Oct. 11, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.; Oct. 12, 2007 -- Penn State faces its first ranked team of the season on Saturday when No. 15 Wisconsin visits for the Nittany Lions' 88th Homecoming game.
Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. in sold out Beaver Stadium. ABC will televise the game to a regional audience. Markets not receiving the game on ABC will receive it on ESPN. The contest also will air on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics.
All Penn State fans are encouraged to bring a white towel to the contest with the Badgers.
The Nittany Lions (4-2, 1-2) and Badgers (5-1, 2-1) will be meeting for the 13th time, with Wisconsin owning an 8-4 series lead. The Badgers won, 13-3, last year in Madison. Two years ago, Penn State won 35-14 in Happy Valley.
The Lions have an impressive 62-20-5 record in front of the alumni audience, winning 36 of 41 Homecoming tilts under Coach Joe Paterno.
Penn State has won 18 of its last 19 games at home, dating to a win over Michigan State in the final game of the 2004 season.
For the third time in its initial four Big Ten games, the Nittany Lions' nationally ranked defense will be facing one of the nation's top rushing offenses. The Badgers are traditionally among the nation's top rushing offenses and this year is no exception, as they are averaging 192.0 ypg on the ground.
Wisconsin's P.J. Hill will be the third Top 10 rusher Penn State has faced in the last four weeks. Hill is No. 9 in the nation, averaging 125.0 ypg with 10 touchdowns.
Michigan's Mike Hart is No. 2 in the nation at 162.6 ypg, while Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall is No. 7 at 128.6 ypg. Hart gained 153 yards on a career-high 44 carries vs. Penn State, an average of 3.47 yards per attempt. Mendenhall gained 76 yards on 18 carries against the Lions, an average of 4.22 ypc.
Penn State is coming off another superlative defensive effort, limiting Iowa to 48 yards on 28 carries, an average of 1.7 ypc. Penn State has held four opponents to 56 rushing yards or less this season.
The Nittany Lions are allowing an average of 80.5 rushing yards per game, good for No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 8 in the nation. Over the first six games, Penn State has allowed one rush of more than 18 yards, a 53-yard burst by Illinois reserve quarterback Eddie McGee.
The annual Homecoming Parade will wind through the streets of campus and the borough of State College at 6 p.m. on Friday. The parade features more than 100 separate units, including marching bands, floats, campus dance groups, campus and community notables and this year's grand marshal, Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers football great Franco Harris. It is the centerpiece to the University's Homecoming 2007 weeklong festivities.
The parade units will form on Porter Road; turn west on Curtin Road; proceed west on Curtin Road and cross University Drive where the parade will be joined by units that have formed on the IM fields north of the IM Building. The parade will proceed west on Curtin Road to Bigler Road; turn south on Bigler Road to Pollock Road; west on Pollock Road to Shortlidge Road; south on Shortlidge Road to College Avenue; west on College Avenue to Burrowes Road; and north on Burrowes Road. The parade will disperse at the Burrowes/Pollock Road intersection.
The parade route will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade. Parking along the route will be restricted. Motorists must remove parked vehicles on College Avenue before starting time.
Citizens throughout Central Pennsylvania and fans attending the Penn State-Wisconsin game are being advised that a military flyover will take place during pre-game ceremonies. A United States Air Force B-2 Stealth will fly over Beaver Stadium immediately following the national anthem, at approximately 3:20 p.m. The plane, based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, will be flying from the south as it approaches the stadium.
In addition to the football game, several other Penn State teams are competing at home this weekend:
Friday
10 a.m. - Men's and women's cross country host National Invitational at Penn State Golf Course
7 p.m. - Women's soccer vs. Michigan State
8 p.m. - Women's volleyball vs. Michigan
Sunday
12 p.m. - Field hockey vs. Michigan State
12 p.m. - Women's soccer vs. Michigan