MORE: Jeff Brohm postgame video | GoldandBlack.com blog | Plummer, Hermanns, Smiley postgame videos | 10 Things to Know about Purdue's 35-7 loss | Podcast: Purdue loses to Penn State | Final thoughts: Penn State loss | Data Driven

PDF: Purdue-Penn State stats

Time to grade the Boilermakers after their 35-7 defeat at Penn State.

God bless Jack Plummer. He is trying. But the redshirt freshman was under almost constant duress. Time and again, stalwart Penn State ends Shaka Toney and Yetur Gross-Matos were in his grill, as Plummer was sacked a stupefying 10 times (seven in the first half!). He managed to connect on 13-of-27 passes for 119 yards with a touchdown and no picks when he wasn’t being flushed from the pocket or just generally harassed. The fact he didn’t toss an interception is impressive when you consider the relentless heat he faced. And he was working with a depleted receiving unit that was minus Rondale Moore, TJ Sheffield, Jared Sparks and Milton Wright. Plummer accounted for the team’s one TD when he hit Amad Anderson, Jr., for a 15-yard TD toss on a nice back-shoulder toss.

Grade: C+

This was ugly. Again. Heck, just last week, Purdue showed some life when it ran for a season-high 123 yards vs. Minnesota. True freshman back King Doerue carried 20 times for 94 yards and two scores. Pretty good, right? But the Boilermakers reverted to their normal form in State College, Pa., getting stuffed for minus-19 yards on 28 carries. Ten sacks of Jack Plummer were the reason why the rushing total was so ghastly. The redshirt freshman had a team-high 14 carries for minus 65 yards. Not much else to say about an offensive line that continues to struggle. Purdue is trying different combinations, playing nine different guys. But, nothing really was effective—again. The Boilermakers are second-to-last in America in rushing (50.8 ypg). And only one school has fewer rushing attempts than Purdue’s 133 (Washington State with 89).

Grade: F

Not a good day. Jeff Brohm admitted as much in the post-game.

“We maxed protected,” he said. “We ran some screens. Tried to throw it deep. Moved the pocket a little bit. Mix in some runs. It was bad execution. Credit goes to them. We knew they were good on defense.”

The offense is limited to a degree by what it can do because of the struggles of the line. And the injuries at receiver complicate matters. And for some reason, the tight ends have become ineffective. Brycen Hopkins caught one pass after getting shutout vs. Minnesota. Payne Durham grabbed his first catch since the Vanderbilt game. Brohm is trying to scheme stuff. But, there’s only so much he can do with this personnel.

Grade: D

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Boilermakers got gashed in the pass game. Penn State had its way with Purdue, as Sean Clifford hit 20-of-29 passes for 264 yards with three touchdowns and a pick. Big plays continue to haunt Purdue, as the Nittany Lions had passes that covered 72, 48, 23, 22 and 20 yards. Last week, the Boilermakers allowed Minnesota signal-caller Tanner Morgan to look like a Heisman contender, has he hit 20-of-21 passes (a Big Ten single-game record 95 percent) for 396 yards and four touchdowns. Purdue shook up the secondary entering this game, replacing starting corners Kenneth Major and Dedrick Mackey with Cory Trice and Jordan Rucker, who got hurt right away. It didn’t seem to matter much who was out there. And the safeties did little to distinguish themselves. Interesting to see Jalen Graham get his first start at nickel back.

Grade: D

The last opponent—Minnesota—didn’t gash Purdue on the ground like TCU (346 yards), as the Gophers had just 92 yards rushing. But Penn State had some success, piling up 196 yards on the ground. Nittany Lions back Noah Cain had a nice day, running for 105 yards on just 12 carries for a sweet 8.8 yards per tote. The Nittany Lions wore down Purdue with 46 carries and had two runs of over 20 yards. Purdue’s line has depth and some talent, so there would appear to be hope to be solid vs. the run moving forward. Maryland, however, will put that theory to test. The Terps are loaded with good backs.

Grade: C

Things started poorly but ended well for Purdue. Penn State looked like it was going to roll the Boilermakers on homecoming, scoring on each of its first four possessions en route to 28 first-half points to go along with 275 yards. (205 passing). The Purdue defense took chances throughout the game with blitzes and a variety of schemes to slow the onslaught of Nittany Lions points. The defense stepped up after halftime, Penn State tallied just one second-half touchdown and 185 yards (59 passing). Was Purdue’s strong closing effort a product of Penn State losing interest? Or was it based on the Boilermakers scheme and effort? Maybe a bit of both. Regardless, this is something the Boilermakers can build on. Penn State had seven second-half drives: five punts, a TD, fumble. And get this: Purdue actually won the turnover battle: 3-1. That hadn’t happened since the Boston College game last season.

Grade: C-

Purdue used two punters: Brooks Cormier (five punts) and Zac Collins (seven punts). Each had their moments, with Collins effective as a rugby-style punter who tried to keep the ball away from deadly Penn State return man K.J. Hamler. The coverage unit was OK, but Hamler nearly ran back a punt for a TD early in the game (26-yard return). He provided a few hold-your-breath moments for the Boilermakers. The Purdue return game is basically non-existent without Rondale Moore. Purdue's numbers on the day: one return for minus-seven yards.

Grade: C

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