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this weekend in a 24-10 loss to Minnesota, the first on the very first play of the game and the second in the fourth quarter, at the Gopher goal line with a chance to get within one score. Penn State never got the ball back. R Wide receiver Allen Robinson averages a Big Ten-leading 8.1 receptions per game and 122.9 receiving yards. The junior's 1,106 yards this season set a new singleseason Penn State record, with still three more games to play. R Penn State kicker Sam Ficken is a Valparaiso native and the cousin of former Boilermaker basketball star Robbie Hummel. Punter Alex Butterworth is By the time the teams tee it up on Saturday, it will have been 25 months to the day since the Boilermakers set foot in Beaver Stadium. And the changes that have taken place in Purdue's program in the meantime are minuscule compared to what has taken place in Happy Valley during the period. It almost seems like another era. But in strict football terms, Purdue has struggled to win at Penn State. In their last visit, the Boilermakers battled hard against Coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions, before losing 23-18 on a windy day in State College. Penn State brought one of the nation's top defenses into the game, but had a chance to pull out the upset. A missed extra point and two-point conversion hindered the Boilermakers' efforts as well. Even when the Boilermakers have been a double-digit favorite, as they were in 2000 and 2004, they have struggled. from Indianapolis. His grandfather, Duff McKenzie played baseball at Purdue and his uncle, John Butterworth, played football for the Boilermakers in 1980s. R Running back Zach Zwinak is rolling right now, coming off a 152-yard game against Minnesota. He has only eight fewer carries than the team's Purdue's lone win at Penn State came on Oct. 9, 2004 and that wasn't easy despite the Boilermakers being favored by more than a touchdown. Purdue was riding high with a 4-0 record and was ranked No. 9 nationally. It left with a 20-13 win, but a week later the Boilermakers were knocked off college football's center stage with a gut-wrenching loss to Wisconsin. In 2000, Purdue was a 13-point favorite, but special teams mistakes cost it dearly in a 22-20 loss. Yet, almost in reverse fashion to '04, the 2000 loss seemed to galvanize the Gold and Black as it won four straight games in October to earn a spot in Pasadena. In the Boilermakers' first two visits to Penn State with the Nittany Lions as members of the Big Ten, it lost by nearly identical scores. The '96 game was 31-13 Penn State as Jim Colletto's team struggled mightily to find consistent offense. Two years later with Drew Brees under center for Purdue, Penn State won 31-14. — Alan Karpick leading rusher, Bill Belton. Zwinak's 12-yard TD run was his ninth scoring rush of the season, but his first of the Big Ten season. Earlier this season, the fullback-type scored eight touchdowns in the span of three games, including three against non-conference opponents Central Florida and Kent State. NUMBER CRUNCHING R 66.7: Purdue's and Penn State's success rates scoring in the red zone in Big Ten play, tied for worst in the league The difference: The Nittany Lions have had 21 cracks inside opponents' 20-yard line; the Boilermakers have had three. j celebrate o u r seniors ! 93rd Purdue Senior Appreciation Banquet Sponsored by the Lafayette Kiwanis Club Sunday, December 8, 2013, 12:45 p.m. Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms Tickets available through Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Ticket Office and online at www.PurdueSports.com Media Partner Media Partner GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 10 • 11