.

He watched as Purdue quarterback Drew Brees attempted to lead the Boilermakers to the end zone in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.

They needed to get in scoring postion — again. Dorsch, who also punts, missed a 46-yard field goal on Purdue's previous drive that would have given it a 23-22 lead.

"It felt all right, then I looked up and saw it was to the left," Dorsch said. "I thought it was a good strike."

After missing the crucial score, Dorsch screamed an expletive on the sidelines, echoing the team's frustration. He waited for redemption on the final drive, but it eluded him as time expired.

After two punts blocked by Penn State's Derek Wake, Dorsch's special teams nitghmare at Beaver Stadium ended.

"Obviously, the errors in the kicking game are the ones that jump out in front of you," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said, "but you have to recognize that Penn State gave great effort."

That effort was perhaps only half of Purdue's special teams problems. Internal problems constitute the other half. And two players were angry enough to express their extreme dissatisfaction Saturday night.

Brees and wide receiver Vinny Sutherland sat side by side, lips pursed in straight, angry lines as they fielded post-game questions. After forming a forcible scoring tandem on the field, the two were just as adamant with their words.

Coupled with the Boilers' defense, they put forth an effort worthy of a victory. But after adding the two blocked punts that placed Penn State deep in Purdue territory, the game took a harsh twist for the Boilers.

"Special teams needs to pick it up, that's for sure," Brees said. "This is a team game and the team lost today. But to have a better chance of winning, we need to clean up special teams. Had we won this game it would have been a miracle for something like that to happen."

For Wake, a true freshman, there was no shortage of miracles. On both blocks, his rush caused Dorsch to pick up the ball after the snap and run with it.

"It was amazing," Wake said in a released statement. "I've never made such a big play in such a big venue."

With those two plays, Wake created vital scoring opportunities.

He also stirred the emotions of frustrated Purdue offensive and defensive players.

"I hope to everything holy that I get put on special teams next week," defensive tackle Matt Mitrione said.

He is not alone in his anger. In Purdue's loss to Notre Dame and Penn State, blocked punts and other special teams blunders were major factors in both contests.

"In both those games, the defense played their asses off," Sutherland said. "Once again, special teams comes up short."