Penn State left Happy Valley with a clean sweep of momentum over Purdue, and it showed up in more than one sport. The football team finally got back in the win column, the volleyball team kept rolling, and the men’s hockey team came away from Minnesota with points after a gritty weekend. It was the kind of stretch that can steady a program, even if the road gets tougher fast.
For football, the headline was simple: Penn State finally snapped its conference skid. The Nittany Lions, now 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten, beat Purdue 31-17 on Saturday afternoon for their first league win of the 2026 season. It also marked their first victory since mid-September, when they beat Buffalo.
Matt Campbell needed that one. There’s no way around it.
Coming out of the bye week, Penn State had to show something different, and it did enough to leave with a result that matters. The next test comes on the road against Washington, and the offense’s shape may depend on the availability of Koby Howard and Chase Sowell.
Rocco Becht delivered a cleaner line than he did a week earlier at Michigan, finishing 16 of 24 for 175 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. It wasn’t a fireworks show, but it was an improvement.
Benjamin Brahmer led the receivers with 58 yards on four catches and seven targets, while Andrew Rappleyea finished with 45 yards and the game’s lone receiving touchdown. If Howard and Sowell are back in Week 10, that could change the look of the passing game in a hurry.
The ground game carried the day. Campbell leaned on Cam Wallace after what he described as a strong run of practices, and Wallace backed that up with 135 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Campbell said Wallace earned the right to play, and the production matched the message.
Penn State’s defense did its part too. Josiah Zayas paced the team with five total tackles and half a tackle for loss.
Yvan Kemajou recorded the only sack of the afternoon, while Jamison Patton and Jeremiah Cooper each picked off a pass. Up front, the defense generated six quarterback hurries, with Caleb Bacon and Alexander McPherson responsible for two apiece.
Volleyball kept the weekend moving in the right direction. Penn State improved to 17-5 overall and 9-3 in Big Ten play with a 3-1 win over Purdue on Senior Night, stretching its winning streak to five matches.
With just two home dates left and No. 19 Minnesota and No.
8 Wisconsin waiting on the road, the Nittany Lions are carrying real confidence into the final stretch.
Kennedy Martin was the difference-maker again. The opposite hitter piled up 24 kills and 27 total points, including six block assists.
Emmi Sellman added 12 kills, giving Penn State another steady option on the outside and more support for setter Alexis Stucky. Stucky finished with 40 assists and eight digs, matching Martin and defensive specialist Jocelyn Nathan for the team lead in digs.
That kind of all-court work has become part of the team’s identity this season.
Men’s hockey didn’t get a win in Minnesota, but it did get something to build on. After a 2-4 start, Penn State needed a good weekend at No.
18 Minnesota, and the Nittany Lions delivered enough to leave with two hard-fought games and a point from the opener. They’re now 2-5-1 overall and 0-1-1 in Big Ten play, still looking for their first regulation win.
Friday night ended 1-1 before Penn State won the shootout to take the extra point. Josh Fleming was sharp with 35 saves, and the Nittany Lions held Minnesota to just one goal after the Golden Gophers had swept No.
3 North Dakota the previous weekend. Javon Moore scored for Minnesota in the first period, Justin Poirier answered in the third, and senior forward Dane Dowiak sealed the shootout in the fifth round.
Saturday was even more back-and-forth. Nolan Collins opened the scoring, Marco Mignosa put Penn State ahead 2-1 late in the first, and Dowiak later restored the lead in the second after Christian Humphreys tied it for Minnesota.
Humphreys struck again to make it 3-3, sending the game to overtime. It didn’t last long there.
LJ Mooney ended it 17 seconds into the extra period.
Penn State didn’t come away with the sweep, but pushing Minnesota to overtime on both nights was still a step forward. The next series against Notre Dame gives the Nittany Lions another chance to clean things up and keep moving in the right direction.
In Other News...
Penn State Has One Big Reason To Watch Ohio State Tonight
The first College Football Playoff rankings arrive Tuesday night, and for Penn State fans the most interesting part may be less about the Nittany Lions themselves than where Ohio State lands in the opening top 25. The initial release always sets the tone for the weeks ahead, and this one comes with plenty of uncertainty as the selection committee weighs recent results, injuries and the kind of rsum quirks that can push teams up or down in a hurry.
Ohio State is part of a crowded discussion that also includes programs like Notre Dame, BYU, Kentucky and Alabama, which means every placement will be scrutinized for clues about how the committee is thinking. Penn State has its own reasons to pay attention, because the rankings often reveal whether the committee is leaning on record, eye test or the sort of caution that can keep a team from repeating past mistakes once the seasons biggest games start to sort everything out. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Recruiting Push Is Starting To Feel Uncomfortably Familiar
Penn States 2027 recruiting class has already taken on a strange shape, with more departures than additions after two commits backed away and only one pledge coming in. For a program that has spent much of the cycle trying to build early momentum, the churn has made the class feel more fragile than the Nittany Lions would like, especially as they continue to work the trail with an eye on strengthening the roster in key spots.
The bigger issue is the kind of targets Penn State is chasing. The staff has been pursuing several recruits who are already committed elsewhere, often from programs with lower roster spending and lower rankings, which has made this feel like a familiar kind of recruiting battle. Wide receiver Arnold Mugerwa is among the notable names on that list, and his recruitment fits the larger theme for Penn State, which is still trying to add more firepower to a receiver group that remains a priority. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Big Ten Breakthrough Put Recruiting Pressure On Rivals
Penn States 31-17 win over Purdue did more than give Matt Campbell his first Big Ten victory as coach. It also served as a showcase for the program, with several recruits and commits on hand to watch the Nittany Lions handle business in conference play. Among the visitors were 4-star cornerback KeiShjuan Telfair and 247Sports 4-star defensive end Tristan Alexander, one of the top players in Pennsylvanias 2029 class.
The crowd in attendance also included potential flip targets and other prospects taking in the atmosphere and the way Penn State performed on the field. For a program trying to keep momentum rolling, those kinds of game-day visits matter, especially when the team can point to a convincing league win and the kind of environment recruits remember. The bigger question now is how much that visit weekend can move the needle with the players who were watching closest. [Read more 🡒]