Penn State-Pitt Game Notes

Sept. 4, 2017

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 6 Penn State looks to build of an impressive season opener when it welcomes Pittsburgh to Beaver Stadium for the Keystone Classic presented by Peoples Natural Gas. The telecast begins at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.

It will be the 98th all-time meeting between the two teams, which met for the first time since 2000 last season when Penn State took on Pitt at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Nittany Lions' furious second-half comeback attempt came up just short, as the Panthers prevailed, 42-39.

Penn State, which leads the all-time series 50-43-4, will enjoy the benefit of the home crowd for just the 24th time in the matchup, and is anticipating its largest crowd in series history. When Pitt last visited Beaver Stadium in 1999, the stadium's capacity was only 93,967. The stadium was expanded in 2001.

The Nittany Lions opened 2017 with a victory over Akron, earning 52 points and 569 yards of offense, a shutout and even a special teams touchdown. Saquon Barkley promptly raced out to a statistical lead with an FBS-leading 246 all-purpose yards, while the defense totaled 14 tackles for loss to rank second in FBS.

Pitt opened the season with a 28-21 overtime win over Youngstown State. Jester Weah hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Max Browne in overtime, while Bricen Garner sealed the win with an interception. Qadree Ollison rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

This is Penn State's second of three non-conference games, as it will conclude the out of conference slate next Saturday hosting Georgia State.

HEAD COACH PAT NARDUZZI

• Pat Narduzzi has guided Pitt to back-to-back 8-5 seasons, earning trips to the Military Bowl (2015) and Pinstripe Bowl (2016).
• Narduzzi arrived at Pitt following eight years as the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. Under his direction, the Spartans were the only team to rank in the nation's top 10 in total defense and rushing defense each season from 2011-14.
• In 2013, Narduzzi was named the recipient of the prestigious Broyles Award, annually presented to the country's top assistant coach.
• Prior to Michigan State, notable stops for Narduzzi included three years (2004-06) as defensive coordinator under Mike Dantonio at Cincinnati and ne year as the defensive coordinator at Miami (Ohio).
• Narduzzi was a starting linebacker under his father, the late Bill Narduzzi, as a freshman at Youngstown State University in 1985 before transferring to Rhode Island, where he became a three-year starter for the Rams from 1987-89.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• Pitt opened 2017 with a win, prevailing in overtime over FCS-level Youngstown State, 28-21.
• Qadree Ollison led a rushing attack that totaled 208 yards with 91 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. He also was the leading receiver with five receptions for 35 yards. Quadree Henderson added 77 rushing yards on nine carries.
• Henderson, a consensus All-American as a returner last season, was named an Associated Press preseason first team All-America all-purpose player, and was named to multiple watch lists, including the Maxwell and Walter Camp Player of the Year lists. He was also named to the All-ACC preseason team along with offensive tackle Brian O'Neill.
• Starting quarterback Max Browne will be starting his second game for the Panthers after graduate transferring from USC.
• Pitt went 8-5 in 2016, giving eventual National Champion Clemson their only loss of the season, 43-42. The Panthers finished the year in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, falling to Northwestern, 31-24.

NITTANY LIONS & PANTHERS CONTINUE KEYSTONE CLASSIC

• Penn State and Pitt are set for the second game of a four-game home-and-home series dubbed the Keystone Classic presented by Peoples Natural Gas.
• The intrastate series resumed last season at Pitt after a 16-year hiatus. The Panthers hung on to win 42-39.
• For the first time since Sept. 11, 1999, Pitt will be visiting Beaver Stadium. Just 23 of the previous 97 meetings have taken place in Happy Valley.
• Since Pitt last visited, Beaver Stadium's capacity has expanded from 93,967 to its present total of 106,572.
• None of Penn State's current true freshmen had reached their second birthdays when Pitt visited last. KJ Hamler was just two months and three days old.
• The series returns to Pittsburgh on Sept. 8, 2018, and will conclude Sept. 14, 2019 at Beaver Stadium.

VERSUS PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOLS

• Against the two other current FBS schools, Pitt (50-43-4) and Temple (40-4-1), Penn State owns a combined 90-47-5 record.
• The 90 wins account for 9.6 percent of Penn State's 868 all-time wins.
• Penn State owns a 167-965-12 record all-time against current NCAA Division I teams in Pennsylvania.
• That figure includes current FCS teams Bucknell (28-10-0), Lafayette (10-5-1), Lehigh (16-6-1), Penn (18-25-4) and Villanova (5-3-1). However, Penn State has not played any of those teams since last playing Penn in 1958.

