TEAM
- Penn State wins the first meeting between the schools.
- The Cotton Bowl victory is the 30th bowl win in Penn State history, improving the Nittany Lions to 30-18-2. The 30 wins currently rank fourth nationally, breaking a tie with Oklahoma and Texas, and lead all Big Ten Conference teams.
- Penn State remained unbeaten in Cotton Bowl games with a 3-0-1 record.
- Penn State is now 16-7-1 in "New Year's Six" bowl games.
- The Nittany Lions are now 13-5-1 in December games
- Penn State is 11-3-1 in bowl games played on a Saturday, including five of the last seven.
- The Nittany Lions recorded their 18th 11-win season overall and eighth since joining the Big Ten.
- Penn State won 11 games for the third time in four years. Penn State's last stretch with 11 wins in three of four years was 1968-71.
- Penn State has won 12-straight games against non-Power Five conference teams.
- The 2019 senior class has accumulated 42 wins in their four years, making them just the third class in program history to have 42 wins (1996, 1974 [43 wins]).
- With six sacks against the Tigers, Penn State finished the season with 45 sacks, marking the fifth-straight season with 40 or more sacks. The Nittany Lions have never had five consecutive seasons with 40 or more sacks in school history.
- Penn State forced two fumbles to bring it season total to 22, which is second in program history.
BOWL
- Penn State's 53 points scored are the most for the Nittany Lions in a bowl game, breaking the mark of 50 set in the 1989 Holiday Bowl against BYU.
- The 28 points scored in the second quarter set the Penn State bowl record for second-quarter points, breaking the previous mark of 21 in the 1960 Liberty Bowl against Oregon and the 2017 Rose Bowl against USC.
- The 35 points scored in the first half set the Penn State bowl mark for first-half points, breaking the previous mark of 28 in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl versus Washington.
- The 35 points scored by Penn State in the first half also set the Cotton Bowl record for points in the first half, breaking the mark of 34 points set by USC against Texas Tech in 1995.
- The 28 points scored in the second quarter are also a Cotton Bowl record, surpassing the previous mark of 21 second-quarter tallies set by Rice (1938), Notre Dame (1978) and LSU (2011).
- The 28 points scored in the second quarter tie the Cotton Bowl record for points in any quarter, equaling the 28 points scored by USC in the first quarter against Texas Tech in 1995.
- The 35 points scored in the first half are the second-most points scored in any half in Cotton Bowl history behind Penn State's 38 points in the second half against Baylor in 1975.
- Penn State's five rushing touchdowns tie the Cotton Bowl record for rushing scores in a game, equaling the mark set by 5 Oklahoma A&M against TCU in 1945.
- The Nittany Lions' seven touchdowns scored (5 rushing, 1 passing, 1 INT return) ties the Cotton Bowl record for most touchdowns score, equaling the mark set by USC (1 rushing, 5 passing, 1 INT return) against Texas Tech in 1995.
- Penn State's 53 points are the second-most points scored in a Cotton Bowl game behind USC's 55 tallies against Texas Tech in 1995.
- The 92 combined points scored set the Cotton Bowl record, surpassing the previous mark 83 set by Michigan State (42) and Baylor (41) in 2015.
- The Nittany Lions' six sacks rank tied for eighth in Cotton Bowl history.
- Penn State's 7.5 rushing average (53-396) are tied for third in Cotton Bowl history.
- The Nittany Lions' 396 rushing yards are the second-most in Cotton Bowl history, behind Missouri's 408 yards against Texas in 1946.
- Penn State's 396 rushing yards are a program bowl record, besting the mark of 351 set in the 1980 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State.
- Penn State's 529 yards of total offense are 10th in Cotton Bowl history.
- The Nittany Lions' 529 yards of total offense are second in Penn State bowl history behind the 545 yards in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl against Washington.
- The Nittany Lions' 7.2-yard average of total offense is tied for fourth in Cotton Bowl history.
- Penn State's 25 first downs are tied for the second-most in a bowl game in program history.
- Penn State held Memphis to 63 rushing yards, the eighth-lowest by a bowl opponent.
- Memphis kicker Riley Patterson's six field goals are a Penn State opponent record. His six field goals also set a Penn State bowl opponent record, bettering four field goals by Oklahoma's Tim Lashar in the 1986 Orange Bowl.
Journey Brown - Bowl
- RB Journey Brown 202 rushing yards rank sixth in Cotton Bowl history and most in a Penn State bowl game. Brown breaks the Penn State record of 194 yards set by Saquon Barkley in the 2017 Rose Bowl.
- Brown's 56-yard rushing touchdown is the ninth-longest rushing touchdown in Cotton Bowl history and sixth-longest in Penn State bowl history.
