1. We're baaaaaaaaaaaaack.
2. Seriously, with the bye week it's been a few weeks since I did Random Thoughts. It's been even longer since I did Random Thoughts after a win. This is a nice change of pace.
3. Bit annoying that Penn State didn't have a more dominant performance on the scoreboard because when you look at the raw stats in the box score, this should have been a much bigger win than just 31-17. The blocked punt for a touchdown obviously plays a part in that, but this was a game the Nittany Lions truly dominated in.
4. Hello, running game! 269 yards on the day, led by Cam Wallace who went for 135 on 22 carries. Even if you take out his long run of 48 yards, that's still a respectable 87 yards on 21 carries.
5. I've said this about Quinton Martin and James Peoples, but I'll say it about Cam Wallace too: these running backs just give you more juice than Carson Hansen offers. If they want to rock with Hansen as RB2, sure, but he is just too limited to generate big plays or substantial runs consistently. Credit to him for the 42-yard run, but beyond that his other 16 carries went for 5, 3, 5, 1, 2, 1, 5, 4, 4, 3, 6, 2, 1, 4, 6, 2, which is not the juice you went from RB1.
6. Some kudos to the offensive line and the coaching staff as well. We saw more gap blocking than zane, which seemed to work well and something Purdue wasn't ready for. Ideally, that was a switch that was made *earlier* this season, but hey, better late than never. Hopefully the productivity continues against Washington and beyond.
7. Another nice change: we got Benjamin Brahmer targets over the middle! Yeah! Thank you, Rocco ***prayer handers***
8. Seriously, with no Chase Sowell or Koby Howard, it was perfect timing for what we thought was going to be the bread-and-butter of this offense to step up. Running game, Benjamin Brahmer, and really just the overall use of the tight ends. Those guys combined for 9 receptions on the day, with Rappleyea hauling in the lone receiving touchdown in the first quarter.
9. The idea of the Penn State defense coming into the season was simple, really. They were not going to generate a ton of pass rush pressure or even TFLs, but they were going to be extremely difficult to run against and had a high floor in the passing game because of the corners. Well, everything clicked on Saturday. Purdue averaged 2.2 yards-per-carry and 4.9 yards-per-pass — very elite numbers for Penn State's defense.
10. Still missing the sack numbers. Just one on Saturday, courtesy Yvan Kemajou, which was the *first* sack from a Penn State defensive lineman during Big Ten play this season. That brings the grand team total to 10, which is well below where they've been: 32 in 2025, 44 in 2024, 49 in 2023, 42 in 2022, and 27 in 2021.
11. This is certainly more of a Jimmy's and Joe's thing considering the guys who got Penn State into the 40s the last couple years where guys like Abdul Carter and Chop Robinson and Dani Dennis-Sutton and Adisa Isaac. But struggling to get to 20? Tough.
12. Funny enough, Ohio State has just 11 sacks on the season. Weird year.
13. Shoutout to Rocco for not throwing an interception or fumbling the ball. Granted, the interceptions prior were because he was getting unlucky, so perhaps it was just luck this time he didn't throw one.
14. I am pro having Rocco tuck the ball and running if he has a lane. I am not pro all these designed quarterback runs. He just doesn't have the agility, vision, nor power to run as much as he did on Saturday. Especially when, on so many of these plays, it's down near the red zone where the defense is loaded up in the box.
15. I am waiting for the end of the season to release basically a roster overview of players I think are important to keep, but Armstrong Nnodim will definitely be on the list. At worst, he is a real rotational defensive tackle for a good program. Hope we can keep him.
16. Audavion Collins getting a snap at wide receiver and taking a reverse for 11 yards was cool as heck. I am extremely hopeful that both Chase Sowell and Koby Howard are back next Saturday, but if they aren't, let's get Audavion ~5 snaps on offense. Fast, athletic guy = good with the ball in his hands (or as a decoy).
17. I truly would not be surprised if Koby Howard doesn't play again this season, and I say that while 100% admitting that it is just my feel for the situation. Every injury is vague, but his feels extra vague. I worry that he's someone who had a serious leg break in high school and is now dealing with complications (pain, soreness, etc.) from it, and that Penn State is/has been trying different methods to alleviate the issue but nothing is sticking.
18. I am a Sixers fan and have rooted for Joel Embiid for almost 15 years now. I won't call myself an expert, but I am well experienced in sniffing out injury situations that don't seem right. But hey, maybe I'm wrong and Koby will be off the injury report this week.
19. I'll tell you what though, this offense might be humming if they get Sowell and Koby back. I can absolutely talk myself into 8-4 if that's the case, and hell, that would be undefeated with Koby. I might even start arguing that Penn State deserves inclusion in the CFP.
20. One game at a time, though.
21. Uh, the blocked punt was bad. Dom Rulli just didn't block his man? Like literally let him run through and took the guy on the outside for no reason.
22. The Big Ten is a bizarre place this year. Purdue beats Minnesota. Minnesota beats Iowa. Iowa beats Washington. Washington beats Purdue, though. And then there's Purdue beats Illinois. Illinois beats Oregon. Oregon beats USC. USC beats Ohio State. But USC lost to Wisconsin who lost to Iowa, who as we said lost to Minnesota who Purdue beat.
23. Makes sense, right? Glad Penn State was able to get in on the winning, and by my math, I think Penn State can claim they are the best team in the Big Ten somehow.
24. I don't really have too much more on this game. Glad we got some more aggressiveness from Matt Campbell went it for 3 times on 4th down, with two of the calls eventually (or directly) leading to touchdowns for the Nittany Lions.
25. It's a game of margins and that's the type of plays Penn State will need in the aforementioned tight Big Ten. There's a lot to be said about the early stages of the Matt Campbell Era, but the way Penn State can sometimes look passive has been the most concerning to me when it comes to what his ceiling can be here. So I really enjoyed that this was one of the few games where it felt like Penn State was the lead dancer. We led the pace. We dictated where the game was going to go. It wasn't a reaction, it was taking the game by the horns and dragging it wherever the hell we wanted. Hopefully, we get more of that to finish out the season, because as much as there's an argument that the difference between 6-6 and 8-4 ain't much, I'd love to see this team finish the season on a 6-game (bowl included!) win streak.
