| TAXSLAYER BOWL PENN STATE vs. GEORGIA | |
| Saturday, Jan. 2 - 12 p.m. ET | |
| EverBank Field | Jacksonville, Fla. | |
| Game Day Information: | |
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| TV: ESPN |
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| Game Notes: Penn State | Georgia |
| Statistics: Penn State | Georgia |
| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | UGA | |
| 23.7 | Scoring* | 26.5 |
| 16.5 | 1st Downs* | 18.7 |
| 135.1 | Rushing* | 194.3 |
| 208.9 | Passing* | 187.1 |
| 344.0 | Total Offense* | 381.4 |
| 17/12 | Fumbles/Lost | 23/10 |
| 62/502 | Penalties/Yards | 62/547 |
| 75/36.1 | Punts/Avg. | 60/35.8 |
| 28% | 3rd Down % | 31% |
| 47% | 4th Down % | 45% |
| 43 | Sacks | 21 |
| 10 | Interceptions | 11 |
| 39/42 | Red Zone | 32/41 |
| 29:21 | Time of Possession | 29:11 |
* - Per Game Statistics
Dec. 28, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State returns to a Florida bowl for the first time since the 2010 season when the Nittany Lions take on Southeastern Conference foe Georgia in the 71st annual TaxSlayer Bowl. The game will air on ESPN.
The Nittany Lions and the Bulldogs were selected for just their second all-time meeting and the 46th all-time bowl appearance for Penn State. The only other meeting between the teams came in the 1983 Sugar Bowl when the Nittany Lions claimed a 27-23 win over Georgia to claim their first National Championship. That game featured "The Catch," a 48-yard diving touchdown reception by wide receiver Gregg Garrity from Todd Blackledge to give the Lions a 27-17 lead. Garrity's son, also named Gregg, is a student-athlete on the 2015 team.
This will be Penn State's fifth appearance in the TaxSlayer Bowl, formerly the Gator Bowl, with the last time coming in 1976 when the Nittany Lions fell to Notre Dame, 20-9. Penn State was 1-2-1 all-time in the Gator Bowl. The Lions made back-to-back Gator Bowl appearances in 1961 with a win over Georgia Tech (30-15) and 1962 with a loss to Florida (17-7). Penn State also tied Florida State (17-17) in the 1967 Gator Bowl.
Penn State is tied for third nationally with Georgia and Oklahoma with 28 bowl victories and is No. 2 in bowl winning percentage with a 28-15-2 post-season record (64.4) among schools with at least 20 postseason appearances.
Head coach James Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to a 7-5 regular season record to become bowl eligible for the second consecutive season and 46th time overall. The Nittany Lions' mentor has guided all five of his teams as a head coach to a bowl appearance. Consensus first-team All-American defensive end Carl Nassib leads the nation in sacks and forced fumbles and earned numerous postseason awards, including Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and three national awards, including the Lombardi Award, Ted Hendricks Award and Lott IMPACT Award.
Penn State is 23-21-0 all-time against current SEC schools having played every SEC team except Arkansas, Mississippi and Mississippi State. The most recent meeting with an SEC team was versus Alabama in 2011 in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions are 12-6 against SEC teams in bowl games.
NITTANY LIONS EARN 46TH BOWL BERTH
• Penn State made its first postseason appearance in 1923 when they traveled across the country to face USC in the Rose Bowl Game to cap off the 1922 season. Since then, the Blue and White have made the ninth-most postseason appearances in FBS history.
• Penn State will be making its 46th bowl appearance all-time, tied for No. 9 nationally. The Nittany Lions' 28 post-season victories are tied for No. 3 nationally with Georgia and Oklahoma, and lead all Big Ten Conference institutions.
• Penn State's 64.4 winning percentage in bowl games (28-15-2 record) is No. 2 nationally among teams with at least 20 post-season appearances. USC (67.3) is the only school with a better bowl winning percentage than Penn State.
• Penn State has won five of its last eight bowl games, with victories in the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl (Florida State), 2007 Outback Bowl (Tennessee), 2007 Alamo Bowl (Texas A&M), 2010 Capital One Bowl (LSU) and 2014 Pinstripe Bowl (Boston College). The losses came in the 2009 Rose Bowl (USC), 2011 Outback Bowl (Florida) and 2012 TicketCity Bowl (Houston).
LIONS IN THE TAXSLAYER/GATOR BOWL
• Penn State has a 1-2-1 record in four appearances in the formerly named Gator Bowl.
• Penn State made its first appearance in 1961, defeating Georgia Tech, 30-15.
• The Nittany Lions ultimately made three consecutive bowl appearances in the Gator Bowl, returning the very next year in 1962, falling to Florida, 17-7, and returning after a five-year bowl drought in 1967, tying Florida State, 17-17.
• Penn State made its last appearance in 1976, suffering a 20-9 defeat to Notre Dame.
