| PENN STATE vs. MARYLAND | |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 - 3:30 p.m. ET | |
| M&T Bank Stadium | Baltimore, Md. | |
| Game Day Information: | |
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| Game Notes: Penn State | Maryland |
| Statistics: Penn State | Maryland |
| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | UMD | |
| 23.0 | Scoring* | 24.3 |
| 15.4 | 1st Downs* | 16.5 |
| 162.3 | Rushing* | 177.7 |
| 177.4 | Passing* | 163.7 |
| 339.7 | Total Offense* | 341.3 |
| 6/3 | Fumbles/Lost | 5/2 |
| 35/293 | Penalties/Yards | 47/445 |
| 44/35.9 | Punts/Avg. | 37/35.2 |
| 28% | 3rd Down % | 33% |
| 22% | 4th Down % | 33% |
| 27 | Sacks | 20 |
| 4 | Interceptions | 5 |
| 22/24 | Red Zone | 12/14 |
| 29:36 | Time of Possession | 26:52 |
* - Per Game Statistics
Oct. 19, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the second time this season, Penn State will visit an NFL venue, as the Nittany Lions meet Maryland Saturday in the Baltimore Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. game on ESPN. It is the 39th meeting between the teams, but just the second as Big Ten members.
It could be a historic day for Nittany Lion quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who could become the school's career leader in passing yardage, completions and attempts. He will need to surpass 74 yards passing, 11 completions and 29 attempts to top all three lists.
Hackenberg is not the only one drawing attention behind the line of scrimmage, as true freshman running back Saquon Barkley is already being compared to Lion legends after impressing a primetime audience with 194 yards on 26 carries against No. 1 Ohio State. The young runner has eclipsed 100 yards in the three games in which he has been featured and not slowed by injury, and he has threatened to surpass 200 yards in his two contests with 20 or more carries. Aside from his one carry for one yard at Temple, he has at least one run of at least 33 yards in the four games he has played since.
Carl Nassib also cemented his place on the national scene, extending his sack streak to seven games with 1.5 against Ohio State and 3.5 tackles for loss. The former walk-on now leads the nation in both categories, as well as forced fumbles.
Despite the standout performances, it was not enough to overcome J.T. Barrett and Ohio State on the road. The Lions held the lead after the first quarter, but missed opportunities and Barrett's four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) led the Buckeyes to victory.
Maryland also enters the game following a loss to Ohio State, but was off last week. The game against Penn State will be Maryland's first under new leadership. Mike Locksley was named the interim head coach of the team following the Ohio State game.
Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium to host Illinois on Halloween at noon.
MARYLAND INTERIM HEAD COACH MIKE LOCKSLEY
• Mike Locksley was named the interim head coach on Oct. 11, 2015. This will be his first game serving in the role.
• Locksley is in his 10th season at Maryland. He was an assistant coach from 1997-2002, primarily working with the running backs, and has served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2012.
• He has three seasons of experience as a head coach, serving in the role at New Mexico (2009-11).
• Locksley was a defensive back at Towson from 1989-91.
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
• Maryland is in its second season in the Big Ten. The Terrapins are 2-4 this season with wins over Richmond and USF.
• In addition to losses against Bowling Green and West Virginia, Maryland is off to an 0-2 start in the Big Ten, falling to a pair of ranked teams in Michigan and Ohio State.
• Maryland fell to Ohio State in its last outing, Oct. 3, and was off last week.
• The Terrapins rank 13th in the conference in total defense but excel in sacks and tackles for loss. The Terps are averaging 3.33 sacks per game to rank ninth in the nation and fourth in the conference, while earning 7.0 stops behind the line per game to rank 36th nationally and sixth in the Big Ten.
• Yannick Ngakoue leads the team in sacks with 1.17 per game to rank sixth nationally.
• Turnovers have been an issue on both sides of the ball. The Terps have thrown a nation-high 17 interceptions and have just eight takeaways.
• Defensive back Sean Davis is second in the nation to Penn State's Carl Nassib with 0.67 forced fumbles per game.
• Fellow DB William Likely is one of nation's most dangerous returnmen. He is one of two with a nation-leading two punt return touchdowns and he ranks second in punt return yardage averaging 22.0 yards per return.