PENN STATE VS. THE ACC

• Penn State is 150-87-10 all-time against the schools who are current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, having played every ACC school except Duke and Virginia Tech.
• Before playing Pitt last season, the Nittany Lions last played an ACC foe in the 2014 New Era Pinstripe Bowl, defeating Boston College in overtime, 31-30.
• Pitt is the lone ACC opponent on Penn State's schedule through 2019. Virginia Tech is on the Lions' schedule in 2020 (away) and 2025 (home).

PENN STATE-PITT CONNECTIONS

• Penn State senior S Troy Apke played with Pitt junior OL Alex Bookser at Mount Lebanon.
• Apke's father, Steve, played football at Pitt, and his mother, Susan, was a track and field athlete for the Panthers.
• Penn State freshman DT Corey Bolds played with Pitt sophomore LB Saleem Brightwell at Paramus Catholic in Paterson, N.J.
• Penn State sophomore S John Petrishen and Pitt sophomore DB Daman Hamilton, freshman LS Cal Adomitis, sophomore DB Bricen Garner, senior LS Pat Quirin and redshirt freshman DL Rashad Wheeler all played together at Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
• Penn State freshman S Jonathan Sutherland played with Pittsburgh DB Rimoni Dorsey at Episcopal School in Alexandria, Va.
• Penn State freshman CB Lamont Wade played with Pitt sophomore WR Aaron Mathews and senior DB Rob Boatright at Clairton H.S. in Clairton, Pa.
• Penn State junior CB Grant Haley's parents met while attending Pittsburgh's School of Medicine. Haley's mother, Carla Neal-Haley, attended Penn State and was a member of the track and field team.
• Coaching Staff connections
• Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead is from Pittsburgh and was a graduate assistant for the Panthers from 1998-99.
• Penn State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks and Pitt tight ends coach Tim Salem were on the same staff at Illinois from 2012-14.
• Banks and Pitt head strength and conditioning coach Dave Andrews were on the same staff at Cincinnati from 2010-11 and Illinois from 2012-13.
• Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi faced Penn State as Michigan State's defensive coordinator from 2007-14.
• Pitt cornerbacks coach Renaldo Hill faced the Nittany Lions as a three-year starter at cornerback for Michigan State (1998-2000).
• Pitt offensive line coach John Peterson is familiar with the Big Ten after spending the 2004-11 seasons as Ohio State's tight ends coach.
• Pitt offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has 12 years coaching experience at current Big Ten schools. He served as a position coach at Illinois (1983-86) and Northwestern (1997-98), a tight ends coach (2006) and offensive coordinator at Nebraska (2006-10) and assisted Indiana in 2016 for their bowl game.

NITTANY LIONS FROM METRO PITTSBURGH

• S Troy Apke -- Mount Lebanon/Mount Lebanon
• TE/H Nick Bowers -- Kittanning/Kittanning Senior
• T Sterling Jenkins -- Pittsburgh/Baldwin
• S John Petrishen -- Lower Burrell/Pittsburgh Central Catholic
• RB Miles Sanders -- Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills
• OL C.J. Thorpe - Glenshaw/Central Catholic
• CB Lamont Wade - Clairton/Clairton
• OL coach Matt Limegrover - Pittsburgh
• Off. coord./QB coach Joe Moorhead - Pittsburgh
• Asst. head coach/CB coach Terry Smith - Aliquippa

RIVALRY RENEWED

• Penn State has many long and storied rivalries on the gridiron. The Nittany Lions have played 19 teams 20 or more times in the 131-year history of the program.
• Penn State owns a winning record against 16 of the 20 teams that they have met 20 or more times.
• Eight of the 20 teams are on the 2017 schedule; including Pitt (97 meetings), Iowa (25), Indiana (20), Michigan (20), Ohio State (31), Michigan State (31) Rutgers (25) and Maryland (37).
• Since 2012, Penn State has played or has a future meeting scheduled meeting with 13 of the 20 teams (all of the FBS teams except Navy). Those opponents include: Army (2015), Illinois (2014-15, '18), Iowa (2016-18), Pitt (2016-19), Syracuse (2012), Temple (2014-16) and West Virginia (2023-24), while the Lions will meet yearly with Big Ten East Division opponents Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Rutgers.
• Fifteen of the 20 programs are currently members of NCAA Division I FBS. Bucknell, Lehigh and Penn are in NCAA Division I FCS, while Gettysburg and Lebanon Valley are Division III programs.

