Penn State at Purdue: H&R Staff Picks

Purdue has not beaten a ranked team since beating No. 25 Illinois on October 22, 2011. In the five years since the Illinois haven’t been back in the polls and Purdue has only gone 18-44. We have also fired two coaches.

Maybe we’re due? I don’t know. Let’s see what the staff has to say:

Casey Bartley

There is no justice. Penn State 33, Purdue 20

Rob St. Claire

Close enough to be annoying but with little hope of actually grabbing a win. Penn State 34, Purdue 28

Jack Walker

I would like to pick Purdue in a classic trap game. However, with Barkley at running back, a solid dual threat quarterback, and scary good defense, Penn State is the better team. No way can Penn State duplicate the energy they had against OSU, but they will be brimming with confidence. True, the Nittany Lions' season hasn't really been that special and Purdue has a chance. But I just don't see our offense being able to get enough points. Penn State 21, Purdue 10

Juan Crespo

This game could easily go one of two ways: Penn State comes in with a hangover, Parker fires up the team and pulls off the upset. Or Penn State comes in and steamrolls Purdue early in the game, prove that they should be contenders for the B1G East, and Purdue can't motivate themselves to win or get anything done until Penn State puts in their second team. While I think the latter is perhaps the worst case scenario, I'm leaning on that more than the former for this game. Penn State's offense still isn't good, but Purdue's defense isn't great either. A stoppable force meets a movable object. On the other side, Penn State was able to harass JT Barrett and Ohio State's offensive line last week, so I expect something similar, forcing Blough to run like a crazy man as the pocket collapses, forcing some bad throws.

Hot take: Penn State is overrated and shouldn't be ranked just because they got a win over Ohio State.

Not so hot take: They'll still probably beat Purdue, but I'll be in Ross-Ade and support this team to the final whistle. Penn State 28, Purdue 14

Kyle Holderfield

I really like Parker is the main reason for my upset pick. Blough has been great of late, if we can get the run game going. We could pull it off. Purdue 31, Penn State 27

Andrew Ledman

i was really heartened by what I saw last week against nebraska. will that be enough for Purdue to plAy at home in fronT of a crowd(?) that is rEally going to be theRe to support them and kNock off a ranked Opponent? i'm not so sure. our hope of course is that after upsetting #2 o$u last weeK peNn state is ovErlooking loWly old purdue and that will be enough. i think purdue'S best hope is to puncH penn stAte in the Mouth Early and then try to hang on. we've Seen numerous times over the past 4 seasons tHat purdue either lAcks the conditioning or the quality depth to keep the intensity up for the entire gaMe and i'd imaginE tomorrow will be no different. i'm expecting purdue to be leading at some point in the game but fall short at the end. Penn State 31, Purdue 24

T-Mill

I used to respect Penn State. I really did. But after everything they have gone through my opinion of their program has turned. The Paterno defenders at this point are quite repugnant, and that tarnishes anything their program does. Over the summer I felt that this game was Purdue’s best chance for a surprising upset. That feeling hasn’t changed. If Purdue can match its intensity from last week, sustain it for an entire game, avoid silly mistakes, and catch a couple of breaks (yes, that is A LOT of ifs, but ifs are all we have) we could have an upset on our hands. I think we get that upset. Purdue 27, Penn State 23