A brutal end to Thursday’s game means a big-time missed opportunity for the Purdue football program.
Both situations proved costly for Purdue, which dropped a 35-31 decision to Penn State on Thursday night’s opener at Ross-Ade Stadium. Quarterback Sean Clifford connected with Keyvone Lee on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 57 seconds to play.The Boilermakers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, but Penn State answered with 10:44 to play on Clifford’s 29-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who took advantage of Purdue’s poor tackling to reach the end zone.
Clifford, who didn’t play in the first series of the second half, finished with four touchdown passes and 282 passing yards.birthday with a 7-yard TD pass to Iowa transfer Charlie Jones late in the third quarter to give the Boilermakers a 24-21 lead.Big-time missed opportunity for the program. Long way to go in the season but Purdue failed to capitalize on its chance to start this season off on the right track.
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Network. Email [email protected] and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc