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Purdue will have to get along without fifth-year senior quarterback Elijah Sindelar and sophomore receiver Rondale Moore. Jeff Brohm announced today that both will be out with injury for this Saturday’s game at Penn State. Each player was hurt on the same play in the first quarter of Purdue's 38-31 loss to Minnesota on Saturday.

“When it comes to where we're at from a health standpoint, Elijah Sindelar will be out," said Brohm at his Monday press conference. "He's having surgery this morning as we speak on a broken clavicle.”

Will Sindelar--who had just gotten over a concussion suffered in the second game of the season vs. Vanderbilt--be out the rest of the season for 1-3 Purdue?

“It's too early to tell,” said Brohm. “We'll see how this goes, and go from there; that he will be out an extended period of time.”

Purdue will turn to redshirt freshman Jack Plummer to make his second career start. He came on in relief of Sindelar last Saturday, showing promise by hitting 23-of-41 passes for 245 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Plummer made his first career start vs. TCU when Sindelar was out with a concussion. The Gilbert, Ariz., native completed 13--of-29 passes for 181 yards with a touchdown and two picks in a 34-13 loss.

"I think Jack just has to play within himself and do what he does," said Brohm. "I think when you play against really good opponents, and your team needs to continue to work to get better, you have to make sure you're not trying to do too much and that's what can happen with quarterbacks if things maybe don't go exactly the way we want as they try to do too much and he can't do that.

"We have to make sure that he uses this as a great learning experience and that he plays within himself. He continues to make plays when it's there. He continues to pull it down and run when it's not. He doesn't throw it to the other team. He doesn't turn it over, and we reserve the right to punt if for some reason we get stopped."

As for Moore? Brohm didn’t offer clarity on the nature of his injury or how long he’ll be out.

“I'll know more information by the end of the day hopefully,” said Brohm.

Look for true freshman TJ Sheffield and junior Jackson Anthrop to see more action as wideouts and return men.

Brohm also addressed the status for the Penn State game for several key injured Boilermakers. Senior defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal, fifth-year senior running backs Tario Fuller and Richie Worship all will be out. None have played in 2019. As for junior wideout Jared Sparks, who missed the Minnesota game with an ankle issue?

“He will probably be out this game,” said Brohm.

Brohm had said a few weeks ago that the target game for Neal’s return from offseason knee surgery was Penn State. Here we are.

“He's just going to be out this week is all I'm at liberty to say,” said Brohm.

Lastly, sophomore guard DJ Washington will be out. He left Saturday’s game on a cart.

“He's having surgery tomorrow on a broken fibula/ankle,” said Brohm.

Tight end Brycen Hopkins failed to make a catch Saturday. It seems he was out of sorts, according to Jeff Brohm.

“Brycen, I think got hit in the stomach early on,” said Brohm. "Was throwing up throughout the game, and you know, we had to be careful how much we used him and when he was available and when he was not in there, Payne Durham was in there.”

The depth chart for the Penn State game saw myriad changes. The most noteworthy alterations were on defense.

Sophomore cornerbacks Kenneth Major and Dedrick Mackey were replaced on the first team by redshirt freshman Cory Trice and Jordan Rucker.

“Well, I think right now, there's not a starter for sure at those positions,” said Brohm. “We're going to have open competition in some of the positions, especially on defense.

“I think it's important that we open things up and we allow guys to have an opportunity to play and compete and see where they are at. There are some young guys that need to play more, need to see exactly what they can do for us.

“At the same time, you know, the guys that have started and played, they just need to continue to get better. All of us need to get better at what we're doing, and we want to make sure everyone knows there's open competition across the board on offense and defense.”

Bottom line: Purdue’s pass defense has to improve. The Boilermakers are last in the Big Ten vs. the pass (296.5 ypg). Time and again on Saturday vs. Minnesota, Gopher receivers were running free in the secondary. Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan set a Big Ten single-game completion percentage mark, hitting 95 percent of his passes (21-of-22) for 396 yards and four touchdowns.

Senior Kai Higgins, an end by trade, has replaced redshirt freshman Lawrence Johnson as a No. 1 tackle alongside junior Anthony Watts.

On offense, freshman David Bell has assumed a starting spot, backed up by redshirt freshman Jordan Bonner. True freshman TJ Sheffield is the No. 2 wideout behind Jackson Anthrop. True freshman Cam Craig is the No. 2 right tackle.

Purdue will face a fordable Penn State squad that is 4-0 and coming off a 59-0 demolition of Maryland.

“Well, they are a very efficient football team right now,” said Brohm. “I think it starts with their defense. When you shut teams out, when you have some of the personnel that they have, when you look across the board at where they are at, when you watch them on video, man, they play hard, they go hard. They attack.

“They do a lot of things on defense. They are very aggressive. They get penetration. The linebackers can run and hit and tackle, and the secondary does an outstanding job. I think that's their strength, and an offense, they do have a couple good young receivers. The quarterback is playing efficient. The line is doing a very good job. They are taking care of the football. They move the chains and get it to their playmakers, and they have just kind of executed.”

Penn State is No. 2 in the Big Ten in scoring (50.0 ppg) and No. 2 in scoring defense (7.5 ppg). And the environment at Beaver Stadium is one of the most intimdating in the Big Ten.

Penn State has a 7-1 record against Purdue in Beaver Stadium since the Lions joined the Big Ten 26 years ago. The teams haven't played in Happy Valley since Penn State throttled Purdue 45-21 in 2013.

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