LAST TIME IN THE GATOR BOWL (1976)
Meeting Notre Dame for the first time since 1928, a 3-0 turnover deficit proved to be Penn State's undoing as the Irish posted a 20-9 victory in the 1976 Gator Bowl.
It was apparent in the early going that the teams were evenly matched and breaks would be the determining factor. After Penn State took an early 3-0 lead that Notre Dame erased with a first-quarter touchdown, the Irish used a turnover and solid offense to outscore the Lions, 13-0, in the second period, cruise to a 20-3 halftime lead and never relinquish their hold.
Penn State out-gained the Irish, 274-273, led by the rushing tandem of Bob Torrey and Matt Suhey. Quarterback Chuck Fusina hit 14 of 33 passes for 118 yards, including Penn State's only touchdown, an eight-yard strike to Suhey in the fourth quarter. Jimmy Cefalo made five catches for 60 yards and had three carries for 18 yards to earn Penn State Outstanding Player of the Game honors. All-America linebacker Kurt Allerman made a game-high 16 tackles.
PENN STATE IN JANUARY BOWL GAMES
• Penn State will be playing the program's 29th January bowl game and owns an 18-10 record in those contests.
• This will be Penn State's fourth time playing on Jan. 2, and the first time since the 2012 TicketCity Bowl.
• Penn State is 2-1 on Jan. 2, winning the 1987 Fiesta Bowl and 1995 Rose Bowl.
REPEAT BOWL FOES
• Penn State will be competing against a repeat bowl opponent after playing in first-time match-ups in its last two bowl games at the 2012 TicketCity (Houston) and 2014 Pinstripe (Boston College) Bowls.
• The Nittany Lions had played repeat opponents in seven straight bowl games prior to the TicketCity Bowl.
• The meeting against Georgia will be Penn State's second all-time and in a bowl. The Bulldogs are the Nittany Lions' 12th repeat bowl opponent.
• Penn State and Georgia last met in the 1983 Sugar Bowl. Penn State's victory earned it the National Championship.
• Penn State has matched up with the following teams multiple times: Alabama (3), Auburn (2), Florida (3), Florida State (3), LSU (2), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (2), Tennessee (3), Texas (2), Texas A&M (2) and USC (3).
NITTANY LIONS IN NFL VENUES
• The TaxSlayer Bowl will be the third game Penn State has played inside an NFL venue this season.
• Penn State opened the year against Temple in Lincoln Financial Field, which the Owls share with the Philadelphia Eagles and also met Maryland in M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Super Bowl XLVII Champion Baltimore Ravens.
• EverBank Field will be the ninth current NFL venue that Penn State has played in.
• The Nittany Lions have also played in current homes of the Miami Dolphins (Sun Life Stadium), New Orleans Saints (Mercedes-Benz Superdome), New York Giants/New York Jets (MetLife Stadium), San Diego Chargers (Qualcomm Stadium), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Raymond James Stadium) and Washington Redskins (FedEx Field).
• The first documented Penn State game in a professional stadium was in 1921 when the Nittany Lions defeated Georgia Tech, 28-7, in front of 30,000 fans at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan in New York City.
• The Lions have played 19 bowl games in nine different venues that housed NFL teams at the time, posting a 12-7 record. The Lions have also played 38 regular season games in 13 different stadiums with permanent NFL tenants.
OPPONENT NOTABLES • Three 2015 Penn State opponents (Temple, SDSU, Michigan State) reached their respective conference's championship game. Two (SDSU, Michigan State) won the game.
• Seven (Temple, SDSU, Indiana, Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State) qualified for bowl games. Six (all except Indiana) had nine-plus wins.
• Five (Michigan State, Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan, Temple) were ranked in the final CFP Top 25. Michigan State qualified for a CFP semifinal game with a No. 3 ranking.
• Including Georgia, Penn State's opponents totaled a combined record of 96-63 (.604) during regular season.
• Penn State is one of 15 teams to have multiple 10-win regular season non-conference opponents.
SECOND MEETING
• Penn State and Georgia have only met once previously, doing so in the 1983 Sugar Bowl.
• With Georgia entering the game ranked No. 1 and Penn State No. 2, the game served as the National Championship game.
• Penn State won, 27-23, and was voted the 1982 National Champion by all the major polls.
INTERIM HEAD COACH BRYAN McCLENDON
• Bryan McClendon was named Interim Head Coach of the Bulldogs on Dec. 3, 2015. He will serve in that capacity through Georgia's appearance in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
• A former wide receiver at UGA, McClendon held three titles during the 2015 regular season: wide receivers coach, assistant head coach and passing game coordinator.
• From 2009-14, he as the Bulldogs' running backs coach. McClendon also served as recruiting coordinator in 2014-15.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Georgia is 9-3 overall with a 5-3 mark in SEC play.
• The Bulldogs have SEC wins over Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Auburn.
