2007 Penn State Post-Season Notes2007 Penn State Post-Season Notes

2007 Penn State Post-Season Notes

Jan. 14, 2008

  • Penn State defeated Texas A&M in the Valero Alamo Bowl toearn a 9-4 record, its 27th season with nine or more victories under Joe Paterno .
  • The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 25 in the final USA Today Coaches poll, marking the 33rd time Penn State has been ranked in the final polls in Joe Paterno 's 42 years as head coach.
  • The Nittany Lions have won 31 of their last 40 games overall, with their 31-9 (77.5) record tied for No. 8 in the nation over the last 40 games.
  • Penn State is 29-9 (76.3) the past three seasons, tied with Auburn for No. 13 in the nation in winning percentage from 2005-07.
  • Penn State's 76 percent Graduation Success Rate was No. 3 in the nation among teams ranked in the final USA Today Coaches Top 25. Boston College (93) and Texas Tech (79) were the only teams with a higher GSR.
  • The Nittany Lions earned the highest Graduation Success Rate among the eight Big Ten teams that played in a 2007-08 bowl game.
  • Penn State improved its all-time bowl record to26-12-2. Its 67.5 bowl winning percentage is second-best among teams with 10 or more bowl victories. The Nittany Lions are No. 3 nationally in bowl wins.
  • The Nittany Lions have won three consecutive bowl games, improving to9-2 in post-season contests since beginning Big Ten play in 1993. Penn State is 2-0 in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
  • The Valero Alamo Bowl was Joe Paterno 's 500th game as head coach of the Nittany Lions. His all-time record is 372-125-3 (74.7), one victory behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden (373-119-4) among major college coaches.
  • Joe Paterno is No. 3 in winning percentage among active coaches with a minimum of 10 years as a Division I-A head coach, trailing only Tennessee's Phil Fulmer (147-45, 76.5) and Bobby Bowden (75.6).
  • Joe Paterno, the all-time leader in bowl appearances (34) and victories (23), owns a 23-10-1 post-season record. His 69.1 winning percentage is second-best all-time among coaches with at least 12 bowl appearances.
  • Under Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions are 6-2-1 in bowl games played in the home state of the opposing team, winning the last three.
  • There have been 817 Division I coaching changes since Joe Paterno became head coach in 1966 (includes 18 changes after 2007 season).
  • Four Nittany Lion seniors started the Alamo Bowl: LB Dan Connor, WR Terrell Golden, TB Rodney Kinlaw and QB Anthony Morelli, in addition to junior cornerback Justin King, who graduated in December and has declared for the NFL Draft. The Nittany Lions return 19 starters: nine on defense, eight on offense, as well as punter Jeremy Boone and placekicker Kevin Kelly.
  • Penn State's win over Texas A&M from a 14-0 first quarter deficit was its largest come-from-behind win since trailing by 16 in the first half at Northwestern (23-7) in 2005 and coming back for a 34-29 victory. It also tied the biggest come-from-behind win in Alamo Bowl history with Texas, which trailed by 14 before winning, 26-24, over Iowa in 2006.
  • The Lions outscored opponents in the middle two quarters, 223-60, this season, including a 131-21 advantage in the second period. Penn State outscored Texas A&M, 24-3, in the second and third quarters.
  • Penn State had just two penalties for 15 yards against Texas A&M. For the season, the Lions had 58 penalties for 446 yards, an average of 4.4 for 34.3 yards per game. The Lions finished No. 3 nationally in both categories.
  • The Penn State defense permitted only three points tothe Aggies after the 4:10 mark of the first quarter. The Nittany Lion defense held seven teams to17 points or less this season and has allowed only 26 touchdowns in the past 19 games. Twelve of the 19 opponents have been shut out, held tofield goals or one offensive touchdown.
  • The Nittany Lion defense finished in the top 15 nationally in rushing (No. 7, 93.8 ypg), scoring (No. 7, 17.5 ppg) and total defense (No. 11, 308.2 ypg), as well as No. 2 in sacks (46) and No. 10 in tackles for losses (102). Penn State, Ohio State and USC were the only teams tofinish in the top 15 in all five categories.
  • Over the past four seasons, Penn State ranks No. 4 in the nation in total defense (297.3 ypg) and is tied for No. 4 in scoring defense (16.0 ppg). During the 2004-07 seasons, the Nittany Lions have ranked in the Top 15 nationally each year in total and scoring defense, with three Top 10 finishes in rushing defense and sacks and a trio of Top 15 finishes in pass efficiency defense.
  • The Nittany Lions held eight opponents to90 rushing yards or less this season and allowed just three runs of more than 18 yards on 449 rushing attempts by the opposition.
  • Junior linebacker Sean Lee posted his 10th double-digit tackle game of the season, recording a game-high 14 tackles, tied for most in Alamo Bowl history, toearn Defensive MVP honors. A 2008 All-America candidate, he finished the season with 138 tackles, the fifth-best single season mark in Penn State history.
  • Sophomore defensive end Maurice Evans forced his team-leading fourth and fifth fumbles of the season vs. Texas A&M. The first was recovered by A.J. Wallace for his third fumble recovery of the season (tying Sean Lee for the team lead) on the Texas A&M 11-yard line. Daryll Clark scored one play later totie the game at 14-14. A finalist for the 2007 Ted Hendricks Award, Evans forced his fifth fumble in the third quarter that was recovered by A&M.
  • Senior All-America linebacker Dan Connor posted nine tackles vs. the Aggies tofinish the season with 145 tackles, the second-highest season mark in Penn State history behind All-American Greg Buttle's 165 in 1974. Connor finished his career as the all-time career tackle leader at Penn State with 419. The 2007 Bednarik Award winner, Connor also had one tackle for loss vs. Texas A&M and ended his career with 34, tied for the 12th best mark at Penn State with All-American Paul Posluszny (2003-06).
