Aug. 30, 2014
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery | Photo Gallery
TEAM
-Penn State has a 3-1 on-field record vs. UCF and is 8-3 in neutral site season openers in school history.
-The Nittany Lions official season opening record stands at 94-20-2.
- James Franklin won in his debut game as the Nittany Lions' 16th head coach. The 16 head coaches are 12-3-1 in their first game on the Penn State sideline.
-This was the first international game in Penn State's 128-year program history and marked the first Big Ten game outside of the U.S. border since Michigan State and Wisconsin played in Tokyo in 1993.
-Penn State has scored in 158 straight games - including the postseason - dating back to on Oct. 6, 2001 shutout loss to Michigan, 20-0, which extends their current school record streak. The Nittany Lions streak had been 138 games from 1973-84.
-OG Brian Gaia, WR DaeShawn Hamilton, OG Brendan Mahon, C Angelo Mangiro and OT Andrew Nelson all made their first career starts on Saturday vs. UCF in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
- Players making their first career appearance:
Redshirt freshmen: Parker Cothren, Chris Gulla, DaeSean Hamilton, Brandan Mahon, Andrew Nelson, Garrett Sickels, True freshmen: Marcus Allen, Saaed Blacknall, Chris Godwin, Mike Gesicki, Grant Haley
OFFENSE
-QB Christian Hackenberg threw for a school record 454 yards with a career-high 32 completions on 47 attempts vs. UCF. He became the first player in school history to throw for 400 yards, breaking Zack Mills' record of 399 yards vs. Iowa in 2002.
- Hackenberg leads the Big Ten in passing yardage (454.0) and total offense (456.0), ranking No. 4 nationally in passing yards and No. 5 in total offense.
-Hackenberg posted his fifth career 300-yard passing game, breaking a tie with Kerry Collins (1991-94) to move into second in Penn State history. He now trails only Matt McGloin's (2009-12) six career 300-yard games.
-Hackenberg logged his 10th career 200-yard passing game, breaking a tie for 8th with Wally Richardson (1992) and Todd Blackledge (1980-82).
-Hackenberg's 79-yard touchdown completion to Eugene Lewis is his longest career completion. It eclipsed his 68-yarder to Adam Breneman in the season finale at Wisconsin in 2013.
-The 79 yard completion is tied for the ninth longest in school history and is the longest pass play since an 80-yard completion by Rob Bolden to Derek Moye against Illinois in 2010, which was also a touchdown pass.
-RB Zach Zwinak's 32 rushing yards in the game give him 2,028 yards for his career. He is the 18th player in school history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark and passed Franco Harris during the game for 17th place.
-WR DaeSean Hamilton broke the Penn State freshman record for receptions and receiving yards in a game. His 165 yards broke Deon Butler's mark of 125 yards vs. Wisconsin in 2005. His 11 catches moved past Maurice Humphrey's eight catches vs. Northwestern in 2003.
-Hamilton became the first freshman since 2005 to eclipse 100 receiving yards in a game. That season, Deon Butler & Jordan Norwood each accomplished the feat.
-Hamilton 165 yards are the 12th highest total in a single game at Penn State. One person he is tied with is current assistant coach Terry Smith (USC, 1991).
-WR Eugene Lewis caught a 79-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter vs. UCF, marking the longest career reception for the sophomore. The 79-yard completion is tied for 9th longest in Penn State history.
-Lewis had career-highs in catches (eight) and receiving yards (173) vs. UCF. His 173 receiving yards are the most since Allen Robinson logged 173 yards at Ohio State in 2013 and is tied for eighth in school history.
-Hamilton and Lewis became the eighth pair of teammates to record 100-plus receiving yards in the same game and the first tandem to log 150-plus yards in the same game. The last duo to surpass 100-yards in the same game was Butler and Norwood vs. Michigan State in 2008.
- Geno Lewis (6th) and DaeSean Hamilton (8th) give Penn State the only pair of players in the top 25 nationally in receiving yardage.
-TE Jesse James had a career-high seven catches for 60 yards.
DEFENSE
-Penn State limited UCF to 246 total yards on the afternoon. The Nittany Lions held the Knights to only 24 rushing yards on 29 attempts and surrendered only 11 first downs. Penn State is ranked No. 5 nationally in rushing defense.
-LB Mike Hull had a team-best 11 tackles and 0.5 tackle-for-loss. It is the fifth double-digit tackle of Hull's career.
-DT Anthony Zettel tied his career-high six tackles and had a career-high 3.0 tackles for loss (minus-11) against UCF. He moved from defensive end to defensive tackle in 2014.
-S Ryan Keiser tied his career-high with seven stops against the Knights. He has now totaled seven tackles three times in his career, doing so last vs. Purdue in 2013.
SPECIAL TEAMS
-PK Sam Ficken converted a career-high four field goal (4-for-4) and now has 34 career field goals made. He ranks 11th in school history, trailing Chris Barr's 35 field goals from 1973-75 in the No. 10 spot on the career charts.
-Ficken's four field goals are the most since Collin Wagner had five successful attempts vs. Temple in 2010.
-This is Ficken's second career game ending field goal, joining the overtime game winner against Wisconsin in 2012.
- Ficken leads the Big Ten in kick scoring (4th overall) and in field goals made (4.0 avg.), also tied for second nationally in FG made.
NEXT WEEK
-Penn State will play its home opener vs. Akron on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Noon inside Beaver Stadium. It is the first home game for first-year head coach James Franklin. The game will air on ABC/ESPN2, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com.