• They finished the regular season with a four-game winning streak capped with a 13-7 win over in-state rival Georgia Tech.
• Assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon will serve as Georgia's interim head coach for the bowl game.
• The Bulldogs suffered a 24-19 loss to Nebraska in the 2014 TaxSlayer Bowl game, its most recent game against a Big Ten team.
• Georgia ranks eighth nationally in total defense allowing 298.0 yards per game. • Dominick Sanders is tied for the lead in the SEC and 17th nationally with five interceptions.
STORIED PROGRAMS MEET ON GRIDIRON
• Penn State and Georgia are among the nation's premier football programs.
• Penn State and Georgia both rank among the top-15 programs in winning percentage and total victories in NCAA history.
• Penn State and Georgia are tied for third nationally with 28 bowl victories each. Georgia is tied for fourth nationally with 51 bowl appearances, while Penn State is tied for ninth with 46.
• Penn State is second nationally with a .644 bowl winning percentage, while Georgia is tied for eighth at .590.
• Four of the top-12 winningest programs in NCAA history are from the Big Ten, and four are from the SEC.
• Penn State is No. 10 in winning percentage (.686) and No. 8 in all-time victories (856).
• Georgia sits at No. 15 in winning percentage (.649) and No. 11 in all-time victories (786).
• The Nittany Lions and Bulldogs are also among the most ranked teams in NCAA history, according to the AP poll (since 1936).
• Penn State has spent 21 weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll (t-15th all-time) and Georgia has earned the No. 1 ranking by the AP on 15 occasions (t-19th all-time). (Not including preseason rankings)
• Penn State's 591 weeks ranked among the AP Top-25 rank ninth all-time, while Georgia's 542 weeks rank 13th.
• Both teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally for attendance this season. Penn State was sixth with 99,799 fans per game. while Georgia was eighth with 92,746 fans per game.
• The top 11 teams in attendance this season were all from either the Big Ten (4) or Southeastern (7) conferences.
HEAD COACH James Franklin
• Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to a 7-5 regular season record to become bowl eligible for the second consecutive season and 46th time overall.
• The Nittany Lions' mentor has guided all five of his teams as a head coach to a bowl appearance.
DEFENSIVE LINE
• Consensus All-America DE Carl Nassib leads the nation in sacks and forced fumbles and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year accolades to lead the list of 10 Penn Staters who earned All-Big Ten recognition. Nassib also won three national awards.
• Additionally, the defensive front of DT Austin Johnson and DT Anthony Zettel also claimed all-conference honors. Johnson was named to the All-Big Ten second team by the media and third team by the coaches, while Zettel claimed a spot on both all-conference third teams. Johnson is third amongst defensive linemen in FBS with 70 tackles on the season, while Zettel ranks eighth on the team with 43 tackles, third in sacks (3.0) and fourth in tackles for loss (10.0).
GROUND AND AIR ATTACK
• Freshman running back Saquon Barkley was named to the All-Big Ten second team by the coaches and media after breaking the Penn State freshman season rushing record with 1,007 yards, surpassing the mark of 1,002 set by D.J. Dozier in 1983. Barkley was selected BTN.com's conference Freshman of the Year.
• Sophomore wide receiver Chris Godwin was selected to the All-Big Ten second team by the media and the third team by the coaches. He ranks 30th in FBS and second in the Big Ten with 968 receiving yards. Godwin is also tied for fifth in the conference in receptions per game (5.3).
SIGNAL CALLER
Junior quarterback Christian Hackenberg has started all 37 games of his career under center. He ranks first in Penn State history in career 300-yard passing games (9), 200-yard passing games (21), passing yards (8,318), touchdowns (48), attempts (1,221), completions (685) and total offense (8,072). Hackenberg is the only quarterback in program history with 8,000 yards passing and three 2,000-yard passing seasons.
PENN STATE VS. THE SEC
• Penn State is 23-21-0 all-time against current SEC schools, having played every SEC team except Arkansas, Mississippi and Mississippi State. The most recent meeting with an SEC team was versus Alabama in 2011 in Beaver Stadium.
• The Nittany Lions vs. SEC teams overall: Alabama (5-10), Auburn (1-1), Florida (0-3), Georgia (1-0), Kentucky (3-2), LSU (2-0), Missouri (3-1), South Carolina (2-0), Tennessee (3-2), Texas A&M (3-1) and Vanderbilt (0-1).
• The Nittany Lions are 12-6-0 vs. SEC teams in bowl games, with the most recent meeting resulting a 37-24 loss to Florida in the 2011 Outback Bowl. Penn State has faced Alabama (1-2), Auburn (1-1), Florida (0-3), Georgia (1-0), Kentucky (1-0), LSU (2-0), Missouri (1-0), Tennessee (3-0) and Texas A&M (2-0) in post-season contests.