- Brown's 88 yards on touchdown runs (32, 56) rank tied for second in Cotton Bowl history with Dexter McCluster from Ole Miss in 2010.
- Brown's 12.6 yards per carry average ranks fourth in Cotton Bowl history.
- Brown's rushing average is also a Penn State record, shattering the previous mark 8.6 yards per carry set by Curt Warner in the 1980 Fiesta Bowl.
- Brown and Noah Cain each had two rushing touchdowns, which is tied for second in Penn State bowl game history.
- Brown's 202 rushing yards is eighth in Cotton Bowl career history.
Micah Parsons - Bowl
- LB Micah Parsons' 14 tackles are tied for fifth in a Penn State bowl game and equal his total from last year's Citrus Bowl.
- Parsons' 2.0 sacks are tied for the most in a Penn State bowl game with eight others.
- Parsons' 17 yards lost on sacks are tied for third-most in Penn State bowl game history.
Jake Pinegar - Bowl
- K Jake Pinegar's six extra points are tied for the second-most in a Penn State bowl game with Craig Fayak (1992 Fiesta) and behind Tyler Davis' seven extra points in the 2017 Rose Bowl.
- Pinegar had a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter, which is tied for third-longest field goal in Penn State bowl history.
Blake Gillikin - Bowl
- P Blake Gillikin's 59-yard punt on the game's first series is tied for the seventh-longest punt in Penn State bowl history.
OFFENSE
Sean Clifford
- QB Sean Clifford threw his 23rd touchdown pass of the season, moving into sole possession of fifth at Penn State. Clifford broke a tie with Todd Blackledge (22; 1982)
- Clifford connected with Jahan Dotson on a 4-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
- With 25 career touchdown passes, Clifford ranks 13th all-time at Penn State, breaking a tie with Doug Strang (24; 1981-84).
- Clifford ended the season with 2,654 passing yards, ranking eighth at Penn State. On the day, Clifford moved past Anthony Morelli (2,651; 2007), Daryll Clark (2,592; 2008), Trace McSorley (2,530; 2018) and Christian Hackenberg (2,525; 2015).
- Clifford ended the season with 39 completions of 20 or more yards.
- With 194 career completions, Clifford ranks 18th all-time at Penn State.
- With a 59.2 completion percentage (189-of-319) this season, Clifford ranks ninth at Penn State.
- Clifford ended the season with a 148.54 passing efficiency, ranking seventh at Penn State.
- With 28 touchdowns responsible for this season, Clifford tied for eighth at Penn State with Michael Robinson (2005).
KJ Hamler
- WR KJ Hamler extended his streak to all 26 games of his career with a catch.
- With 84 all-purpose yards, Hamler became the 19th player in Penn State history to reach the 3,000-career all-purpose yards mark. He has 3,003 career all-purpose yards.
- Hamler has 33 career 20-yard receptions, including 17 this season.
- With 904 receiving yards this season, Hamler ranks 10th at Penn State.
- Hamler finished the season with 1,586 all-purpose yards, good for 10th at Penn State.
Journey Brown
- RB Journey Brown had a career-high 202 rushing yards on 16 carries. His previous high was 124 at Minnesota earlier this season.
- Brown had his fourth career game with at least two rushing touchdowns.
- Brown has a 56-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, which is the sixth-longest run in Penn State bowl history.
- Brown finished the game with 202 yards rushing, his first career 200-yard game and fifth career 100-yard rushing game. He posted 100-yard games in four of his last five contests.
- Brown is Penn State's first 200-yard rusher since Miles Sanders vs. Illinois in 2018.
- Brown has scored a touchdown in five consecutive games.
- Brown has 12 career rushing touchdowns, including 11 this season.
- With 6.89 yards per carry this season, Brown ranks fifth at Penn State.
- Brown ended the season with 11 rushes of 20 or more yards, including seven of 30 or more yards , three rushes over 40 yards, and two rushes over 50 yards.
- Brown ended the season with 12 rushing touchdowns, moving into a tie for 13th at Penn State.
Noah Cain
- RB Noah Cain scored his seventh rushing touchdown of the season to tie the Penn State record for rushing scores by a freshman, equaling the mark set by D.J. Dozier (1983) and Saquon Barkley (2015).
Devyn Ford
- RB Devyn Ford scored his third rushing touchdown of the season with a 2-yard score in the second quarter.
Ricky Slade
- RB Ricky Slade had a 44-yard rush in the second quarter, which is the seventh-longest rush in Penn State bowl history.
Pat Freiermuth
- TE Pat Freiermuth extended his streak to 25 consecutive games with a catch, and 25 of his first 26 career games.