PENN STATE IN NEUTRAL TERRITORY
• The Nittany Lions are 51-20-4 all-time in regular-season neutral site games, including wins in the last four.
• Penn State and Maryland have met at a neutral site three previous times, all at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The last neutral site meeting between the teams was a 47-7 Penn State win in 1991 when assistant coach Terry Smith was a team captain for the Nittany Lions.
• The Maryland game in M&T Back Stadium will mark Penn State's third consecutive season with a neutral site regular season game.
• Penn State opened the 2013 and 2014 seasons with neutral site victories over Syracuse (23-17, MetLife Stadium) and UCF (26-24, Croke Park Classic), respectively.
• This is Penn State's third neutral site Big Ten game.
• The last time Penn State played a Big Ten opponent at neutral site was in 2010 against Indiana. PSU defeated the Hoosiers, 41-24, in FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
• The Nittany Lions also met Indiana at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis in 2000.
NITTANY LIONS IN NFL VENUES
• Penn State is visiting M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Super Bowl XLVII Champion Baltimore Ravens, to mark the eighth current NFL stadium the Blue and White have played in. Penn State opened the season in Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, against Temple.
• The Nittany Lions have also played in current homes of the Miami Dolphins (Sun Life Stadium), New Orleans Saints (Mercedes-Benz Superdome), New York Giants/New York Jets (MetLife Stadium), San Diego Chargers (Qualcomm Stadium), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Raymond James Stadium) and Washington Redskins (FedEx Field).
• The first documented Penn State game in a professional stadium was in 1921 when the Nittany Lions defeated Georgia Tech, 28-7, in front of 30,000 fans at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan in New York City.
• Excluding bowl games, the Lions have played 38 regular season games in 13 different stadiums with permanent NFL tenants.
• Four regular season games were played in NFL venues in 1983, as the Lions played in Giants Stadium twice (Nebraska and Rutgers), Veterans Stadium (Temple) and Sullivan (Foxboro) Stadium (Boston College).
NITTANY LIONS FROM MARYLAND
Penn State has nine players from Maryland on its roster, of which six were recruited in the last two classes.
• S Marcus Allen - Upper Marlboro / Dr. Henry A. Wise
• RB Mark Allen - Hyattsville / DeMatha Catholic
• DE Kam Carter - Silver Spring / Gaithersburg
• G Brian Gaia - Pasadena / Gilman School
• TE/H Jonathan Holland - Brandywine/The Bullis School
• WR Josh McPhearson - Columbia/Annapolis Area Christian
• S Ayron Monroe - Largo / Saint Johns College H.S.
• TE Brent Wilkerson - Clinton / DeMatha Catholic
• CB Trevor Williams - Baltimore / Calvert Hall College
PENN STATE-MARYLAND CONNECTIONS
• Penn State redshirt freshman CB Daquan Worley and Maryland redshirt freshman LB Tyler Burke both attended Coatesville (Pa.) High School.
• Penn State senior OG Brian Gaia blocked for Maryland sophomore QB Shane Cockerille and junior RB Kenneth Goins Jr. while at Gilman School (Md.) Maryland sophomore DE Melvin Keihn attended the same school.
• Penn State redshirt freshman LB Troy Reeder and Maryland senior OL Evan Mulrooney both attended Salesianum (Del.) School.
• PSU junior WR Josh McPhearson and UMD sophomore DB Elvis Dennah played together at Annapolis (Md.) Area Christian School.
• PSU freshman S John Petrishen and UMD junior QB Perry Hills played together at Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
• PSU freshman RB Andre Robinson and UMD junior LB Dean Brock played together at Bishop McDevitt (Pa.) High School.
• PSU freshman G Zach Simpson and UMD sophomore DB J.T. Ventura played together at Hollidaysburg (Pa.) Area High School.
COACHING STAFF CONNECTIONS
• Penn State head coach James Franklin spent eight seasons on staff at Maryland. He was the Terrapins' assistant head coach/offensive coordinator (2008-10) and recruiting coordinator/wide receivers coach (2000-04).
• Penn State offensive coordinator John Donovan spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Maryland. He was the assistant recruiting coordinator (2001-04), running backs coach (2005, 2008-10) and quarterbacks coach (2006-07).
