Penn State’s offense finally found some room to breathe against Purdue, and it started with a decision that looked risky in the moment.
On the game’s first possession, Zay Robinson fielded a punt with a fair catch at the 4-yard line, leaving Penn State backed up and already dealing with a thin margin for error. The Nittany Lions were without their top two receivers, and the run game had not yet gotten going. Still, the choice set up a 96-yard touchdown march, the longest scoring drive Penn State has put together this season, and it ended with a 4-yard touchdown catch by Andrew Rappleyea for an early 7-0 lead.
With the benefit of hindsight, Penn State coach Matt Campbell said he was split on whether Robinson made the right call.
“I think you’ve got to figure out what you want to live with,” Campbell said. “We knew, [Purdue had a] really good pooch-punter, so with that decision making, it’s heels on the 5. That first punt is drifting a little bit, but he’s [Robinson] not really backing up.”
Campbell said if Robinson had let the ball go, it likely would have been downed at the Penn State 3-yard line. For him, that’s still the better outcome.
“I think I could have gone either which way if he chose to let that ball hit, it would have hit on the 3, but if you really studied the video, they were in a great position, and it’s not like he was backing up to get it. He’s drifting across the 5-yard line, and it’s kind of right on the 3.”
He also pointed to his own history with backed-up field position, including trips to Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium in the CyHawk game.
“You’re talking to the guy that’s lived on coming out at Kinnick on the 1-yard line, and that’s not real fun. We’ve lived that battle many times,” Campbell said. “I trust our offense a lot more on the 3 than I do on the 1-yard line, and I think the results of that can show.”
Robinson fair caught another punt inside the 10 later in the game, taking one at the Penn State 6 just before halftime. Campbell said that one was an easy call.
“I think that’s a great decision for sure,” Campbell said.
The bigger picture, though, is that Campbell said the choice depends on the punter as much as the returner. Purdue’s Dylan Drennan has been one of the nation’s better punters, with Purdue ranking in the top 20 nationally in net punt yards. Drennan has allowed only 47 opponent punt return yards and just one touchback, and he has placed seven punts inside the 20 this season.
Robinson has not had a major return in recent games, but Campbell said the decision on whether to let him go will keep changing from week to week.
“I think the Purdue punter showed to be a really good pooch-punter, and that’s how we evaluate that each week.”
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