BLACKLEDGE ON ABC BROADCAST TEAM

• Former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge will be calling Saturday's meeting between the Nittany Lions and Panthers.
• Blackledge led Penn State to an 11-1 record and its first National Championship with a 27-23 victory over previously unbeaten Georgia in the 1983 Sugar Bowl. He earned the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top quarterback in 1982, was sixth in balloting for the Heisman Trophy and concluded his collegiate career with 26 school records.
• A three-year starter, Blackledge directed the Nittany Lions to a 29-4 record, including 13 comeback victories, from 1980-82, including two Fiesta Bowl wins and one Sugar Bowl victory.
• Blackledge began his national broadcasting career in 1994 with ABC Sports, serving as a studio and game analyst. He then served as a game analyst for ESPN (1997-98) before joining CBS in 1999. He returned to ESPN/ABC in 2006.
• Blackledge received the University's prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009.
• Blackledge earned a B.A. in Speech Communication in 1983, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a 3.80 grade point average A first team Academic All-American, he also was presented the Eric Walker Award, given to the Penn State senior who has most "enhanced the esteem and recognition of the University." In 1997, Blackledge was inducted into the prestigious Academic All-America Hall of Fame.

TAKING ON NEIGHBORS

• For the fourth consecutive year, Penn State is playing at least four FBS teams that are within a 250-mile drive (based on Google Maps from stadium to stadium).
• Penn State went 4-1 against its neighbors last season and is off to a 1-0 start this season with a season opening win over Akron.
• The only FBS teams Penn State had not played since 2012 within the radius were Pitt and West Virginia. Penn State played the first of a four-game series against Pitt last season and the Mountaineers are on Penn State's schedule in 2023 and 2024.
• The last time Penn State did not play any of its nearest neighbors was 2005.
• Since joining the Big Ten in 1993, Penn State is 41-4 against FBS teams within 250 miles.
• All-time, Penn State is 287-111-17 against its current FBS regional foes.
• Penn State will play four nearby teams in each of the next two seasons.

BARKLEY B1G CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Saquon Barkley claimed co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after his performance in the win over Akron. He shares the honor with Ohio State's J.T. Barrett.
• It's Barkley's third conference offensive weekly award.
• Barkley had a Big Ten-leading 246 all-purpose yards on 18 touches against the Zips. The junior rushed for 172 yards on 14 carries (12.3 ypc) with two touchdowns and added three receptions for 54 yards (18.0 ypr). He also returned one kick 20 yards.
• Among Barkley's highlight reel efforts on Saturday was an 80-yard rush in the second quarter, which was the second-longest of his career and tied for the 10th-best rush in program history.

BARKLEY ALL-PURPOSE

• Barkley totaled an FBS-best 246 all-purpose yards in the opening week, rushing for 172 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns, hauling in three receptions for 54 yards and returning a kickoff 20 yards.
• His rushing total of 172 ranked 11th for the week.

GOING 80

• RB Saquon Barkley's 80-yard rush in the second quarter against Akron was the second-longest of his career and tied for the 10th-longest in program history. His career long is an 81-yard dash in 2016 at Purdue.
• Barkley and Ki-Jana Carter are the only players in program history to have multiple 80-yard rushes in their career. Barkley has two career 80-plus yard rushes and Carter had three.

HIGH SCORING

• Penn State continued its high scoring ways, as the Nittany Lions totaled 52 points against Akron, which were the most since scoring 62 last year at Purdue.
• Penn State scored more than 35 points for the eighth-straight game, a school record. It is the longest active 35-point streak among Power 5 teams. The previous longest such streak for the Nittany Lions was seven games in 1973.
• The Nittany Lions scored 50 or more points in a game at home for the first time since scoring 52 vs. Eastern Illinois in 2009. It was also the first time scoring 50 or more at home vs. an FBS team since a 59-0 win over FIU in the 2007 season opener.
• The 52-point margin of victory was the most for the Nittany Lions since defeating Coastal Carolina 66-10 (56 points) in 2008.

