Dec. 26, 2014
NEW YORK - Penn State (6-6, 2-6 B1G) will be making its 45th bowl appearance in program history on Saturday when they face Boston College (7-5, 4-4 ACC) in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. The game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN.
The Nittany Lions add to their rich postseason tradition when their first appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl. Their 45 on-field bowl appearances rank ninth in NCAA history and the 27 on-field post-season victories are tied for No. 4 nationally with Georgia and Texas, and lead all Big Ten Conference institutions.
The Pinstripe Bowl becomes the 15th different bowl game, while Boston College is the 29th different bowl opponent in the Lions' illustrious history. The Eagles mark the second-straight second straight newcomer to the bowl roster, after playing Houston in the 2012 TicketCity Bowl.
"We've had a fantastic week," head coach James Franklin said. "To spend a week in New York City during the Christmas holiday has been unbelievable...It's been first class from top to bottom, so I'm thankful for that. We've had a great week, and we are looking forward to getting out there to play the game."
The game will be played at Yankee Stadium and mark the fourth time in program history the Nittany Lions will play in the New York Yankees home venue; tying West Virginia, 13-13, on Oct. 27, 1923 during the stadiums first year of existence, falling to Georgia Tech, 16-7, on Oct. 10, 1925 and NYU, 7-0, on Oct. 19, 1929. Overall, Penn State owns a record of 16-4-3 in Major League Baseball venues (10 different parks).
The Pinstripe Bowl will mark the 24th all-time meeting between the two Eastern rivals. Penn State owns a 19-4 edge in the all-time series, but Boston College has won the last three meetings. The first meeting came during the 1946 season, a 32-14 Penn State win, and the last occurred on Sept. 11, 2004, a 21-7 BC victory.
Penn State enters with one of the nation's top defensive units; ranking No. 1 in rushing defense (84.8 ypg), No. 2 passing efficiency defense (99.71) and total defense (269.8 ypg), and the No. 7 scoring defense (17.7 ppg).
"This is an opportunity to get out there and play the way we are capable of playing and finish on a positive note," Franklin said. "I'm really, really proud of our guys and thankful for the opportunity to be here."
All-American linebacker Mike Hull paces the Big Ten and ranks No. 7 nationally with 11.2 tackles per game. His 134 total tackles this season rank sixth in school history and helped him earn numerous All-America accolades, along with the Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year and a first team All-Big Ten laurels. Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel enters the contest ranked No. 15 in school history with 16.0 career sacks, with a career-high 8.0 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss so far in 2014.
On offense, All-Big Ten performer DaeSean Hamilton is enjoying the finest season a freshman wide receiver has ever had at Penn State. He enters the Pinstripe Bowl with 75 catches for 848 yards and is the Penn State freshman record holder in receptions and receiving yards in a game and season. Christian Hackenberg continues to climb the all-time passing charts at Penn State, needing just 181 yards to pass Daryll Clark (5,742; 2006-09) and climb into fourth on the career passing yards list. He enters the game with 5,561 career yards and ranks tied for ninth all-time with 28 scoring strikes.
The Eagles lean on the running game and the two-headed attack of quarterback Tyler Murphy and running back Jon Hilliman. As a team, Boston College ranks 14th nationally with 251.8 rushing yards per game, with 29 of their 40 offensive scores coming on the ground. The defense is also stout against the run, sitting No. 4 nationally with just 95.5 yards per game allowed. They also rank 12th in the FBS with just 313.5 yards of total offense allowed.
"They do a great job," Franklin said. "Don (Brown) is a guy I would put into the `chaos' category. He's bringing people from all different angles, all different looks and all different personnel groupings. I think he believes strongly in trying to confuse offensive lines...They are aggressive on the perimeter with their defensive backs because they know the quarterback isn't going to be able to hold the ball very long when they take all of the short throws away. They have a great scheme, and he does a great job. We're looking forward to competing against them."
Murphy leads the Eagles in both rushing and passing, accounting for 21 total touchdowns this season. He has rushed for 1,079 yards and 10 touchdowns, and thrown for 1,526 yards and 11 scores. Murphy broke the Atlantic Coast Conference's season record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,079 yards. Hilliman has amassed 712 rushing yards and crossed the goal line 12 times this season, as well.
"Stopping the run is something we've been good at all year long," Franklin said. "This is going to be a tremendous challenge. They have a group of men who have a lot of experience and played together for a long time. I think it's going to be the focal point of the game - their o-line against our d-line. It's going to be a tremendous challenge for both sides."