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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- No. 24 Penn State brings a serious dose of momentum to Purdue for Saturdays game.After all, the Nittany Lions are coming off a 24-21 upset of then No. 2 Ohio State last weekend. Penn State (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) is firmly in the discussion for a division title, too.However, the Nittany Lions have not won in an opponents stadium since 2014 and have lost seven consecutive true road games, including two this season. Penn State coach James Franklin hopes his defensive front can bring help bring an end to that skid.I think Ohio State had given up five sacks all year, and we were able to get six sacks in the game, five coming in the second half, Franklin said.Purdue (3-4, 1-3) is well aware of Penn States aggressive defense, which ranks second in Big Ten sacks with 22. Only No. 2 Michigan has more (25).And in only their second game for interim coach Gerad Parker, the Boilermakers will be trying to protect quarterback David Blough with a starting offensive line that will include sophomore Kirk Barron at center, redshirt freshman Matt McCann at right tackle and possibly freshman Michael Mendez at left tackle.Keeping Penn State defensive ends Evan Schwan, Garrett Sickels and Torrence Brown away from Blough with a young offensive line will be a difficult task.Its a great challenge, and I know the guys in the (offensive linemen) room are looking forward to it, Barron said. If this was a time to deal with adversity and we werent ready, we would crumble. Nebraskas front was just as good. Penn State does a few different things, and theyre all good. They blitz a ton, so we need to be able to communicate well and make that something we are able to shut down.Here are some other things to watch in this game:McSORLEY EFFECTDuring Penn States three-game winning streak, quarterback Trace McSorley has been able to move the offense with his feet and his arm. He has at least 63 rushing yards and one touchdown in each of the past three games, totaling 858 total yards on the ground and in the air.WHOS GOING DEEP?Penn States DeAndre Thompkins leads the team in deep targets and has caught five passes for 25 yards or more. But he left the Ohio State game after landing awkwardly and hard on his head and did not return. He is listed as a probable starter against Purdue, but Saeed Blacknall, who returned to action last week from a hand injury, could be the deep target if Thompkins cant play.MISSING PIECESPurdue continues to be without starting offensive left tackle Martesse Patterson and backup defensive backs Brandon Roberts and David Rose, all of whom are suspended for conduct not in keeping with team rules. Patterson is suspended after being arrested in September for felony assault on his roommate and breaking the roommates jaw. Parker has not given specifics about what led to the Roberts and Rose suspensions other than to say they are still members of the team but are not practicing.MEANINGFUL CALLParker said he was humbled on Monday when he received a call from Clemson coach Dabo Swinney congratulating Parker and his team for how well Purdue played in last weeks 27-14 loss at No. 7 Nebraska.He watched how hard we played, and for him to reach out and do that in a busy time for him and spend 26 minutes on the phone with me shows you why Clemson is where they are and why his guys believe in where he is, Parker said.SEEKING HOMEFIELD VICTORIESWhile Penn State has lost seven consecutive road games, Purdue is 1-12 in its 13 most recent Big Ten home games, defeating only Nebraska 55-45 last season in West Lafayette.The Boilermakers are 0-1 this season in Big Ten home games, losing to Iowa (49-35) on homecoming in a contest Purdue trailed 35-7 at halftime. Coach Darrell Hazell was fired the next day. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- It didnt feel like a 12-alarm fire when word got out that Sue Bird wasnt going to play. The U.S. Olympic womens basketball team is too dominant for that. It was more like the basketball equivalent of having a rock in your shoe, or having a painting thats hung crooked on the wall. Something just didnt feel right Thursday night in their semifinal game against France. Something was just ... off.Bird always says shes not the fastest or highest-flying talent in womens basketball. But when youve been the point guard for the U.S. national team dating back 16 years, running the show at every major international competition since 2002, and the team has not lost an Olympic game in all that time, its not surprising that the sight of Bird on Thursday would be disorienting for the U.S. The sight of Bird walking out in her navy team warm-up suit unable to play in the American teams semifinal against France because of a sprained right knee capsule might have even felt like an unprecedented opportunity for France, which had five or six players and coaches standing and watching the U.S. layup line before the game as if they couldnt believe their luck.I didnt know she wasnt going to play, said French forward Sandrine Gruda. Even at halftime we were saying, Believe. Believe. Believe.Asked the last time she missed an Olympic contest, Birds eyes opened wide and she laughed and said, Never.Until Thursday, the 35-year-old had played 28 of the last 30 Olympic games for the U.S. team stretching back to 2004. She did not play in the semifinal and gold-medal games in Athens in 2004.While the Americans looked discombobulated early on without her -- France trailed only 40-34 at the half -- they eventually overcame Birds absence like theyve overcome everything else in this tournament, relying on their experience and depth of talent to run away to a gratifying 86-67 win, their smallest margin of victory in the tournament. A 25-8 run in the third quarter put France away to stay.The American team now goes into its sixth-straight Olympic final Saturday, this time opposite Spain, a team it beat by 40 points in pool play earlier in these Games.Whether Bird plays or not, it would be an epic upset if the U.S. loses this gold medal or its 48-game Olympic winning streak now. Bird said her plan is to try to practice Friday, and see how she feels. Head coach Geno Auriemma says it will be her call whether to play or sit.To be honest, yesterday I didnt feel amazing, but I woke up today feeling better, and Im just hoping for the best tomorrow, said Bird, who has had five previous surgeries on her left knee but no issues witth her right knee until now.dddddddddddd Im not going to be stupid about this. Its your body. You dont want to put it in danger. But if I can play, Im definitely playing.Lindsay Whalen, a 32-year-old veteran, is the only other true point guard on the U.S. roster. But Auriemma said the upside of having already played one game without Bird is the U.S. wont have to spend a half working the kinks out of their offense in the gold-medal game like they did on this night. Auriemma filled Birds spot in the starting lineup by moving Seimone Augustus into the backcourt opposite Diana?Taurasi, and asking Taurasi to be a bit more of a ball handler and passer even though, Thats really not her role.Taurasi is used to filling in. Even if she prefers to have Bird on the court.When Sues out, you forget how much she does for this team, she said. We have so many scorers, and she finds a way to get everyone in their spots, to get everyone touches, and she sacrifices her own offense for that ... I think we figured it out in the second half. But it was still hard.Taurasi still led the U.S. with 18 points. And Bird was predictably uneasy having to endure watching the game. During pregame warm-ups, she made a few passes to teammates in the layup line, and the other U.S. players said she was vocal in the locker room at halftime, too, reminding them of little details, telling them not to worry that their four-point margin was so slim. Stay calm. When the U.S. went back on the court and the five players who were going to start the second half huddled by the U.S. bench for one last quick talk, all of a sudden a sixth -- Bird -- stuck her head in and started giving instructions, sending them out with a pep talk.What was watching like? Now? Not so hard. During the game, very hard, Bird laughed. We were a little out of sorts, and I feel I can help in that department. But honestly, they did a great job. Its not easy. A semifinal game -- I dont care who youre playing against -- its the hardest game because you lose that and you get nothing. Or, I mean, you can only maybe get bronze. So its really difficult. And Im really proud of them.It was yet another measure of the top-to-bottom skill of the U.S. team. But Auriemma said he doesnt want to hear remarks like, What time is the gold medal ceremony? as if Saturdays win is a given.Its not like that, he insisted.But no one believes him. Bird is one of the winningest players in basketball history. With her or without her, the U.S. women just keep rolling on. ' ' '