• Franklin and Donovan both worked with Maryland interim head coach Mike Locksley during his first stint in College Park.
• Penn State special teams coordinator/running backs coach Charles Huff was an assistant offensive line coach at Maryland in 2009.
• Penn State director of performance enhancement Dwight Galt is a graduate of Maryland and spent 22 years with the Maryland strength and conditioning staff.
• Assistant director of performance enhancement Dwight Galt IV and offensive graduate assistant Tommy Galt played for the Terrapins from 2005-09.
• Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and Maryland inside linebackers coach Keith Dudzinski both coached on the defensive side of the ball at UMass in 2006.
• Penn State Chief of Staff Jemal Griffin was the Director of Football Operations at Maryland from 2008-10.
• Penn State Director of Football Administration Kevin Threlkel served as a football operations intern for two seasons at Maryland.
BACK-TO-BACK ROAD TRIPS
Penn State is making back-to-back road trips during the regular season for the first time since 2012. In November that year, the Nittany Lons defeated Purdue, 34-9, but fell to No. 18 Nebraska, 32-23.
BARKLEY BREAKS OUT
• A national primetime TV audience was introduced to Saquon Barkley at Ohio State, as the true freshman did not disappoint in his return from injury.
• Despite missing the last 2.5 games to injury, Barkley leads the Lions with 567 rushing yards in five games played.
• Barkley's yards per game average of 113.4 is skewed down since he only received one carry for one yard in the season opener against Temple and only played a little over a quarter against SDSU before leaving the game.
• If Barkley had not appeared in the Temple game, he would be averaging 141.5 yards per game. That figure would rank him fifth nationally.
• His yards per carry average of 8.3 would rank fourth in the nation, but with two games missed out of seven, he does not meet the 75-percent games played minimum to be included in the rankings.
• Barkley posted his third 100-yard rushing game of the season with 194 yards on 26 carries at Ohio State. His 194 rushing yards were the fourth-most by a Penn State true freshman. He also has the third-highest total with 195 vs. Rutgers.
• His three 100-yard rushing games are tied with Eric McCoo (1998) and Curtis Enis (1995) for second on the all-time true freshman season list at Penn State. D.J. Dozier's five 100-yard rushing games in 1983 top it.
• Barkley notched a career-long 56-yard rush in the fourth quarter against Ohio State. In the first quarter, he had a 44-yard touchdown run called back due to a penalty.
• Seventeen of Barkley's 68 rushes have gone for double-digit gains, including five against Ohio State that went for at least 14 yards.
• Barkley caught his first career pass against SDSU and took it 22 yards for a touchdown.
• His 310 rushing yards in consecutive games against Buffalo and Rutgers were the highest two-game total by a Penn State back since Zach Zwinak had 314 in a two-game span vs. Indiana (135) and Wisconsin (179).
• It is also the highest total by a true freshman RB in a two-game span since D.J. Dozier had 359 in 1983 (vs. Rutgers and Alabama). Barkley, Enis and Dozier are the only the true freshman to have back-to-back 100-yard games (Dozier had four in a row in 1983).
• Additionally, Barkley's 195 rushing yards against Rutgers were the most by a Penn State true freshman since Eric McCoo had 206 against Michigan State in 1998. Barkley is the fourth true freshman at Penn State to have two or more 100-yard rushing performances (5, D.J. Dozier -- 1983; 3, Curtis Enis -- 1995; 3, Eric McCoo -- 1998).
• Against Buffalo, Barkley became just the eighth PSU true freshman to rush for over 100 yards in a game, joining, Matt Suhey (1976), Curt Warner (1979), D.J. Dozier (1983), Curtis Ennis (1995), Eric McCoo (1998), Austin Scott (2003) and Silas Redd (2010).
• He is also the first PSU player to rush for 100 yards in a quarter since Tony Hunt vs. Akron in 2004. Larry Johnson rushed for more than 100 in a quarter four times in 2002.
• Barkley is only the third player since 2000 to rush for 100 yards or more in a quarter, and it has now only happened seven times since 2000.