PENN STATE-GEORGIA CONNECTIONS
• Penn State redshirt freshman P Robby Liebel and Georgia freshman OL Mirko Jurkovic played together at IMG Academy (Fla.).
• Penn State freshman LB Manny Bowen and Georgia freshman OL Sam Madden played together at Barnegat (N.J.) High School.
• Penn State senior DE Tarow Barney and Georgia freshman SN Hudson Reynolds both attended Bainbridge (Ga.) High School.
NITTANY LIONS FROM GEORGIA
Penn State has two players from Georgia on its roster.
• DT Tarow Barney - Bainbridge / Bainbridge
• CB Grant Haley - Atlanta / The Lovett School
NITTANY LIONS FROM FLORIDA
Penn State has four players from Florida on its roster.
• LS Nick Cox - Tampa / Jesuit
• P Robby Liebel - St. Petersburg / IMG Academy
• CB Amani Oruwariye - Tampa / Gaither
• LB Gary Wooten Jr. - Miami / Hialeah Senior
JACKSONVILLE NITTANY LIONS
• The Jacksonville Jaguars boast a league-high four former Nittany Lions, including nine-year veteran and 2013 Pro Bowl linebacker Paul Posluszny and 2014 second-round pick Allen Robinson.
• This season, Posluszny has 123 tackles to rank among the league leaders in the NFL, and three interceptions.
• Robinson ranks among the league leaders in receiving yards with 1,292 and touchdowns with 14. It is his first 1,000-yard NFL season after going for 548 as a rookie last season.
• Veterans Jared Odrick (Miami) and Stefen Wisniewski (Oakland) signed with Jacksonville during the offseason as free agents
COACHING STAFF CONNECTIONS
• Georgia Senior Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning John Thomas was the head strength and conditioning coach at Penn State for 20 seasons.
• Former Penn State All-Big Ten offensive lineman Gus Felder is an assistant strength/conditioning coach at Georgia. He is also a North Philadelphia native.
• Penn State special teams coordinator and running backs coach Charles Huff and Georgia associate head coach/defensive line and will linebackers coach Tracy Rocker were on opposing NFL sidelines on Oct. 21, 2012. Huff was an assistant running backs coach with the Buffalo Bills, while Rocker was an assistant with the Tennessee Titans.
FAMILIAR FOES FOR FRANKLIN
• Head coach James Franklin is 5-3 against opponents he has faced as a head coach at both Vanderbilt and Penn State - Army, UMass and Northwestern.
• Franklin went 1-2 against Georgia in his three seasons with Vanderbilt.
• Against Army, Franklin guided Vanderbilt to a 44-21 victory over the Black Knights in 2011 - his first season as head coach - and did the same with Penn State in 2015 (20-14).
• Franklin guided Vanderbilt to victories over UMass in 2012 and 2013, and led PSU past UMass in 2014.
• Franklin's Commodores lost to Northwestern in 2012 and the Nittany Lions have been defeated by Northwestern the past two seasons.
ANOTHER GARRITY
• Junior wide receiver Gregg Garrity's father, Gregg (1980-82), and grandfather, Jim (1952-54), lettered at Penn State.
• Gregg Sr. made one of the iconic plays in Penn State football history with his diving TD catch to help beat Georgia in the 1983 Sugar Bowl for the Nittany Lions' first National Championship. The youngest Garrity changed his number to 19 during spring practices to honor his father.
PENN STATE IN NEUTRAL TERRITORY
• The Nittany Lions are 52-20-4 all-time in regular-season neutral site games, including wins in the last five, and 28-15-2 in bowl games for an 80-35-6 mark.
• Most recently, Penn State defeated Maryland in M&T Back Stadium in Baltimore.
• The Maryland game in M&T Back Stadium marked Penn State's third consecutive season with a neutral site regular season game.
• Penn State opened the 2013 and 2014 seasons with neutral site victories over Syracuse (23-17, MetLife Stadium) and UCF (26-24, Croke Park Classic), respectively.
NATION'S TOP DEFENSIVE END
• Senior defensive end Carl Nassib has rewarded the Nittany Lions for putting him in the starting lineup, as the former walk-on is enjoying a breakout season by breaking through opposing offensive lines.
• Despite playing only four snaps in the last two games due to injury, Nassib leads FBS in sacks (15.5) and forced fumbles (6) and is second in FBS and first in the Big Ten in tackles for loss (19.5).
• With one sack at Northwestern, Nassib broke the Penn State single-season sacks record by upping his total to 15.5. He surpasses the mark of 15 sacks set by Larry Kubin (1979) and Michael Haynes (2002).
• The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Nassib was also a consensus All-America pick and the winner of the Rotary Lombardi Award (Top OL, DL or LB), Ted Hendricks Award (Top DE) and Lott IMPACT Trophy (Def. Player of the Year on and off the field).
SACK MASTER
• He recorded a sack in his first 10 games of the season with five multi-sack games.