FAST START

• Penn State was known as a second-half team in 2016, only scoring more points in the first half than in the second half on three occasions, but was able to get off to one of its best starts in recent years against Akron in the season opener.
• Penn State scored 35 points in the first half of a game for the first time since scoring 38 against Eastern Illinois on the way to a 52-3 victory in 2009. It was also the first time that the Nittany Lions scored 35 in a first half against an FBS team since scoring 38 at Syracuse in 2008, a game that Penn State won 55-13.
• Furthermore, the 35 points scored by the Nittany Lions in the first half against Akron are the most in the first half of a season opener since scoring 38 vs. Coastal Carolina in 2008. It is the most by Penn State against an FBS team since in a season-opening first half since scoring 41 against Akron in 2004 on the way to a 48-10 win.
• Penn State's 14 points in the opening stanza of the first game are the most by the Nittany Lions in the first quarter of the opening game since scoring 14 against Indiana State in 2011, on the way to a 41-7 victory.

OFFENSE COVERING GROUND

• The Nittany Lions' 569 yards of total offense (322 passing, 247 rushing) against Akron were the most for Penn State since recording 599 yards total offense last season vs. Iowa.
• The 569 yards of total offense were also the most in a season opener since the Nittany Lions gained 594 yards against Coastal Carolina in 2008.
• Penn State's offense averaged 432.6 yards per game last season, which was its most since the 2013 season (433.2). The figure ranked 49th in FBS and second in the Big Ten.
• The Nittany Lions had 11 games with 400 or more yards of total offense, the most since the 1994 team had 11 games with 400-plus yards, including the Rose Bowl.
• Penn State had four games with 500 or more yards of total offense, the most in a season since the 2009 team had the same.

BARKLEY IN THE RECORD BOOKS

• Running back Saquon Barkley has placed his name all over the Penn State record books.
• Barkley's 172 rushing yards against Akron boosted his career rushing yardage to 2,744 yards, moving him into 11th place at Penn State. He trails Matt Suhey (2,818 yards) for 10th place.
• The performance marked the 11th 100-yard rushing game of his career, which is tied for 10th place at Penn State with D.J. Dozier and Zach Zwinak. He is one of just eight Nittany Lions to post multiple 200-yard rushing games.
• Barkley's two rushing touchdowns in the Akron game give him 27 rushing touchdowns for his career, which is good for eighth place in the Penn State annals. He trails three players (John Cappelletti, Richie Anderson and Evan Royster) for fifth place with 29 career rushing touchdowns.
• Barkley's two rushing touchdowns also mark his seventh multiple-rushing touchdown game (2 as a freshman, 4 as a sophomore, 1 this season as a junior). He also had the ninth multi-touchdown game of his career with his two scores vs. Akron.

McSORLEY CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS

• Trace McSorley tossed two touchdown passes against Akron, giving him 33 for his career to rank ninth at Penn State. He trails Chuck Fusina for eighth place (37).
• McSorley's 280 passing yards in the opener give him 12 200-yard passing games for his career, which is good for sole possession of sixth place at Penn State. He trails Daryll Clark, who had 14 200-yard passing games.
• McSorley had 328 yards of total offense against Akron (280 passing, 48 rushing) which gives him 4,535 for his career (4,079 passing and 456 rushing). That placed him 11th at Penn State, trailing Todd Blackledge (4,911 - 4,812 passing, 99 rushing) for 10th place.

TOSSING TOUCHDOWNS

• QB Trace McSorley has thrown a touchdown pass in 16 consecutive games, dating to the TaxSlayer Bowl after the 2015 season, extending his Penn State record
• His 14 consecutive games with a touchdown pass last season is a single-season record.
• McSorley's consecutive games with a touchdown pass streak is the third-longest active streak in FBS.
• McSorley threw four touchdowns in each of his last three games in 2016 (Michigan State, Big Ten Championship Game - Wisconsin and Rose Bowl - USC) to become the first Big Ten QB to throw four touchdowns in three straight games since J.T. Barrett (OSU) in 2014.
• McSorley threw more TD passes (12) in the final three games of 2016 than any other FBS QB.
• McSorley threw TD passes to 10 different receivers in 2016, marking the first time since 1971 a Penn State quarterback found 10-plus pass catchers for scores.

QUARTERBACKS DOING IT ALL

• Against Akron, Trace McSorley had his eighth career game with both a touchdown pass and a touchdown rush.
• Tommy Stevens saw action in the second half and had career highs for completions, attempts and passing yards with three completions on six attempts for 42 yards.
• Stevens had his first career catch in the third quarter for seven yards while lined up as a running back and rushed four times for 17 yards and a touchdown.
• Stevens had a 26-yard pass in the fourth quarter, tying a career-long completion.

