Sept. 10, 2013
PENN STATE vs. UCF
SATURDAY, SEPT. 14, 2013, 6:00 PM ET • BTN
Beaver Stadium (106,572) • University Park, Pa.
Penn State Game Notes | UCF Game Notes
GAME INFORMATION
TELEVISION: BTN
Matt Devlin (p-by-p) and Glen Mason (analyst).
TV APPEARANCES: The Nittany Lions are appearing on television for the 231st time in their last 233 games.
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network (60 stations):
Steve Jones (p-by-p), Jack Ham (analyst), Loren Crispell (sideline).
Sirius: Ch. 137; XM Ch. 205
Local: 93.7 FM & 1450 AM.
UCF Radio Network: Marc Daniels (p-by-p), Pat O'Hara (analyst), Jerry O'Neill (sideline), Scott Adams (pregame).
WEB: GameTracker, Live Video and Audio available at GoPSUsports.com
SERIES: The two teams have met twice before, with Penn State claiming on-field wins. Penn State defeated George O'Leary's Knights in 2004 in Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions and Knights will meet Aug. 30, 2014 in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
COACHES
Bill O'Brien
PENN STATE RECORD: 10-4, 2nd year
OVERALL RECORD: Same
VS. UCF: First Meeting
NOTABLE: Named Penn State's 15th head football coach on Jan. 6, 2012...Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick...Coached NFL MVP Tom Brady from 2009-11...Won first career game vs. Navy on Sept. 15, 2012...2012 Big Ten-Dave McClain Coach of the Year...2012 Bear Bryant, Maxwell Football Club and ESPN National Coach of the Year.
Bill O'Brien worked with O'Leary at Georgia Tech from 1995-2001.
GEORGE O'LEARY
UCF RECORD: 62-55, 10th year
OVERALL RECORD: 114-88, 17th year
VS. PENN STATE: 0-1
AT A GLANCE
Nittany Lions host UCF in battle of unbeatens Penn State will look to move its winning streak to five games when the Nittany Lions host undefeated UCF in Beaver Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. The Nittany Lions defeated Indiana and Wisconsin to close the 2012 season and have opened 2013 with victories over Syracuse and Eastern Michigan.
In the home opener, Penn State held Eastern Michigan to 183 yards of total offense, the fewest yards allowed against an FBS opponent since holding Minnesota to 138 yards in 2009. Eastern Michigan`s only points came on a defensive touchdown. The Nittany Lions held Eastern Michigan to just 44 yards and two first downs on 24 plays in the second half, including five three-and-outs, one four play drive and one five play drive.
Linebacker Glenn Carson's 10 tackles led all players and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones added nine tackles, with two tackles for loss, to tie the career-high he set in the season opening win over Syracuse.
The triple threat running attack of Bill Belton (108 yds, 2 TD), Akeel Lynch (108 yds, 1 TD) and Zach Zwinak (43 yds, 2 TD) led the way to 251 total rushing yards. Belton and Lynch's 100-yard efforts marked the first time since the 2010 Northwestern game that Penn State had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game.
Christian Hackenberg threw for a Penn State freshman record 311 yards on 23 of 33 passing with one touchdown, finding nine different receivers on the day. Allen Robinson hauled in seven receptions for 129 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown catch, for his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game and fourth career.
UCF has scored 38 points in each of its first two games and is coming off of a 38-0 thumping of FIU. Running back Storm Johnson has 229 all-purpose yards (188 rush) and five of the team's 10 touchdowns.