• Nassib saw his sack streak come to an end at 10 games when he only played two snaps against Michigan due to injury. He was again limited to two snaps against Michigan State.
• Nassib broke the Penn State single-season sacks record by upping his total to 15.5 at Northwestern.
• Nassib ranks 14th all-time at Penn State in career sacks with 17.5.
• Nassib is tied for 16th on the NCAA single season sacks list with Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers (2010).
• With at least one sack in 10 consecutive games to start the season, Nassib owns the longest sack streak by a Penn State player since sacks became an official NCAA statistic in 2000.
• Nassib has 19.5 tackles for loss this season, the most by a Nittany Lion since Aaron Maybin had 20 in 2008. Nassib's 19.5 TFL are the fourth-most by a Penn State player since 2000.
NASSIB GARNERS NATIONAL AWARDS
• Defensive end Carl Nassib claimed his third national award of the season by winning the Lott IMPACT Trophy. He also received the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Ted Hendricks Award.
• Nassib is the first Nittany Lion to win three national awards in a season since Larry Johnson (Maxwell, Walter Camp, Doak Walker) in 2002. Nassib joins a list of Lott IMPACT Trophy award winners that include Luke Kuechly (2011), J.J. Watt (2010), Manti Te'o (2012), Jerry Hughes (2009) and David Pollack (2004).
• Nassib was also a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy (top player that started his career as a walk-on), the Nagurski Trophy (nation's top defensive player) and Bednarik Award (nation's top defensive player).
• Additionally, he has collected consensus All-America honors: AFCA All-America First Team, Associated Press All-America First Team, CBS Sports All-America First Team, ESPN.com All-America First Team, FWAA All-America First Team, SI.com All-America First Team, Sporting News All-America First Team, Walter Camp All-America First Team, USA Today All-America Second Team.
• Nassib is the first consensus first team All-America from Penn State since Devon Still in 2011 and the 41st in program history.
NASSIB WINS ROTARY LOMBARDI AWARD
• Senior defensive end Carl Nassib won the 46th Rotary Lombardi Award for the nation's top lineman (offense or defense) or linebacker. He is the second Nittany Lion to win the award, joining Bruce Clark who won the award in 1978.
• The Lombardi Award is given annually to the nation's top offensive or defensive lineman or linebacker who, in addition to outstanding performance, best exemplifies the discipline of Vince Lombardi.
• Nassib won the Lombardi Award over Ohio State's Joey Bosa, Texas A&M's Myles Garrett and Clemson's Shaq Lawson.
• The Rotary Lombardi Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards.
NASSIB WINS TED HENDRICKS AWARD
• Carl Nassib won the Ted Hendricks Award for the nation's top defensive end. He is the first Nittany Lion to win the Hendricks Award. Nassib earned more than 50 percent of the final vote by the committee.
• Nassib won the award over Michigan State's Shilique Calhoun and Clemson's Shaq Lawson, who finished in a tie for second, as well as Oregon's DeForest Buckner, Texas A&M's Myles Garrett and Oklahoma State's Emmanuel Ogbah.
• The Ted Hendricks Award is named in honor of college football's first three-time first-team All-American. As a defensive end at the University of Miami, Ted used his agility, height and reach to block passes and kicks, force interceptions and pressure quarterbacks and running backs. He roamed the front line, read plays and blitzed on impulse, completely transforming the way the defensive end position was played.
• His professional career spanned 15 years and 215 consecutive games. It included four Super Bowl victories, eight Pro Bowl selections and inductions into the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
NASSIB WINS LOTT IMPACT TROPHY
• Carl Nassib won the 12th Lott IMPACT Trophy presented by Mercedes-Benz USA, given to the distinguished young man that represents the qualities embodied by Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott -- Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
• The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation will donate $25,000 to the Penn State general scholarship fund in Nassib's name.
• He is the first Penn State player to win the Lott IMPACT Trophy.
NASSIB NAMED BIG TEN DPOY
• Senior defensive end Carl Nassib was selected as the Big Ten's Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year in a vote of the conference's coaches.
• Nassib also earned first team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media.
• Nassib is the sixth Nittany Lion to take home Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year accolades since 1998. He joins LaVar Arrington (1998), Courtney Brown (1999), Michael Haynes (2002), Jared Odrick (2009) and Devon Still (2011) on the list of Penn State honorees.
NITTANY LIONS EARN ALL-BIG TEN NODS
• Carl Nassib earned first team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media.
• The Nittany Lions have had at least one first team All-Big Ten selection in each of the last 11 years.
• Joining Nassib on the All-Big Ten teams was junior defensive tackle Austin Johnson, who was named to the All-Big Ten second team by the media and third team by the coaches.
• Johnson was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in 2014.
• Senior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel claimed a spot on both all-conference third teams.
• Zettel collects his second All-Big Ten honor of his career after a bid on the first team last season.