• Barkley (Buffalo and Rutgers) joined Johnson as the only PSU rushers to total 100-plus yard quarters in back-to-back games.
CARTER ON MIDSEASON MACKEY WATCH LIST
• Kyle Carter has been named to the Mackey Award Midseason Watch List. The Mackey Award is given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end.
• Carter is on the Mackey Award Midseason Watch List for the second time in his career (2012).
• He leads the tight end corps with nine receptions for 99 yards. His 11.0 yards per reception average is tops among tight ends on the team.
• Among the most experienced returning players on the roster, Carter has played in 40 of the last 43 games, including 17 career starts.
TWO ADDED TO BEDNARIK WATCH LIST
• Penn State defensive linemen Carl Nassib and Austin Johnson have been added to the Bednarik Award watch list, joining fellow lineman Anthony Zettel on the list.
• The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995.
• The Nittany Lions' four Bednarik Award recipients are the most of any school in the nation -- LaVar Arrington (`99), Paul Posluszny (`05 & 06) and Dan Connor (`07).
• Nassib leads the FBS in sacks (11.5; 1.7 pg), forced fumbles (5) and tackles for loss (15.5; 2.2 pg).
• Johnson has been a force up front for the Nittany Lions with 40 tackles, which is third on the team. He also has 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss this season. Additionally, Johnson registered his first career touchdown with a 71-yard fumble return.
• Zettel has 27 stops on the season, including 13 solo tackles. He also has 8.0 tackles for loss, including 1.0 sack. Zettel has also influenced the passing game with four pass breakups. He also has a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on the season.
STRIKING FIRST
• Penn State has scored first in all seven games this season, and eight straight games dating back to last season's Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College.
• The Nittany Lions have scored in the first quarter of all but two games, failing to do so against Buffalo and Rutgers. However, Penn State was able to earn double-digit victories despite the slower starts, and the Rutgers game remains the largest margin of victory (25 points) this season.
YOUTH REIGNS SUPREME
• Penn State has had 22 freshmen play this season (17 redshirt, 5 true).
• Penn State ranks tied for 18th in the country with 13 first-time starters this season.
• Penn State has the 14th-fewest seniors on its roster (13) in FBS and third-fewest in the Big Ten.
• Penn State has the fifth-most freshmen on its roster (61) in FBS and the most in the Big Ten.
• Penn State's average starting class (2.71; scale of 1-4) is the 14th youngest in the country and youngest in the Big Ten. Michigan is the oldest team in the country and in the Big Ten (3.55).
• Penn State is the 34th youngest team in the country by average player class and second youngest team in the Big Ten (2.13).
• 77.8 percent (14-18) of Penn State's offensive touchdowns have been scored by freshmen or sophomores.
• 55.6 percent (10-18) of Penn State's offensive touchdowns have been scored by freshmen.
• Penn State has had six different players score their first career touchdowns this season.
• Quarterback Christian Hackenberg and running back Akeel Lynch, both juniors, are the only upperclassmen to score touchdowns this season. They both have a pair of rushing touchdowns.
NEW BEGINNINGS
• With 13 first-time starters this season, Penn State ranks 18th in the country.
• Redshirt freshmen Johnathan Thomas, Robby Leibel and Daquan Worley became the 19th, 20th and 21st freshmen to play this season against Army. Chance Sorrell made his debut against Indiana.
• Redshirt freshman running back Nick Scott and junior center Wendy Laurent made their first career starts against Indiana, becoming the 12th and 13th Nittany Lions to make first career starts this season.
• Redshirt freshman running back Mark Allen and sophomore safety Troy Apke made their first career starts against Army, becoming the 10th and 11th Nittany Lions to make their first career starts this season.
• Allen and Scott both started at running back, becoming the fourth and fifth freshmen to start a game for Penn State this season, joining redshirt freshman Troy Reeder and true freshmen John Reid and Brandon Polk.
STOPS BEHIND THE LINE
• In addition to leading the nation in total sacks (27) and ranking second to Oklahoma State (4.17 pg) with 3.86 sacks per game, Penn State also ranks sixth in the nation and tops in the Big Ten with 9.0 tackles for loss per game.
• Penn State has had at least 9.0 TFLs in four games this season.
