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POSTGAME NOTES: Penn State vs. Maryland

TEAM

  • Penn State is now 39-2-1 against Maryland, including 23-1 at home.
  • Penn State had 565 total yards on the day, the third time this season the Nittany Lions surpassed the 500-yard mark of total offense. The 565 yards are the seventh-most under James Franklin and the most since 591 yards against Illinois.
  • Penn State has held it last three opponents (Wisconsin, 269; Rutgers, 234; Maryland, 259) to less than 300 yards of total offense. The last time the Nittany Lions held three consecutive opponents to less than 300 yards was in 2015 (Buffalo, 274; Rutgers, 294; San Diego State, 242; Army, 294; Indiana, 234).
  • Penn State rushed for 310 yards, the sixth-most in a game under James Franklin.  It is PSU's second-most rushing yards this season behind 387 against Illinois.
  • The Nittany Lions collected 28 first downs, tying the fourth-most in a game under James Franklin.  PSU also had 28 against Maryland in 2016 and 2017.  The 28 first downs are the second-most this season behind 31 against Illinois.
  • Penn State recorded five sacks to up its season total to 43 sacks. This marks the fourth-straight season Penn State has registered at least 40 sacks, the first such streak for the Nittany Lions since team sacks were recorded in 1988.
  • The Nittany Lions recorded 15 tackles for loss, the fourth game this season that Penn State has had at least 10 TFL. It is the second-highest TFL total for Penn State this year, trailing only the 16 the Nittany Lions had against Kent State.
  • Penn State's 15 tackles for loss are the most in the Big Ten game since registering 15 stops behind the line against Michigan in 2007.
  • The 15 TFL mark the fifth game with 15 or more TFL since 2000. This was also the first time since 2000 Penn State has had two games with 15 or more TFL.
  • Penn State has not allowed a touchdown by Maryland since the second quarter in 2016, a streak of 10 straight quarters.  The Nittany Lions have allowed two Maryland field goals during that stretch.
  • OL Mike Miranda made his first career start today, the 19th different Nittany Lion to make their first start this season.
  • In a pre-game Senior Day ceremony, the Nittany Lions honored 21 players: Mark Allen, Joe Arcangelo, Torrence Brown, Ryan Buchholz, Jake Cooper, Frank Di Leo, Donnell Dix, Koa Farmer, Sterling Jenkins, Trace McSorley, Amani Oruwariye, Nick Scott, Tyler Shoop, Charlie Shuman, Zach Simpson, Johnathan Thomas, DeAndre Thompkins, Kyle Vasey, Jason Vranic, Christopher Welde and Chasz Wright.

 
 
OFFENSE
 
Trace McSorley

  • QB Trace McSorley had two rushing touchdowns, giving him 29 for his career, which ties him for sixth place in the Penn State record books with John Cappelletti, Richie Anderson and Evan Royster.
  • With his 12 completions, McSorley set the career completion mark at Penn State with 703. He passed Christian Hackenberg, who had 693 completions from 2013-15.
  • McSorley now has five games in his career with two or more rushing touchdowns with the last occurrence coming earlier this season against Indiana.
  • McSorley recorded the 21st game of his career with both a rushing and passing touchdown. He last did it against Iowa earlier this season.
  • McSorley's 230 yards passing to give him 9,653 in his career, which moves him into ninth place in the Big Ten record book. He passed J.T. Barrett of Ohio State (2014-17) today.
  • With a 5-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth, McSorley threw his 75th career touchdown.  He moved into sole possession of fourth in Big Ten history, breaking a tie with Iowa's Chuck Long.
  • McSorley had three touchdowns responsible for against the Terps, raising his career total to 104, which is two scores behind Purdue's Drew Brees on the Big Ten's all-time list.
  • McSorley has thrown for 2,284 yards and rushed for 723 yards this season, joining Michael Robinson (2005; 2,350 passing, 806 rushing) as the only PSU quarterbacks with 2,000 passing and 700 rushing yards in the same season.
  • McSorley is one of five players in FBS this season to have 2,000 passing yards and 700 rushing yards, joining Oklahoma's Kyler Murray, Virginia's Bryce Perkins, Ohio University's Nathan Rourke and Syracuse's Eric Dungy.
  • McSorley now has 1,622 career rushing yards, 15 behind Robinson for the career QB rushing record at Penn State. 

