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Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions’ performance vs. Purdue

By Dylan Burd

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 05: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 05: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 05: Lamont Wade #38 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after a sack against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 05: Lamont Wade #38 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after a sack against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

A-. . . . THE SECONDARY

The Penn State secondary held Purdue to only 123 yards passing on Saturday, which was extremely impressive. Other than one long pass from Jack Plummer to Purdue wide receiver David Bell that went for 43 yards, there weren’t any other deep competitions allowed.

It was a coming-out party for safety Lamont Wade, who played the best game of his career with a team-high 11 tackles, a sack, and a pass defended. Cornerback John Reid also played an excellent game as he had two tackles and two passes defended.

Cornerback Trent Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker each had one pass defensed as well, while safety Garrett Taylor had one tackle for loss.

Purdue’s touchdown was allowed through the air, with Penn State true freshman Joey Porter Jr. on the coverage. Porter Jr. has seen some playing time they last couple of games, given Penn State’s limited corner depth.

An area for concern within the secondary is starting cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields, who left the game with an injury. It’ll be important for Penn State to have him back by the Iowa game, as he’s been one of Penn State’s best two corners this season.

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