The Penn State offensive line and Purdue defensive line up for a snap on first down  – Photo by Brayden Byham

Last year’s edition of the All-U Game saw what turned out to be the final win for former Penn State HC James Franklin. On Saturday, the 2026 All-U Game marked another historic moment for Penn State Football.

The Nittany Lions (4-4, 1-4 B1G Ten) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 31-17 win over the Purdue Boilermakers (3-5, 2-3 B1G Ten) in Beaver Stadium, as first-year HC Matt Campbell won his first B1G Ten conference game at the helm for the blue and white.

A unique kickoff time of 4:15 p.m. in Happy Valley mirrored the nature of a first half that contained many twists and turns for both teams. The Nittany Lions forced a Purdue punt on the first possession of the game and asserted control over the game early. A typically conservative Matt Campbell and his coaching staff converted on a fake punt on fourth and seven at the Purdue 20-yard line. Nathan Tiyce, a 6’5 sophomore punter, completed a 13-yard pass to Ben Brahmer, a 6’7 senior TE and Iowa State transfer, to move the chains. Redshirt senior Rocco Becht connected with the 6’4 senior TE Andrew Rappleyea from four yards out to cap off a 12-play, 96-yard drive with a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead with 5:13 to play in the first quarter.

Becht’s efficient day through the air ended with the Iowa State transfer completing 16 of his 24 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown.

Purdue promptly responded with a four-play, 75-yard drive that concluded with senior QB Ryan Browne finding senior Xavior Townsend for a 33-yard touchdown pass, as three nearby Penn State defensive backs were unable to force an incompletion or tackle Townsend short of the endzone.

Penn State’s offense once again marched down the field on the ensuing possession. After Rocco Becht had a nine-yard run on first down, RB Cam Wallance, a redshirt junior, found a hole in the line of scrimmage and had a 48-yard rush to enter the red zone at the Purdue 18-yard line.

Wallace was the story of the game for Penn State. He broke both of his legs in a win against Kent State in September 2024, missed the rest of the 2024 season, was out for all of 2025 and didn’t take the field for a single offensive snap in three games entering Saturday. Despite these daunting challenges, he finished the game with a career-high 135 rushing yards and one touchdown on 22 carries.

Two plays after Wallace’s explosive run, Becht added a 6-yard rushing touchdown to give Penn State a 14-7 lead that it took into the second quarter. After a Purdue punt, the Boilermakers took the field on defense and forced Penn State to punt at the Purdue 49-yard line. This time, Purdue made a magnificent special teams play, as senior Bisi Owens, a Penn transfer, blocked Tiyce’s punt. The ball was scooped up by redshirt freshman Jalil Hill, a Drexel Hill, PA native, who returned it 31 yards into the end zone to tie the game 14-14 with 8:52 remaining in the first half, stunning the crowd in Beaver Stadium.

Fortunately for the home crowd, Penn State outscored Purdue 17-3 the rest of the way, controlling all aspects of the game after the blocked punt.

The Nittany Lions had a balanced offensive drive on the ensuing possession that spanned 15 plays and 65 yards and drained over seven minutes of the clock. Purdue forced a fourth and goal at the one-yard line, and Senior Carson Hansen, another Iowa State transfer, just barely snuck into the end zone for a one-yard rushing touchdown to take a 21-14 lead that Penn State would carry into the locker room at halftime. Hansen’s touchdown was his third of the season, and he finished the game with 17 carries for 96 yards.

#4 Brett Eskildsen, #70 Trevor Buhr and #68 Anthony Donkoh celebrate Carson Hansen’s touchdown to take a 21-14 lead moments before halftime

At halftime, the Penn State Blue Band delivered a Halloween-themed performance, and student representatives from the 19 commonwealth campuses, University Park campus, seven special mission campuses and the World Campus took the field and held a flag that bore each campus’s name. Due to the closing of seven commonwealth campuses after the upcoming spring 2027 semester, this marked the final time that Penn State DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York participated in the All-U Game festivities.

Penn State received the football to begin the second half, but both schools traded punts before redshirt junior Ryan Barker, a Landenberg, PA native, didn’t quite have the leg to make a 55-yard field goal, so the score remained 21-14 in favor of the blue and white.

With 5:43 to play in the third quarter, Ryan Browne’s pass was intercepted by senior safety Jamison Patton, yet another Iowa State transfer, and returned to the Purdue 41-yard line. Ryan Barker drilled a 44-yard field goal to claim a 24-14 lead with 2:11 to go in the third quarter, and the Nittany Lion defense forced a three-and-out to give the Penn State offense the ball entering the fourth quarter.

Rocco Becht completed a 17-yard pass to JR Brett Eskildsen and a 33-yard pass to Ben Brahmer to power a ten-play, 85-yard drive that spanned almost seven minutes and was punctuated by a two-yard rushing touchdown by Cam Wallace to take a 31-14 lead.

Purdue responded with a field goal to cut the Boilermaker deficit to 14 with 6:08 remaining in the game, and, after Barker missed a 42-yard field goal, safety Jeremiah Cooper, a redshirt senior and Iowa State transfer, intercepted Ryan Browne to give the Nittany Lions the football. Rocco Becht took three knees, and Penn State defeated Purdue 31-17 to snap a four-game losing streak and win the first B1G Ten game of the Matt Campbell era in Happy Valley.

The Nittany Lions’ offense finally had a breakthrough performance in conference play, recording 457 total yards, including 269 on the ground. They did so without sophomore WR Koby Howard, who has missed all of conference play with an undisclosed lower-body injury, and Chase Sowell, a redshirt senior Iowa State transfer who was ruled out just hours before kickoff and had a dominant performance in his most recent outing at Michigan. Ben Brahmer led the Nittany Lions with 53 receiving yards on the day.

The Penn State defense allowed just 32 total yards on Purdue’s 22 offensive snaps in the second half and conceded just 175 total yards, which is the fewest allowed in a B1G Ten game since 2023. The Nittany Lions’ dominant performance was also exemplified by the mere 33 total rushing yards allowed by their defensive unit, which is the fewest Penn State has allowed in any game since 2023.

The 2026 All-U Game marked the beginning of what Penn State hopes is a thrilling chapter to add to its rich football history. Head Coach Matt Campbell has earned his first B1G Ten win in his first year with the Nittany Lions, and the program hopes that this win is the first of many entering the final month of the regular season to build momentum heading into 2027. For years now, the Penn State Football program and its fans have been hungry for big, marquee wins that can lead to championships. Now, Matt Campbell has accomplished a key milestone that the program hopes will serve as the foundation for its ascension to the top of the college football world.

The Nittany Lions (4-4, 1-4 B1G Ten) will head to Seattle to battle the Washington Huskies (5-3, 2-3 B1G Ten) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on FS1. Purdue (3-5, 2-3 B1G Ten) will host the Maryland Terrapins (2-6, 0-5 B1G Ten) in West Lafayette on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on the B1G Ten Network.