Dan Persa runs for one of his two rushing touchdowns Saturday at Penn State.Dan Persa runs for one of his two rushing touchdowns Saturday at Penn State.

Northwestern Overcome by Penn State, 35-21, After Early Lead

Nov. 6, 2010

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Site: University Park, Pa. (Beaver Stadium)
Score: Penn State 35, Northwestern 21
Records: NU (6-3, 2-3 Big Ten), Penn State (6-3, 3-2 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Nov. 13, 2010 -- vs. Iowa (Ryan Field), 11 a.m.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa threw for a score and ran for two more in his return to his native Pennsylvania, leading NU to a 21-0 first-half lead over Penn State. But the Nittany Lions surged back during the second half, eventually posting a 35-21 victory over Northwestern Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

On the very first play from scrimmage, Persa ripped off a Northwestern-season-long 31-yard rush to kick-start a seven-play, 74-yard drive that culminated in a six-yard touchdown rush for Persa. The Wildcat defense turned PSU over twice in the first quarter, once on downs and a second time when Hunter Bates forced a fumble on a safety blitz and Quentin Davie recovered. After the fumble, Stefan Demos just missed a 27-yard field goal to keep NU up, 7-0, after one quarter of play.

Early in the second quarter, Persa directed another drive mixing his arm with his feet before scampering four yards untouched for his second rushing score of the day. Stefan Demos' extra points made it 14-0 with 9:25 to go in the half. Penn State had a shot at scoring when it took over at NU's 41 late the stanza, but the 'Cat defense forced a 51-yard field goal attempt that fell well short.

On the ensuing drive Persa found Drake Dunsmore in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown pass, making it 21-0. Dunsmore made a one-handed grab of the ball and kept a foot inbounds to complete a spectacular score, his fourth touchdown of the season. Penn State responded, driving 91 yards in 47 seconds to pull within 21-7 at the half.

Penn State then came out in the second half a completely different team, scoring touchdowns on its first four possessions while holding Northwestern to just one first down while blasting out to a 35-21 lead with 11:38 to go in the fourth quarter.

Northwestern punched back at that point, moving down the field thanks to several long completions, but the drive died inside the 10-yard line where the Wildcats turned it over on downs.

Individually, wide receiver Jeremy Ebert led NU with 111 yards through the air, his third 100-yard receiving game of the year. On the other side of the ball, Nate Williams and Brian Peters each totaled 11 tackles on the afternoon.

Penn State finished the contest with 260 yards rushing and managed to outgain the Wildcats for the game by a margin of 528-369. The win was the 400th in the storied career of Penn State head coach Joe Paterno.

Northwestern returns to action at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 13, against Iowa at Ryan Field. The game will mark Senior Day as the final Evanston home game of the season for the Wildcats.

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