• Sophomore safety Marcus Allen, sophomore linebacker Jason Cabinda, sophomore cornerback Grant Haley and senior cornerback Trevor Williams earned All-Big Ten honorable mentions.
• Allen has become a leader in the secondary for the Nittany Lions as he ranks second on the team with 75 tackles in 11 games. He also recorded 3.5 TFLs and a sack in the regular season to go along with two pass breakups and two pass defenses.
• Cabinda moved to the mike linebacker position after a season-ending injury to Nyeem Wartman-White in the opener.
• Cabinda has excelled in his new leadership role and leads the team with 92 tackles to compliment five pass breakups and six passes defended, which both rank second on the team. His 7.7 tackles per game average ranks 15th in the Big Ten.
• After missing the first two games of the season, Haley has found his rhythm in the secondary for the Nittany Lions. He leads the team with seven pass breakups and nine passes defended. He also has a pair of interceptions, which is tied for the team lead with John Reid.
• Williams is honorable mention All-Big Ten for the second consecutive season. He has started every game for the Nittany Lions, producing 31 tackles, 3.0 TFLs with one interception, three pass breakups and three passes defended.
KLINE EARNS SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
• Ben Kline was named Penn State's Sportsmanship honoree for the 2015 season.
• Kline saw his first game action since 2013 when he took the field against Army on October 3.
• He has served as the President of Penn State's Uplifting Athletes chapter for the last two years.
• Kline was among a contingent of Nittany Lion football student-athletes to visit Washington D.C. for Rare Disease Awareness Day in the winter 2014.
• He is also involved in THON and Special Olympics during his time at Penn State.
• He is also co-founding a student organization this summer that benefits an orphanage in Kenya. The orphanage has an academic partnership with Penn State, and Kline's organization supports that relationship.
THREE RECOGNIZED BY BTN.COM
• BTN.com selected Carl Nassib as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and running back Saquon Barkley as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
• Nassib and junior defensive tackle Austin Johnson were named to the BTN.com's All-Big Ten team.
BARKLEY LEADS FRESHMAN HONORS
• Saquon Barkley claimed Sporting News and USA Today Freshman All-America honors and was selected by Sports on Earth as the top offensive freshman.
• Barkley earned second team All-Big Ten accolades (coaches and media), as well as BTN.com Freshman of the Year and All-Freshman Team honors.
• He broke the Penn State freshman season rushing record with 1,007 yards, surpassing the mark of 1,002 set by D.J. Dozier in 1983. He produced the 23rd 1,000-yard rushing season by a Nittany Lion and is the 14th player to accomplish the feat.
• Barkley was joined on the BTN.com All-Freshman Team by kicker Joey Julius.
• Julius converted 10-of-12 field goal attempts to rank second in the Big Ten and 24th in the nation with a .833 conversion rate. He also averaged 63.2 yards on kickoffs with 21 of his 49 resulting in touchbacks. His top games included Penn State's win over San Diego State, in which he converted all three field goal attempts with a long of 40 yards, and the team's win at Maryland, in which his 40-yard field goal near the end of the first half proved crucial in a one-point win.
• Barkley, Troy Reeder and John Reid were selected to the ESPN.com Big Ten All-Freshman team.
• Reeder started the last 11 games for the Nittany Lions at the linebacker spot. He ranks fourth on the team with 67 tackles, including 42 solo. Reeder also has 5.5 tackles for loss to go along with an interception against Illinois. He also recorded a pass breakup and two pass defenses on the year.
• Reid started the first two games of the season in place of the injured Grant Haley. He is tied for the team lead with two interceptions to go along with his one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Reid also has three pass breakups and five passes defended on the year. In his 12 games, he has 27 total tackles, including one TFL.
LUCAS, NASSIB ACCEPT INVITIONS TO SENIOR BOWL
• Two standouts on Penn State's nationally-ranked defense, Jordan Lucas and Carl Nassib are among the players to accept invitations to play in the 67th Reese's Senior Bowl.
• The duo has been invited to participate in the nation's premier all-star contest on Saturday, January 30, 2015. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. ET at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. The NFL Network will televise the contest.
• Lucas and Nassib are the 40th and 41st Nittany Lions to receive invitations to play in the Senior Bowl in the last 20 years. A quartet of Nittany Lions -- safety Adrian Amos, defensive end Deion Barnes, offensive tackle Donovan Smith and linebacker Mike Hull -- participated in last year's Senior Bowl activities. Defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and defensive tackle Jordan Hill played in the 2014 and 2013 Senior Bowls, respectively. Defensive end Jack Crawford, cornerback D'Anton Lynn and guard Johnnie Troutman played in the 2012 Senior Bowl.
• With the selection of Lucas and Nassib, a total of 114 Lions have been invited to play in the Senior Bowl.
• YAZUJIAN NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA
Junior long snapper Tyler Yazujian was named to the Academic All-District® Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
• Yazujian is a two-time Academic All-District selection after earning the honor last season.