- Freiermuth caught a pass from Sean Clifford for the 13th two-point conversion in Cotton Bowl history.
- Freiermuth has 17 career receptions of 20 or more yards, including a 20-yard grab in the fourth quarter. He has five this season.
DEFENSE
Micah Parsons
- LB Micah Parsons recorded a career-high-tying 14 tackles, earning his eighth game this season with double-digit tackles. He also has double figure stops in six of the last seven games.
- Parsons surpassed the 100-tackle mark for the season. He is the first Nittany Lion to reach the century mark in tackles since Marcus Allen has 110 stops in 2016.
- Parsons is the seventh player at Penn State to have 100 or more tackles and 10 or more tackles for loss in a season. He is the first to do so since Mike Hull (138 tackles, 10.5 TFL) in 2014.
- The sophomore had a career-high three tackles for loss and a career-high two sacks. His previous highs were 2.0 tackles for loss in six games, with the last time at Ohio State, and 1.0 sacks, in five games, with the last coming time against Rutgers.
- Parsons earned his first career game with multiple forced fumbles.
- Parsons forced a fumble on a strip-sack in the second quarter and forced another fumble later in the quarter. Parsons recorded his sixth career forced fumble, tying for seventh all-time at Penn State with Sean Stanley (2009-12), Bob White (1983-86), Mark Robinson (1980-83), Matt Millen (1976-79) and Walker Ashley (1979-82).
- With his fourth forced fumble of the season, Parsons tied for fifth at Penn State with Walker Ashley (1981), Shane Conlan (1985), Scott Radecic (1983) and Neil Hutton (1976).
- With three tackles for loss, Parsons earned his seventh career game with 2.0 or more tackles for loss with the last time coming at Ohio State.
- Parsons registered a career-high two pass breakups. He had one pass breakup in three previous games with the last coming against Indiana.
Garrett Taylor
- S Garrett Taylor had his first career pick-6 and first interception of the year in the third quarter.
Jan Johnson
- LB Jan Johnson collected four tackles to reach the 200-career tackle mark. Johnson ended his Nittany Lion career with exactly 200 tackles.
John Reid
- CB John Reid ended his Penn State career with 37 passes defended (30 pbu, 7 int), good for 11th all-time.
Yetur Gross-Matos
- DE Yetur Gross-Matos recorded a full sack, bringing his career total to 19.0. Gross Matos ended his Penn State career tied for 10th all-time with Bruce Clark (1976-79), LaVar Arrington (1997-99) and Jay Alford (2003-06).
- With 37.0 career tackles for loss, Gross-Matos ranks 11th all-time at Penn State.
Keaton Ellis
- CB Keaton Ellis tied a career high with three tackles, matching two previous performances with the last coming against Minnesota.
PJ Mustipher
- DT PJ Mustipher recorded his first career sack in the third quarter. He tied a career high with a full tackle for loss, matching four previous games with the last time coming at Iowa.
Antonio Shelton
- DT Antonio Shelton matched a career best with three tackles. He also had three against Rutgers.
- Shelton tied a career high with a full tackle for loss. He had a full tackle for loss in four previous games with the last time against Pitt.
Marquis Wilson
- CB Marquis Wilson intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 13 yards. It was Wilson's second interception this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Blake Gillikin
- P Blake Gillikin hit a 59-yard punt in the first quarter, landing it at the Memphis 13, and landed another punt at the Memphis 15.
- Gillikin ended his career with 100 career punts inside the 20.
- Gillikin earned his 54th career punt of 50 or more yards.
- Gillikin finished his Penn State career with a 43.03 punt average, good for second all-time, trailing only Jeremy Boone (43.13; 2007-09).
- Gillikin ended the season with a 42.18 punt average, ranking 14th at Penn State. He has four of the top 14 season punt averages in program history.
Jake Pinegar
- K Jake Pinegar hit all six extra-point attempts.
- Pinegar now has 109 career extra points, tying for seventh all-time at Penn State with Sam Ficken (2011-14).
- Pinegar ended the season with 56 extra points, the sixth-most at Penn State.
- Pinegar converted a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter, his third field goal of 40 or more yards this season.
- Pinegar's 45-yard field goal is tied for the third-longest in program bowl history, matching Sam Ficken in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl vs. Boston College and Nick Gancitano in the 1983 Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia.
- With 27 career field goals, Pinegar is tied for 14th all-time at Penn State with Ray Tarasi (1986-89).
Jordan Stout
- K Jordan Stout earned eight touchbacks on nine kickoffs, ending the season with 66 touchbacks in 83 kickoffs.
KJ Hamler
- KR KJ Hamler had a 24-yard kick return.
- Hamler finished the season with 513 kick return yards, ranking ninth at Penn State.