Oct. 1, 2016
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TEAM
- The series now stands at 9-5 in favor of Penn State, with a 5-2 Nittany Lion edge in Beaver Stadium.
- The Nittany Lions and Gophers played the second overtime game in the all-time series, with Penn State also winning in 2006 in Minneapolis, 27-26.
- Penn State is now 7-5 all-time in overtime games, with a 4-4 record at Beaver Stadium, 1-1 mark in true road games and 2-0 ledger at a neutral site.
- The Nittany Lions played their sixth overtime game at Beaver Stadium since the start of the 2012 season. Penn State is 4-2 in those games.
- The win marked the first overtime victory for Penn State since a 31-30 triumph in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College in 2014.
- Redshirt freshman S Ayron Monroe made his collegiate debut, moving Penn State's total to 22 freshmen appearing this season (18 redshirt, 4 true).
- LB Cam Brown and RG Connor McGovern made their first collegiate starts, moving the total to 12 first-time starters.
- Minnesota's 31 first downs are the second-most allowed in a Big Ten game by Penn State.
- Penn State's 471 yards of total offense are the most since racking up an identical total vs. Rutgers in 2015.
- Penn State had zero turnovers for the first time in 2016. The last time Penn State did not turn the ball over in a game was in 2015 against Army. The Nittany Lions had two such games in 2015, also logging zero turnovers against Buffalo.
OFFENSE
- Sophomore QB Trace McSorley accounted for 408 yards of total offense -- 335 passing and 74 rushing -- to mark the third-highest total in school history. It is the most yards of total offence since Christian Hackenberg posted a school-record 454 yards against UCF in the 2014 Croke Park Classic vs. UCF.
- McSorley posted his fourth career 200-yard passing game and second career game with 300-plus passing yards, ending the night with 335 yards on 19-of-41 passing with one touchdown and zero interceptions.
- McSorley's 335 passing yards are a career-high, moving past his 332 yards through the air at Pitt earlier this season, and rank No. 13 on the all-time passing list.
- McSorley's 80-yard touchdown completion to WR Irvin Charles is a career long for both players, and gave McSorley a scoring strike in six straight games, the longest streak since Christian Hackenberg had six consecutive games with a TD pass in 2015.
- McSorley led the team with a career-high 73 rushing yards on only eight attempts. The last Penn State quarterback to lead the team in rushing was Michael Robinson at Michigan State on Nov. 19, 2005. Robinson had 90 yards on 13 carries with one touchdown run against the Spartans.
- McSorley's 73 rushing yards were the most by a quarterback since Daryll Clark had 83 against Illinois in 2009.
- With 63 yards on the ground, sophomore RB Saquon Barkley moved into No. 28 on the career rushing charts. He passed Tom Donchez (1,422; 1971-74) and ended the game with 1,456 career yards on the ground.
- Barkley's overtime rushing score give him seven touchdowns on the ground, equaling his total from last season.
- Junior WR Chris Godwin caught four passes for 97 yards, giving him at least four catches in 16 of his last 19 games.
- Godwin extended his streak to 19 consecutive games with at least one catch and now has at least one grab in 30 of 31 career games.
- With four grabs, Godwin moved his career total to 117 catches. That total moves him into a tie for No. 9 on the career receptions list with Jack Curry (117, 1965-67).
- Godwin's 97 yards move his career total to 1,747 yards, pushing him into the No. 12 spot on the career receiving yards list, passing Tony Johnson (1,702; 2000-03) and Derrick Williams (1,743; 2005-08) in the game.
- Junior WR DaeSean Hamilton extended his streak to 31 straight games with a catch, the longest streak since Bobby Engram (1993-95) caught at least one pass in 36 straight games.
- Sophomore WR DeAndre Thompkins made a career-long 53-yard reception late in the first quarter.
- Redshirt freshman RB Andre Robinson made his first career catch on a shovel pass for a 2-yard gain in the second quarter.
- Redshirt freshman WR Irvin Charles made his first career catch, an 80-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.
- Charles is the first Penn State wide receiver to catch a touchdown for his first career reception since Justin King had a 59-yard scoring grab on his first reception. King's pass came from Michael Robinson vs. Cincinnati in 2005.
- Charles joins RB duo Saquon Barkley and Mark Allen as current Penn Staters with a touchdown on their first career reception.
- Charles' catch is the longest for a Penn State player since Derek Moye's 80 yarder from Rob Bolden vs. Illinois on Oct. 9, 2010.
- Junior TE Mike Gesicki caught a career-long 53 yard pass from McSorley to set up Penn State's second touchdown of the game in the third quarter.
- Gesicki tied his career best with five receptions. He also had five grabs last weekend at Michigan.
DEFENSE
- Junior S Marcus Allen made a career-high 22 stops in the game, the most by a Penn State player since Paul Posluszny made 22 stops at Northwestern in 2005.
- The 22 stops are tied with Posluszny and Ron Crosby (vs. Ohio, 1974) for No. 4 on the all-time single game tackles list.
- Allen's 22 tackles are the most by a Big Ten player since Wisconsin's Mike Taylor had 22 stops at Ohio State on Oct. 29, 2011.
- Entering today, only one FBS player had reached the 20-tackle mark in a game - Rodney Butler of New Mexico State made 24 stops (4 solo, 20 assisted) against New Mexico on Sept. 10.
- Junior S Troy Apke made a career-high six tackles. Apke had five stops on two previous occasions, most recently vs. Michigan State in the 2015 regular season finale.
- Sophomore LB Koa Farmer equaled his career high from last weekend with three tackles.
- Farmer posted his first career tackle-for-loss, combining with DE Shareef Miller on a second quarter stop behind the line of scrimmage.
- Junior CB Jordan Smith collected his first career interception in the third quarter to end a Minnesota scoring threat.
- Smith's interception marked the first time Minnesota did not convert in the red zone in 2016.
- Smith also recorded a career-high four tackles and added a career-best two pass breakups.
- Sophomore LB Manny Bowen had a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss, besting his previous mark of 1.0 on three occasions.
- Bowen also tied his personal mark with seven stops, equaling the total from last week's Michigan game.
- Junior CB Grant Haley, who returned after missing 2.5 games, tied his career high with seven tackles. He also had seven stops against Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
SPECIAL TEAMS
- Junior PK Tyler Davis converted three field goals on the day, moving his consecutive field goals streak to 17, breaking the school record for consecutive field goals made. The mark was previously held by Sam Ficken, who made 15 straight field goals between the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
- Davis set a career best with 11 points scored and tied a career high with three field goal attempts, converting kicks of 19, 27 and 40 yards on the day.
- Freshman P Blake Gillikin tied his career high with six punts (third time) and placed one punt inside the Minnesota 20.
- Gillikin hit a long punt of 56 yards, his fifth punt of the season over 50 yards.
- Sophomore PK Joey Julius had three touchbacks on six kicks, which give him 19 total on the season and tie his career best total from 2015.