  • Penn State's 270 rushing yards vs. Texas A&M were a season-high and the second-highest total in Alamo Bowl history. It was the fifth best total in bowl history for Penn State and most since 330 in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl. Penn State's 6.6 yards per carry were also the second highest in Alamo Bowl history.
  • Senior tailback Rodney Kinlaw was named Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP after posting his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season, carrying the ball 21 times for 143 yards (6.8). Kinlaw had 90 yards on 13 carries in the first half and finished the season with three consecutive 100-yard efforts.
  • Rodney Kinlaw finished ninth all-time in single season rushing yardage at Penn State, passing Curtis Enis (1,210, 1996). Kinlaw finishes the season with 1,329 yards on 243 carries, an average of 5.5 yards per carry.
  • Rodney Kinlaw became the 13th Nittany Lion torush for at least 100 yards in a bowl game.
  • Senior quarterback Anthony Morelli finished the season with 2,651 yards, just 28 shy of the Penn State single season mark of 2,679 set by All-American Kerry Collins in 1994. Morelli finished his career with 5,275 yards passing, the fifth highest total in Penn State history and 31 career TD passes, the sixth best total. His 19 TD passes this year tied Doug Strang (1983) for the fourth highest single season total at Penn State.
  • Anthony Morelli broke his 2006 school season records with 234 completions and 402 pass attempts. He finished No. 2 on the Penn State career completions list (460) and No. 3 on the career pass attempts list (822). He also was tied for third with 11 career 200-yard passing games.
  • Junior wide receiver Deon Butler's diving 30-yard touchdown reception vs. Texas A&M marked his third straight game with a TD catch. It was his 15th career TD catch, tying him for fourth all-time at Penn State with Terry Smith (1989-91) and Joe Jurevicius (1994-97).
  • Deon Butler made 47 receptions this season, giving him 132 in his career, No. 2 at Penn State behind All-American Bobby Engram's 167. Butler's 47 catches this year are tied for No. 10 on the school season list.
  • Junior wide receiver Derrick Williams made a team-high five catches against Texas A&M, giving him 55 for the season, tied for No. 3 on the Penn State season list with Terry Smith. Williams has 117 career receptions, good for No. 5 on the school list. Junior Jordan Norwood is sixth with 116 career catches.
  • Junior quarterback Daryll Clark's 11-yard TD run in the second quarter was his second of the season. Clark posted career highs, rushing six times for 50 yards (8.3) and a touchdown, vs. the Aggies.
  • Freshman Jeremy Boone averaged 51.4 yards on five punts vs. Texas A&M, the fourth best single game average in Penn State history, and a school bowl game record, breaking the mark of 51.0 set by Chris Clauss in the 1988 Citrus Bowl.
  • Junior Kevin Kelly made a field goal in his 20th consecutive game, against Texas A&M. He made 20 field goals this season and is Penn State's career leader with 58. Kelly scored 104 kicking points on the season which ranks second all-time toTravis Forney's 107 in 1999 and is just the second time a kicker has eclipsed 100 points in a season. Kelly owns three of the top five scoring seasons by a kicker in Penn State history and is the career scoring leader at Penn State with 305 points.
  • Penn State's 16-play, 78-yard scoring drive at the end of the first half capped by a Kevin Kelly field goal was its longest by number of plays on the season and marked the eighth Penn State scoring drive in the final two minutes of the first half on the season.
  • The Alamo Bowl sell-out crowd of 66,166 marked the largest audience for any sporting event in Alamodome history. The Nittany Lions have played in front of two of the three largest Alamo Bowl throngs, as 65,380 attended the 1999 clash between Penn State and Texas A&M.
  • The Nittany Lions played in front of more than one million fans for the eighth time in the past 10 years, drawing 1,179,504 fans for the 13 games during the 2007 season.
  • The Nittany Lions have drawn seven of their top eight all-time home crowds over the past three seasons, led by 110,134 vs. Ohio State on October 27, the second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history.
  • Penn State has won 52 of 63 non-conference games since starting Big Ten play in 1993.
  • In the final individual NCAA statistics, sophomore All-Big Ten defensive end Maurice Evans (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was ranked in the Top 10 in three categories: tackles for losses (6th, 21.5), sacks (8th, 12.5) and forced fumbles (6th, 5). Evans was No. 2 in the Big Ten in TFL and forced fumbles and No. 3 in sacks.
  • Senior All-America linebacker Dan Connor (Wallingford) was No. 8 nationally in tackles with 145 (11.1 avg.) and junior all-conference linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh), the Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP, was tied for No. 17 with 138 hits (10.6 avg.). Connor and Lee ranked 1-2 in the Big Ten in tackles.
  • Junior All-Big Ten cornerback Justin King (Pittsburgh) tied for the Big Ten lead and was No. 19 in the nation in passes defended with 17. All-Big Ten freshman Jeremy Boone (Mechanicsburg) led the Big Ten and was No. 19 in punting at 43.0 ypp after averaging a school bowl record 51.4 yards on his five kicks against Texas A&M. Junior placekicker Kevin Kelly (Langhorne) was third in the conference and tied for 19th in field goals, making 20 of 26 for a 1.54 per game average. Kelly was tied for fourth in the Big Ten in overall scoring with 110 points.