For what seems like years now, Penn State football fans have been waiting for their Nittany Lions to break out of their slump and get a big win.

It could happen this weekend.

But chances are, it won't -- unless, of course, a significant upset occurs tomorrow at Beaver Stadium.

Because when Penn State kicks off with No. 9 Purdue at 4:30 p.m., the Lions will be huge underdogs despite playing at home. As of yesterday, the oddsmakers considered Penn State an 11-point underdog in this game, which will be televised on ESPN.

For a Penn State team that hasn't quite bounced back from a variety of early-season setbacks, the timing of this game could have been better. After last week's 16-7 road loss to No. 13 Minnesota in which the Lions (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) showed some fight and promise, a more winnable game would have been in order.

The match up at hand with the undefeated juggernaut Boilermakers (4-0, 1-0) is not such a game. Even if the Lions play their best, a win will not come easy.

"It's gonna be a monumental chore just to stay in the game with them," Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said, "and I don't know whether we'll be able to do that."

To this point, only one team has kept pace with Purdue -- Illinois of all teams. The Illini kept it close, losing 38-30 by balancing the run and pass well, but the close score might have had more to do with the Boilermakers looking ahead to their match up the following week with Notre Dame, whom they clobbered in South Bend, Ind., 41-16.

When showcasing Purdue's talent, one always starts with the heady and steady senior quarterback Kyle Orton, an emerging early season Heisman Trophy candidate.

The word "unstoppable" probably gets tossed around too much in the sports world, but in the case of Orton this season, it is barely an exaggeration.

He's completed 70 percent of his passes so far, while throwing for 1,367 yards and 17 touchdowns. If that's not impressive enough consider this statistic: Orton has not thrown a single interception in 137 attempts.

A sizable chunk of those completions, yards and touchdowns have been thrown to All-Big Ten senior wide out Taylor Stubblefield, who has 28 catches for 505 yards and an absurd 10 touchdowns. That's about one touchdown for every three times he touches the ball.

"They're pretty impressive throwing the ball, one of the best in country," Penn State defensive tackle Scott Paxson said.

Aside from the dangerous offense, the Boilermakers have a young defense, but it has improved nicely since the season started. The young defenders have been able to play with confidence and aggression, knowing they can count on their offense to put up at least 30 points.

To stay in the game, the Lions will have to score points, a task that has not been easily accomplished the last two games.

And it most likely won't be any easier tomorrow. Penn State probably won't have the services of utility player Michael Robinson, who suffered a severe concussion against Wisconsin two weeks ago, and offensive tackle Levi Brown, whose sprained his knee against Minnesota.

All this will make the Boilermakers a tough task for a Penn State team that's still trying to figure itself out. And no one seems to be denying that it's going to be difficult.

"We're playing one of the best teams I've seen in the 50 years I've been here," Paterno said.