Nov. 29, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State has moved up to No. 11 in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings, announced today by the National Football Foundation.
The Nittany Lions also rose No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press poll.
The Nittany Lions are one of three Big Ten squads ranked in the top 11 of the BCS standings. Ohio State is No. 8 and Iowa is No. 9.
The final BCS standings will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 6 on Fox, along with all the bowl selections.
Penn State is ranked in the Top 10 nationally in five of the six primary defensive categories (Top 20 in all six) and leads the nation in Red Zone defense (65.4 pct., 17 of 26).
According to the latest NCAA statistics, the Nittany Lions are No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (11.8 ppg), No. 8 in total defense (277.0 ypg), No. 10 in rushing defense (93.9 ypg and No. 19 in pass defense (183.2 ypg). Penn State also is No. 7 in tackles for losses per game (99, 8.25 avg.) and No. 8 in sacks (35, 2.9 avg.).
Penn State leads the Big Ten in scoring defense, tackles for loss and sacks, is second in rushing and total defense and third in pass defense. A trio of Penn State's nine All-Big Ten selections - linebackers Navorro Bowman, Josh Hull and Sean Lee - rank among the conference's top seven tacklers.
Senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick was selected the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year and senior quarterback Daryll Clark was named first team all-conference for the second consecutive year.
Penn State has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in its last 15 games, the nation's third-longest streak. Seven Nittany Lion opponents have 100 rushing yards or less this season.
Coach Joe Paterno's squad concluded its regular season with the convincing 42-14 victory at Michigan State on Nov. 21, posting Paterno's Football Bowl Subdivision record 21st season with at least 10 victories.
The Nittany Lions are 50-13 (79.3) since the start of the 2005 season, the nation's No. 8 winning percentage over that span. Penn State is awaiting the destination and opponent for its 36th bowl game under Paterno, who is the all-time leader in post-season appearances and victories (23-11-1 record).