• He owns a 3.86 grade point average in information sciences and technology.
• Yazujian was an Academic All-Big Ten selection in 2014 and is a six-time Dean's List honoree. He has also posted perfect 4.0 GPAs in two semesters during his collegiate career.
• On the field, Yazujian handles all of the long snapping responsibilities for the Nittany Lions. Redshirt freshman kicker Joey Julius ranks second in the Big Ten and tied for 24th nationally in field goal percentage (.833), while sophomore kicker Tyler Davis has made all seven of his field goal attempts and all nine extra point tries. Yazujian picked up his first career tackle against Indiana on a punt return as he combined with Jordan Dudas for the stop.
• Penn State football student-athletes have earned 64 CoSIDA Academic All-America® selections all-time, the second-highest total among all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions, trailing only Nebraska. In 2013, All-America guard John Urschel earned his second consecutive first-team Academic All-America® honor.
• The Nittany Lions' 19 Academic All-Americans® over the past 10 seasons (16 first team) lead the nation.
• The Penn State football team has had at least one first-team Academic All-American® in seven of the past 10 seasons. The Nittany Lions have 19 overall first-team selections since 2002.
• Penn State Athletics has 189 all-time Academic All-American selections, which ranks fifth among all schools at all levels and fourth among Division I institutions. The Nittany Lions have 95 Academic All-Americans since 2000, which is fifth in Division I.
• Yazujian was previously named to the Academic All-District team along with redshirt freshman linebacker Troy Reeder.
• The two selections for the Nittany Lions are tied for the second-most among the FBS and FCS institutions in the six states that comprise District II.
GODWIN LEADS RECEIVING CORPS
• Sophomore wide receiver Chris Godwin has caught at least four passes in 10 of 12 games this season and 11 of his last 14.
• At Michigan State, Godwin grabbed multiple TD catches in a game for the first time in his career and made a career-high 11 catches.
• Godwin also had 109 yards receiving for his fourth 100-yard game of the season and fourth in the last six games. He has five career 100-yard performances.
• With the 11 catches, Godwin is now tied for fourth on PSU's single-season receptions lists with 63. He is tied with O.J. McDuffie (1992) and Bobby Engram (1995).
• Godwin has a team-best total of 63 receptions for 968 yards and is averaging 5.3 catches and 80.7 yards per game, to rank in the Top 10 in both in the Big Ten.
• Godwin is just the sixth player in program history to have 60 catches in a season.
• With 109 receiving yards, Godwin moved into seventh place on Penn State's single-season yardage list with 968 yards.
• Godwin also moved up to 18th on Penn State's career receiving yardage list, passing David Daniels (1,222; 1988-90) and Scott Fitzkee (1,263; 1975-78). • Godwin was added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List for the nation's top receiver.
• He has at least one catch in 22 of 23 career games and five career games with five or more grabs, joining his seven-catch night vs. Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
• Godwin totaled 103 yards on three catches at Ohio State, and then made four catches for a season-high 135 yards and a touchdown the following week against Maryland. He became the first Nittany Lion to post back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Allen Robinson in 2013 (106 vs. Nebraska, 122 at Wisconsin).
• Godwin also posted his fourth career 100-yard game vs. Northwesterm with 104 yards.
BLACKNALL GOES DEEP
• Sophomore wide receiver Saeed Blacknall leads the Nittany Lions with an average of 34.4 yards per reception on seven catches on the year.
• Blacknall turned a short pass into a 59-yard reception at Michigan State to set a career long and Penn State's longest completion of the season.
• Blacknall hauled in his second career touchdown with a 25-yard ball from Christian Hackenberg to give Penn State a 10-7 lead over Michigan in the second quarter.
• Both of Blacknall's career touchdown catches have come in Penn State White Out games (Ohio State in 2014 and Michigan in 2015).
• Blacknall caught a 38-yard pass in the second quarter vs. Maryland to start a two-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Hackenberg connected with Chris Godwin on a 37-yard touchdown pass on the very next play.
• It was Blacknall's first reception since he had a career-best 101 yards receiving against San Diego State, doing so on just four receptions. His previous best was 34 yards against Ohio State last year.
• Blacknall had then career-long 46- and 45-yard receptions to obliterate his previous single-game standard. His previous long was a 24-yard reception last year against Ohio State.
BARKLEY BREAKS 1,000
• Despite missing 2.5 games to injury and only receiving one carry in the season opener, Saquon Barkley leads the Lions with 1,007 rushing yards in 10 games played, a new Penn State freshman record.
• Barkley turned in his fifth 100-yard rushing performance of the season at Michigan State with 103 yards to reach 1,007 yards for the season. He is tied with D.J. Dozier (1983) for the most 100-yard rushing performances by a true freshman.
• He passed Dozier (1,002) for the single-season freshman rushing yards mark.