HAMILTON HAULING IT IN

• WR DaeSean Hamilton is poised to become one of Penn State's all-time leading receivers.
• Hamilton's three catches in the opener give him 164 for his career, which is good for fourth place at Penn State. He trails Bobby Engram's 167 grabs for third place and is 15 catches shy of the all-time record.
• Hamilton's 74 yards receiving in the opener give him 2,059 for his career and move him into sixth place at Penn State. He trails Derek Moye (2,395 receiving yards) for fifth place.
• Hamilton is the ninth player in program history with 2,000 career receiving yards.

GESICKI OUT OF THE GATE

• After a breakout season in 2016, TE Mike Gesicki, picked up where he left off with a career day in the season opener.
• Gesicki had a career-high six catches against Akron. His previous high was five on four occasions, the last against Rutgers in 2016.
• Two of those receptions went for touchdown receptions, which is a career high. He had one touchdown reception in six previous games.
• Gesicki now has a touchdown catch in four consecutive games, dating back to the regular season finale vs. Michigan State last season.
• No with 976 career receiving yards, Gesicki moved into 25th on Penn State's chart, passing Gregg Garritty (952; 1980-82).
• Gesicki has four or more catches in eight of his last 13 games.

JOHNSON DRAWS START

• WR Juwan Johnson made his second career start to open the season.
• Johnson delivered with a career-best four catches for a career high of 84 yards.

BUCHHOLZ SHINES IN OPENER

• DE Ryan Buchholz proved that the "Wild Dogs" can continue to reload, as the second-year player was among the leaders defensively against Akron.
• Buchholz forced the first fumble of his career in the first quarter and had a career-best four tackles, besting his previous high of three last year against Ohio State.
• Buchholz also notched 1.5 tackles-for-loss, which is a career high.

SEASON OPEN, RED ZONE STILL CLOSED

• Not only did Penn State not allow Akron into the end zone, by the Zips were unable to reach the red zone.
• The shutout by Penn State of Akron marked the first shutout by the Nittany Lions in a season opener since a 59-0 win against FIU in 2007.
• The shutout was the first at home for Penn State since a 39-0 shutout of Illinois in 2015.
• This is the third straight year that Penn State has shut out an opponent (39-0 vs. Illinois in 2015; 39-0 at Rutgers in 2016; 52-0 vs. Akron in 2017). It is the longest such streak since a three-year stretch from 1989-91 (17-0 at Rutgers in 1989; 28-0 vs. Rutgers and 9-0 at Alabama in 1990; and 81-0 vs. Cincinnati in 1991).

STOPS BEHIND THE LINE

• Penn State had 14 tackles for loss against Temple, the most by Penn State since recording 15 at Temple in 2015.
• The total ranked second only to TCU (15.0), which played FCS-level Jackson State in the opening week.
• DT Tyrell Chavis had a career-best three tackles for loss to lead the Lions.

OPENING WEEK DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS

• CB Amani Oruwariye grabbed the second interception of his career in the first quarter. His first career interception came in last year's season opener against Kent State.
• DT Tyrell Chavis notched a sack in the first quarter, which was the first of his career, a career-high five tackles and a career-high three tackles for loss.
• LB Jarvis Miller had the first sack of his career in the fourth quarter to go along with a career-best five tackles.
• DT Robert Windsor tied a career high with four tackles. He previously had four at Pittsburgh last year.
• LB Jan Johnson tied a career high with two tackles. Johnson had two last season at Michigan.
• RB Josh McPhearson had a career-best two tackles on special teams.
• DE Shaka Toney had the first two tackles of his career.
• DE Yetur Gross-Matos also notched the first two tackles of his career.
• The following players had their first career tackle: Zech McPherson, John Petrishen, Shane Simmons, Lamont Wade, Ellison Jordan, Ryan Monk, Tyler Davis, Immanuel Iyke.

PUNT AT YOUR OWN PERIL

• DeAndre Thompkins' 61-yard punt return for a touchdown against Akron was the first by Penn State since Derrick Williams had a 63-yard return in 2008 at Wisconsin. It was also the first by the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium since Williams returned a punt 78 yards for a score against Notre Dame in 2007.
• Thompkins averaged 31.8 yards on four returns, which is a school record. The previous record was 31.7 yards per return by Derrick Williams vs. Temple in 2006.

HIGH AND LOW FOR DAVIS

• K Tyler Davis booted a career-long 47-yard field goal in the third quarter against Akron. His previous best was a 42-yard kick against Illinois in 2015.
• The career-best kick followed a rare miss. In the wet conditions, Davis pulled a 38-yard attempt left. His previous two career misses were both blocks.