Penn State wasn’t supposed to be 3-4.
Matt Campbell was expected to come in, bring along a ton of great players from Iowa State to go with a good base in place, and boom. Penn State was going to be a player again.
The collapse to Wisconsin opened up the floodgates, and now the Nittany Lions are on an ugly four-game losing streak.
Purdue wasn’t supposed to be 3-4.
It was expected to battle hard, but lose against teams like Minnesota and in places like Illinois. Instead, it’s in the mix to get to six wins and a bowl, but with a brutal late November run coming, a winning season isn’t likely without a win in Happy Valley.

Purdue vs Penn State: Quick Hits

  • Penn State goes to Washington after this before hosting Minnesota.
  • Purdue gets Maryland next and then goes to Iowa.
  • Penn State won the last meeting 49-10 in 2024, winning 11 straight going back to 2004.

How To Watch Purdue vs Penn State

Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026
Game Time: 4:15 PM ET
TV: BTN
Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
– Week 9 Schedule, Game Previews
– CFN Top 25 | Bowl Projections
– Predicting the First CFP Top 25
– CFN Week 9 Expert Picks

Why Purdue Will Win

Penn State can’t stop turning the ball over.
Penn State didn’t turn the ball over in the first three games – 3-0. Penn State turned the ball over at least once, seven in all, over the last four games – 4-0. This Nittany Lion team is okay, but it’s not good enough to overcome these mistakes.
Purdue lost to Washington, but it forced five turnovers after coming up with two in the win over Minnesota. That, and if you stop the Penn State running game that has gone nowhere over the last three games, you win.

Why Penn State Will Win

Penn State has to get physical. Granted, running on Michigan and Wisconsin isn’t like running on Buffalo and Temple, but the offense has to settle things down by grinding away.
The Purdue defense has been decent at times against the run, but UCLA ran wild in the second half of its 52-38 win, and Washington was able to overcome a slew of mistakes by averaging 5.5 yards per pop in its 38-26 win.
Purdue is 3-0 when allowing fewer than 4.5 yards per carry, and 0-4 when giving up that many or more.

Purdue vs Penn State Prediction, Betting Lines

Penn State has been easy – play a Power Four team, battle well, lose. Purdue, on the other hand, has played seven very separate and distinct games, with none of them going exactly to plan.
As long as the Nittany Lions can keep the mistakes to a minimum and get some good early momentum at home, they should be fine. Purdue will be plucky, and they’ll keep battling, but Penn State will finally be on the right side of a good battle because, finally, it’ll score.
The Nittany Lions are 0-4 when scoring fewer than 27 points. Purdue is 0-4 when allowing more than 19.

Penn State 34, Purdue 24
Latest Consensus Line: Penn State -10.5, o/u: 54.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 3.5
Must See Rating (out of 5): 3

Consensus line based on BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Source: Yahoo Sports