• Barkley is the 43rd Nittany Lion to break 1,000 career yards rushing.
• He needs just seven more yards to break into the Top 20 list for single-season rushing yardage at Penn State.
PREMIER RUNNING BACK
• Barkley's yards per game average of 100.7, which ranks 29th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten, is skewed down since he only received one carry for one yard in the season opener against Temple and only played a little over a quarter against SDSU before leaving the game.
• Barkley's yards per game average is 111.8 when not including the Temple game and 118.0 when not including the Temple and SDSU (injured) games.
• Against nationally ranked opponents Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan and Michigan State, Barkley averaged 121.2 yards per game, totaling 485 yards on 83 carries. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry.
• Barkley is fourth in the Big Ten and 29th in FBS with 6.1 yards per carry.
• Barkley's seven rushing touchdowns this season are tied for the lead by a Penn State freshman. D.J. Dozier also had seven in 1983. Barkley had two rushing touchdowns at Northwestern.
FRESHMAN RUNNING BACKS
• Six of 10 rushers this season have been freshmen.
• With true freshman Saquon Barkley and junior Akeel Lynch missing 2.5 games due to injury, redshirt freshmen Nick Scott and Mark Allen carried the load on the ground against Army and Indiana.
• Scott had a career-best 57 yards rushing against Indiana after rushing for 54 against Army the previous week.
• Scott had a career-long 35-yard rush early in the first quarter against Indiana.
• Allen had a career-best 45 yards rushing against Indiana after gaining 17 yards the previous week vs. Army.
• Allen had a career-long 28-yard rush in the second quarter against Indiana, and scored his first rushing touchdown against Illinois.
• Redshirt freshman Johnathan Thomas made his Penn State debut against Army.
NITTANY LIONS GRADUATE
• A total of 14 football student-athletes are graduating after the fall semester. They are Matthew Baney, Tarow Barney, Adam Breneman, Derek Dowrey, Malik Golden, Austin Johnson, Jacob Kiley, Geno Lewis, Angelo Mangiro, Carl Nassib, Nyeem Wartman-White, Trevor Williams, Gary Wooten and Anthony Zettel.
• Baney is a local product from State College Area H.S.
• Mangiro is earning his second degree. He graduated last December with an undergraduate degree in criminology, and has now earned a graduate degree in curriculum and instruction in early childhood.
• Breneman, Dowrey, Golden, Johnson, Kiley, Lewis, Wartman-White and Wooten all graduated in just. three-and-a-half years.
• Chaz Powell also returned to school to finish his degree after his playing eligibility was exhausted in 2010.
• Kyle Carter, Ben Kline, Kevin Reihner and Matt Zanellato previously earned their degrees to give Penn State a total of 18 graduates playing in the bowl game (19 degrees).
NEW OC
• Penn State head coach James Franklin named Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead as the Nittany Lions' offensive coordinator. Moorhead brings 18 years of collegiate coaching experience, including the last four as Fordham's head coach.
• After inheriting a program that went 1-10, Moorhead steadily built Fordham into a FCS playoff regular, along the way, leading the Rams to their best season in program history in 2013 and the Patriot League title in 2014. Moorhead earned a 38-13 record with three consecutive berths in the FCS playoffs.
• During his tenure, Moorhead produced the highest ranking in program history (#5 in 2013), highest final ranking in program history (#9 in 2013 and 2014), the first two wins over FBS schools in program history and the first two wins over top-10 opponents.
• Under Moorhead, the Rams were consistently one of the top offensive teams in FCS. In 2015, Fordham is second in team passing efficiency (168.30), ninth in scoring offense (36.8), 19th in total offense (453.3), 20th in passing offense (272.3), 17th in third down conversion (.456) and 19th in first down offense (262). The Rams were in the top 10 in team passing efficiency, passing offense, scoring offense, total offense and first down offense in 2014. In 2013, Fordham was in the top 10 in completion percentage, passing offense, third down conversion, first down offense, team passing efficiency and total offense.
• This season, the Rams posted a 9-3 record with a victory over FBS foe Army to highlight the schedule.
• Moorhead was named the 2013 AFCA Regional Co-Coach of the Year and Patriot League Coach of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award and the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year.
• In his first season, Moorhead took a team that was 1-10 the previous year and improved it to 6-5.
• Moorhead spent three seasons at Connecticut, including two as the offensive coordinator. He helped lead the Huskies to the 2010 Big East Championship and a berth in the 2011 Fiesta Bowl.
• Moorhead was at Akron for five seasons, serving as the offensive coordinator for three seasons.
• As a collegiate player at Fordham, Moorhead was a three-year starting quarterback and team captain as a senior. He was a second team All-Patriot League selection in 1995 after finishing 13th in FCS in total offense. He held the school records for completions and passing yards at the time of his graduation.
• A native of Pittsburgh, Moorhead graduated from Pittsburgh Central Catholic. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from Fordham in 1996.