One of Penn State’s biggest problems earlier in the Big Ten schedule was playing passive. When the Nittany Lions took on Wisconsin in the Homecoming game, Matt Campbell’s indecision on fourth down directly led to a wasted timeout.
With his back against the wall amidst a four-game losing skid, Campbell took an aggressive approach on fourth down when Penn State faced Purdue on Saturday. The team went three-for-three on fourth down conversions, two of which resulted in touchdowns.
“My responsibility is to try to get the flow and the rhythm of the game to give us a chance to win the football game,” Campbell said Tuesday. “That's how I make those decisions.”
Keeping the offense on the field was a big part of Penn State’s first Big Ten victory under Campbell.
“The reason for that is you're trying to do what's best for the moment in the situation,” Campbell said. “And you know the reason that I didn't go for later in the game was we’re up two scores, we're playing good defense, and man, you don't want to give them the momentum coming back into the game.”
The Nittany Lions controlled the ball for 43:27, some of which was extended by the fourth-down conversions. Because the offense dominate...