Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has said over and again that a few plays can change the outcome of the game.

Finally, against Purdue, the Nittany Lions made the two biggest plays of the first half.

Penn State's drive had apparently stalled at Purdue's 11-yard line when Robbie Gould and Chris Ganter came in. Instead of kicking a 28-yard field goal, Ganter kept the ball and dove forward for the first down. Penn State scored on the next play from scrimmage.

In the closing minutes of the first half, Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton marched his team down field before being intercepted by Alan Zemaitis, who returned it inside the Purdue 10-yard line setting up the second Penn State touchdown.

"We had all momentum," Zemaitis said. "We needed to capitalize."

But the Lions couldn't. The Lions' defense held Purdue to a three-and-out and the offense had the ball on Purdue's half of the field. Penn State could manage to move the ball only a yard before punting it back to the Boilermakers.

Paterno realizes that the first possession of the second half was his squad's best chance trailing by only three points, 17-14.

"The big series is when we got the ball on the [49], and we didn't do a thing with it," Paterno said. "It was a combination of mistakes and decisions."

Day to remember

-- Offense: Tony Hunt. A freshman not named Austin Scott carried the ball nine times for 47 yards and his first career touchdown. After fumbling early in the season, Hunt showed the ability to effectively run and hold onto the ball.

-- Defense: Alan Zemaitis. One week after being benched by Paterno, Zemaitis proved that he is capable of playing cornerback in the Big Ten. Zemaitis' interception put Penn State in the game at the half. The sophomore had seven solo tackles on Saturday, displaying the ability to stop the run.

Day to forget

-- Offense: Michael Robinson. He shined in his first start throwing for 379 yards against Wisconsin, but the Purdue defense was much tougher on Robinson.

The sophomore was intercepted twice and completed 10-for-32 of his passes for 98 yards. The receivers didn't help Robinson at all, but he admitted playing poorly.

-- Defense: Derek Wake. He was virtually non-existent against the Boilermakers until running back Brandon Jones ran him over at the goal line. Wake finished the game with three tackles and only one solo.

Speaking his mind

"We will go 7-5," said Maurice Humphrey after the loss to Purdue 28-14 on Saturday.

Did you notice?

The Penn State drum major missed both flips before the game ... The sign that read "Stu Crew," even though the man it was meant for, senior free safety Stuart Schweigert, didn't start ... The Purdue student that professed his love by proposing to his girlfriend after the first quarter ... Rowdy, Purdue's mascot, bouncing around and taking pictures with members of the Blue Band in the final minutes of the game.

Extra Point

Who will win a game first: the Eagles, the Steelers or Penn State?