 
Miles Sanders

  • RB Miles Sanders ran for 128 yards, giving him his fifth career 100-yard rushing game. He last had a 100-yard rushing game against Wisconsin earlier this season.
  • Sanders now has 1,223 rushing yards on the season, moving him into 14th place for a single season in the Penn State annals. He passed Curtis Enis (1996), Evan Royster (2009) and John Cappelletti (1972) against the Terps.
  • He now has 1,598 career rushing yards, moving into 27th all-time at Penn State. On the day, Sanders passed Bob Campbell (1,480; 1966-68), Roger Kochman (1,485; 1959-62) and Fran Rogel (1,496; 1947-49).

 
Ricky Slade

  • RB Ricky Slade had his first career reception in the first quarter, a 12-yard catch.
  • Slade set a career high with 11 rushes. His previous best was 10 at Illinois earlier this season.
  • Slade had two rushing touchdowns, scoring on 1-yard and 8-yard runs, tying his career high set at Illinois. He has six rushing touchdowns this year.

 
Pat Freiermuth

  • TE Pat Freiermuth had a catch in the fourth quarter, extending his streak to 11 consecutive games with a reception.
  • Freiermuth made a 5-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter, his seventh touchdown catch of the season.
  • The freshman made a 22-yard catch in the fourth quarter, his seventh catch this season over 20 yards.

 
KJ Hamler

  • WR KJ Hamler had a catch on the first offensive play of the game for Penn State, which extended his streak to all 12 games of his career with at least one catch.
  • Hamler hauled in a 34-yard reception on the opening drive. He added a 38-yard reception, on a lateral from DeAndre Thompkins in the second quarter, and a 20-yard reception in the fourth.  Hamler now has 14 receptions this season over 20 yards, including six catches over 30 yards.

 
Tommy Stevens

  • With 35 rushing yards, QB Tommy Stevens passed the 500-yard rushing mark. He is the eighth PSU quarterback with over 500 rushing yards in his career.

 
Journey Brown

  • RB Journey Brown had a career-high 17 rushing yards, bettering 10 yards against Illinois.
  • Brown also established a career best with three carries. He had two against Illinois.

 
Joe Arcangelo

  • TE Joe Arcangelo grabbed his first career catch, a 5-yard reception, late in the fourth quarter.

 
DeAndre Thompkins

  • With 36 receiving yards, WR DeAndre Thompkins now has 1,171 yards for his career, moving into 24th all-time at Penn State. He passed Andrew Quarless (1,146; 2006-09) for 24th.

 
 
DEFENSE
 
Yetur Gross-Matos

  • DE Yetur Gross-Matos had 3.5 tackles for loss, marking the eighth-straight game he had a TFL.
  • Gross-Matos has a total of 20 TFL this season, marking the 12th time a Nittany Lion has had at least 20 TFL in a season (11 different players).
  • He is the first Penn State player to have 20 TFL in a season since Aaron Maybin had 20 in 2008.
  • He is tied for the eighth-most in a season with Bruce Clark (1978), Todd Atkins (1994), LaVar Arrington (1999) and Aaron Maybin (2008).

 
Cam Brown

  • LB Cam Brown forced his third career forced fumble in the third quarter.
  • Brown matched a career high with a full sack. He also had a full sack against Kent State.

 
Tariq Castro-Fields

  • CB Tariq Castro-Fields recorded a career high 1.5 tackles for loss.  He had four previous occasions with 1.0 tackles for loss with the last coming at Indiana.

 
Kevin Givens

  • DT Kevin Givens set a career high with 2.0 sacks.  He had a full sack in seven previous games with the last coming against Michigan State.
  • Givens tied a career best with 2.0 tackles for loss, matching his performance at Pittsburgh.

 
Shareef Miller

  • DE Shareef Miller registered a full tackle for loss, his eighth game this season with 1.0 or more tackles for loss.

 
Ayron Monroe

  • S Ayron Monroe had the first full sack of his career. He had recorded a 0.5 sack in 2017 against Rutgers.

 
Amani Oruwariye

  • CB Amani Oruwariye matched a career best with a full tackle for loss.  He also had a full tackle for loss against Kent State.

 
Shaka Toney

  • DE Shaka Toney broke up a pass in the third quarter, his second career pass breakup. Toney had one against Michigan State.

 
Robert Windsor

  • DT Robert Windsor recorded a full sack in the first quarter. It marked Windsor's seventh game this year with at least a full tackle for loss.

 
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
Jake Pinegar

  • K Jake Pinegar made his first career tackle on a kick return in the third quarter.
  • Pinegar hit a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, improving to 6-6 this season on attempts inside of 29 yards.
  • Pinegar had three kickoffs, his first career kickoffs, averaging 61.3 yards per kickoff.

 
Blake Gillikin

  • P Blake Gillikin landed one punt inside the 20, giving him 66 for his career.