• The Penn State defense accumulated 10.0 tackles for loss against Ohio State, the most the Buckeyes had surrendered all season.
• Penn State leads the nation in both tackle for loss yardage (314) and sack yardage (223). Penn State is the only team in the country with more than 300 tackles for loss yards, and is also the only team with more than 200 sack yards.
• Penn State's 15 tackles for loss against Temple were the second-most in the country during the opening week, trailing only Colorado State, which racked up 16 against FCS-level Savannah State. Eleven different Nittany Lions were credited with at least an assist, led by Carl Nassib, Brandon Bell and Anthony Zettel with 2.5 TFL each, while Trevor Williams had 2.0.
• Nassib leads the country with 2.2 TFL per game.
NASSIB BREAKING THROUGH
• Senior defensive end Carl Nassib has rewarded the Nittany Lions for putting him in the starting lineup, as the former walk-on is enjoying a breakout season by breaking through opposing offensive lines.
• Nassib leads the nation in sacks with 11.5 (1.71 pg), five forced fumbles (0.83 pg) and his 15.5 tackles for loss (2.2 pg).
• He has recorded a sack in each game this season, and four multi-sack games.
• Nassib's 11.5 sacks this season are the most by a Nittany Lion since Aaron Maybin had 12 sacks in the 2008 season.
• Nassib is the first Penn State player to force two fumbles in two games in a season since Maurice Evans did it in 2007. Evans had two forced fumbles against Indiana and two forced fumbles against Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl.
• Nassib's five forced fumbles this season are the most by a Penn State player since Evans had five in the 2007 season.
• While making his first career start (high school or college), Nassib made a career-high 10 tackles in the season opener at Temple. His previous high was four stops on October 5, 2013 at Indiana. Nassib also recorded what was then his second career solo sack, good for a 12-yard loss in the second quarter, and his 2.5 tackles for loss were a career-best.
• Nassib made even bigger plays the following week against Buffalo, recording three sacks, including back-to-back sack-fumbles to stifle a UB comeback. He also hauled in an interception deep in UB territory after senior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel tipped a pass from the quarterback.
• He recorded his fifth sack of the season against Rutgers.
• Nassib tallied two sacks against San Diego State, forcing a fumble on one that led to defensive tackle Austin Johnson's 71-yard touchdown run after scooping up the ball.
• He continued his sack streak with one against Army.
• Nassib had a triple-double of sorts against Indiana with 2.0 sacks, 2.0 TFL and two forced fumbles.
• At No. 1 Ohio State, he led the Penn State defense with 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, also tying for second on the team with eight tackles. The Lions totaled 10.0 tackles-for-loss in the game to mark its fourth game with at least 9.0 TFLs. It was also the most surrendered by Ohio State this season.
SICKELS EMERGING
• As defenses adjust to contain national sack leader Carl Nassib, Penn State's "other" defensive end, sophomore Garrett Sickels has put together back-to-back career weeks.
• Sickels set career highs for tackles against Indiana (5) and Ohio State (8) in consecutive weeks for a two-game total of 13. He totaled just 10 in the first five games.
• He recorded his first solo sack of the season against Indiana and now has 2.0 for the season.
• Sickels is in his first season as a starter and has started all seven games with 23 tackles. He totaled 11 tackles in 13 games in a reserve role last season.
NEW TURF
• When the Nittany Lions return home to face Illinois on Oct. 31, they will take the field on a new playing surface inside Beaver Stadium.
• Crews began working on Tues., Oct. 13 to remove the old sod, which had been in the stadium since October 2005.
• A new Kentucky bluegrass surface was installed on Oct. 15.
• Originally planted on a sod farm in 2004, the previous surface was installed during the days leading up to the epic primetime clash between Penn State and Ohio State on Oct. 8, 2005.
• With three full weeks between home games, Athletic Fields Supervisor Herb Combs and the Beaver Stadium grounds crew took the opportunity to re-sod the field in order to create the best playing surface moving into the future.
• Approximately 70,000 square feet of sod was used to complete the stadium playing surface and the nursery on campus.
• The new sod came from Tuckahoe Turf Farms in Hammonton, N.J., which supplies several NFL organizations with sod, including the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers.