- OPENING KICK: No. 15/14 Penn State will play its first night game of the season when it hosts Buffalo Saturday night. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. on FOX.
- BIG START: Penn State opened its 133rd season football with a 79-7 rout of Idaho for its largest season-opening win since 1926 (Susquehanna, 82-0) and its largest home-opening win since 1991 (Cincinnati, 81-0). The 79 points scored were tied with Maryland (79-0 win over Howard) for the most scored in FBS in Week 1.
- YOUNG RUNNERS ROLL: Penn State scored seven rushing touchdowns in its opener, tied for the most in the nation with Air Force and UNLV. Five different Nittany Lion rushers found the end zone in the same game for the first time since 1999.
- BEHIND ENEMY LINES: Looking to post its fifth-consecutive 40-plus sack season, Penn State got off to a strong start with seven sacks against Idaho. The Nittany Lions also totaled 11 tackles for loss, limiting the Vandals to just five first downs and 4 yards rushing. Yetur Gross-Matos led the Lions in the game with 2.5 sacks.
- RETURN OF THE BULLS: Buffalo returns to Penn State for the first time since a 27-14 win for the Nittany Lions in 2015, which also took place in Week 2. Penn State fifth-year senior CB John Reid is the only member of either team to have played in that game. It was his first game in Beaver Stadium.
- THE OPPOSITION: Buffalo is coming off a 10-4 2018 season that included appearances in the MAC Championship game and Dollar General Bowl. The Bulls had a season-opening win over Robert Morris last week. Running back Jaret Patterson, the reigning MAC Freshman of the Year and a member of this year's Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award watch lists, rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries to lead a ground game that totaled 285 yards.
HEAD COACH LANCE LEIPOLD
- Lance Leipold is in his fifth season as head coach of the Buffalo football team.
- Leipold led the Bulls to a school-record 10-win campaign in 2018. The 10 wins, included a program-best 7-1 record in the Mid-American Conference, a MAC East Division title and the school's second trip to the MAC Championship game.
- Leipold arrived at UB from Wisconsin-Whitewater where he compiled a 109-6 record and won six Division III National Championships over his eight seasons. A six-time National Coach of the Year, Leipold reached 100 career victories faster than any other coach in NCAA history – at any level.
PENN STATE-BUFFALO CONNECTIONS
- Penn State junior OL C.J. Thorpe played with Buffalo sophomore LB Tim Terry Jr. at Central Catholic in Pittsburgh, winning district and state titles as juniors.
- Penn State junior WR Cam Sullivan-Brown played with Buffalo junior LB Justin Mulbah, junior CB Dylan Powell, sophomore LB James Patterson, sophomore RB Jaret Patterson and freshman WR Jelani Foster at Saint Vincent Pallotti in Maryland.
- Penn State sophomore K Rafael Checa played with Buffalo freshman RB Ron Cook Jr. at St. John's College High School in Washington. D.C., winning the 2017 WCAC Championship, the school's first football conference championship in more than 30 years.
- Penn State redshirt freshman DT Aeneas Hawkins played with Buffalo sophomore OL Jacob Gall at Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati.
- Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover and Buffalo quarterbacks/co-offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski coached together at Minnesota from 2011-15, leading the team to three consecutive bowl games. Limegrover was the offensive coordinator and Zebrowski was the quarterbacks coach.
- Penn State defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brent Pry is a Buffalo alum. He played defensive back for the Bulls and served as a student coach in 1992 after a career ending injury. He graduated in 1993 with a degree in history.
- Buffalo offensive line graduate assistant Wendy Laurent is a Penn State letterman. He was an offensive lineman for the Nittany Lions from 2012-16.
BULLS ON THE RISE
- Buffalo won a team-record 10 games last season, earned their second trip to the MAC Championship game and reached their third bowl game.
- Buffalo also earned its first win over a Power Five and a Big Ten opponent when it routed Rutgers in Piscataway, 42-13.
PENN STATE VS. MAC
- Penn State owns a 26-3 mark against the 2019 football alignment of the Mid-American Conference.
- The Nittany Lions have played 10 of the 13 members of the MAC, playing their first MAC opponent, Buffalo, on Nov. 29, 1900. The Lions lost, 10-0, that day on the road.
- Penn State has won seven consecutive games against MAC opponents.
- PSU has played a MAC school every year since 2009.
- Upcoming games against MAC opponents include: Ball State (Sept. 11, 2021), Ohio (Sept. 10, 2022), Central Michigan (Sept. 24, 2022) and Bowling Green (Sept. 7, 2024).
- Buffalo is the lone MAC opponent Penn State faces this season.
| MAC Opponent | Record | 1st Meeting | Last Meeting |
| Akron | 6-0 | 1999 | 2017 |
| Ball State | -- | ||
| Bowling Green | 2-0 | 1987 | 1998 |
| Buffalo | 2-1 | 1900 | 2015 |
| Central Michigan | 1-0 | 2005 | 2005 |
| Eastern Michigan | 3-0 | 1992 | 2013 |
| Kent State | 6-0 | 1965 | 2018 |
| Miami (Ohio) | -- | ||
| Northern Illinois | 1-0 | 1996 | 1996 |
| Ohio | 5-1 | 1967 | 2012 |
| Toledo | 0-1 | 2000 | 2000 |
| Western Michigan | -- |
TAKING ON THE NEIGHBORS
- For the sixth consecutive year, Penn State is playing at least four FBS teams that are within a 250-mile drive (based on Google Maps from stadium to stadium).
- The Nittany Lions have won their last 11 consecutive against their neighbors.
- The only nearby FBS team Penn State has not played since 2012 is West Virginia, but the Mountaineers are on the Nittany Lions' schedule in 2023 and 2024.
- Since joining the Big Ten in 1993, Penn State is 47-4 against FBS teams within 250 miles.
- All-time, Penn State is 293-111-17 against its current FBS regional foes.
PENN STATE VS. NEW YORK TEAMS
- Penn State owns a 79-39-9 record against teams from the Empire State.
- The Nittany Lions last faced New York teams in 2015 when they hosted both Buffalo and Army.
| NY Opponent | Record | 1st Meeting | Last Meeting |
| Army | 14-10-2 | 1899 | 2015 |
| Buffalo | 2-1 | 1900 | 2015 |
| Colgate | 9-4-1 | 1911 | 1980 |
| Fordham | 3-0 | 1946 | 1943 |
| New York U. | 2-1-1 | 1927 | 1941 |
| Niagara | 2-0 | 1929 | 1930 |
| St. Bonaventure | 4-0 | 1910 | 1922 |
| Syracuse | 43-23-5 | 1922 | 2013 |
BARKLEY'S BREAKOUT
- In Penn State's game against Buffalo in 2015, former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley had his first of 15 career 100-yard rushing games, first of 43 career rushing touchdowns and first of many hurdles over surprised defenders.
- It was Barkley's second career game after receiving one carry for 1 yard at Temple the week prior, and it was his first game playing in front of the home faithful in Beaver Stadium.
- Barkley is now entering his second season in the NFL after winning NFL Rookie of the Year last season.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
- Penn State has won eight consecutive games over non-conference opponents during the regular season, dating back to a win over Temple in 2016.
- Under James Franklin (since 2014), Penn State is 16-2 against non-conference opposition during the regular season and 18-5 when including bowl games.
LIONS UNDER THE LIGHTS
- The 2019 season marks the 19th straight with at least one regular-season night game on the schedule and the 11th since 2000 with multiple night games in the same season.
- Penn State currently has two night games on the schedule this season: Sept. 7 vs. Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, Sept. 27 at Maryland for a Friday night kick at 8 p.m. Game times for the final seven games of the regular season have not been announced.
- Penn State's only losses in its last 11 night games are both to Ohio State.
- Penn State is 51-31 at night all-time. The figure breaks down to 14-10 at home, 25-14 on the road and 12-7 in neutral site games. Penn State is 1-1 at regular season neutral sites, 11-6 in bowl games and 1-0 in conference championship games.
- On Oct. 12, 2013, the Lions claimed the longest game in Big Ten history when they edged Michigan under the lights, 43-40, in four overtimes in front of a sellout Beaver Stadium crowd of 107,844 on Homecoming.
1994 TEAM TO BE RECOGNIZED
- The 1994 Penn State football team will be honored at halftime for the 25th anniversary of its undefeated season, Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl win.
- The '94 squad was the first to go 12-0 in the Big Ten era, and it returned the Nittany Lions to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1923 with its first Big Ten Championship.
- RB Ki-Jana Carter was the Heisman Trophy runner-up, and he was one of five Penn State All-Americans that year, joining TE Kyle Brady, QB Kerry Collins, WR Bobby Engram and G Jeff Hartings.
STREAKING
- Sophomore WR KJ Hamler has a reception in all 14 games of his career.
- Sophomore TE Pat Freiermuth has a reception in his last 13 games.
- Junior K Jordan Stout has earned a touchback on each of his last 11 kickoffs.
- Penn State has won eight consecutive games over non-conference opponents during the regular season, dating back to a win over Temple in 2016.
- Penn State has won its last 10 games against Big Ten West Division opponents, dating back to an overtime win over Minnesota on Oct. 1, 2016.
MILESTONE WATCH
- KJ Hamler is 424 yards shy of 2,000 all-purpose yards.
- ... 131 yards shy of 1,000 career receiving yards.
- ... 477 yards shy of 1,000 career kickoff return yards.
- Pat Freiermuth is 132 yards shy of 500 career receiving yards.
- Ricky Slade is 218 yards shy of 500 career rushing yards.
- Jahan Dotson is 284 yards shy of 500 career receiving yards.
- John Reid is nine tackles shy of 100 career tackles.
- Jan Johnson is 12 tackles shy of 100 career tackles.
- Garrett Taylor is 14 tackles shy of 100 career tackles.
- Micah Parsons is 16 tackles shy of 100 career tackles.
- Robert Windsor is 18 tackles shy of 100 career tackles.
- Yetur Gross-Matos is 26 tackles shy of 100 career tackles.
- ... 0.5 tackle shy of 25 career tackles for loss.
MILESTONES ACHIEVED
- KJ Hamler surpassed 1,500 all-purpose yards with a 159-yard effort in the season opener against Idaho.
PILING UP THE POINTS
- Penn State had a high-scoring season-opener, scoring 79 points for its highest single-game total since an 81-0 win over Cincinnati in the 1991 home opener.
- Penn State's 44 points in the first half were its most in an opening half since scoring 56 at Illinois in 2005.
- The 72-point margin of victory is tied for the 10th-biggest in Penn State history and is the largest since the 1991 Cincinnati game (81).
- The 79 points are the second-most scored since 1921 and are tied for the sixth-most in program history.
- The last time Penn State scored at least 70 points was a 70-24 win over Akron in 1999.
- Penn State has scored at least 50 points eight times since 2016.
- Penn State scored 40 points 16 times since 2016. By comparison, from 2008 until 2016, the Nittany Lions had 18 40-point outings.
- Penn State has scored 30 or more points 25 times in the last 33 games.
- Penn State has scored 20 or more points in 34 of its last 36 games.
GROUND GAME ROLLS
- Seven different Nittany Lion rushers combined for 331 rushing yards against Idaho, ranking Penn State ninth in FBS during the opening week.
- The 331 yards on the ground were Penn State's most since rushing for 387 yards at Illinois last season.
- Five Nittany Lion running backs: Journey Brown (2), Noah Cain (2), Devyn Ford (1), Ricky Slade (1) and Nick Eury (1) combined for seven rushing touchdowns
- The last time five different Nittany Lion rushers scored at least one touchdown in the same game was a 70-24 win over Akron in 1999: Omar Easy, Eric McCoo, Mike Cerimele (2 TD), Rashard Casey (QB), Mick Blosser.
- The last time five different Nittany Lion running backs scored at least one touchdown in the same game was a 42-3 win over Syracuse in 1986: Blair Thomas, Tim Manoa (2 TD), D.J. Dozier, Odell Wilson, Steve Smith.
- Penn State's seven rushing touchdowns were its most since doing the same against Coastal Carolina in 2008.
- Brown, a sophomore, earned his first multi-touchdown game of his career. His first touchdown of the day came on a career-long 23-yard run. His five carries tied a career high and his 38 yards set a career high.
- Cain, a true freshman making his debut, led the Lions with nine carries, and he finished with 44 yards in addition to his two scores.
- Ford rushed for a game-high 107 yards on six carries, averaging 17.8 yards per attempt in his debut.
- Ford became the first Nittany Lion freshman to run for more than 100 yards in a game since Saquon Barkley rushed for 103 yards against Michigan State on November 18, 2015.
- Ford is the first Penn State freshman to run for 100 yards in a season opener since Curt Warner rushed for 100 yards on 12 carries against Rutgers on Sept. 15, 1979.
- Ford scored on an 81-yard run in the second quarter. It was his first career touchdown and Penn State's longest rushing touchdown since Saquon Barkley's 92-yard run in the Fiesta Bowl vs. Washington in 2017.
- Slade, a sophomore scored his seventh career rushing touchdown.
- Eury, a junior, had career highs of six carries for 44 yards and scored his first career touchdown on Penn State's final drive of the game. He previously had one career rush for 4 yards against Georgia State in 2017.
GREEN LIGHT IN THE RED ZONE
- Dating back to 2017, Penn State has scored on 86 of its last 91 red zone trips, including 69 touchdowns.
- Penn State opened 2019 by going 8-for-8 in the red zone against Idaho with six touchdowns.
- Last season, the Nittany Lions were 52-for-58 (44 TD, 9 FG, 3 missed FG, 2 turnovers, 1 kneel down) in the red zone.
- In 2018, Penn State ranked 16th in FBS and third in the Big Ten with a 89.7 percent success rate in the red zone.
MOVING THE BALL
- Penn State had 673 yards of total offense against Idaho, which was the most since totaling 689 at Minnesota in 1994 and the third most for the Nittany Lions since 1947. In FBS, the total ranked fourth for the week.
- The Nittany Lions' 406 yards of offense in the first half were their most in the first half since notching 439 yards vs. Nebraska in 2017.
- Penn State's 35 first downs in the game were its most since posting the same against Minnesota in 2005 and the fourth-most in FBS during the week.
NEW SIGNAL CALLER
- Playing for just slightly more than one half, QB Sean Clifford threw for 280 yards in his first career start, earning his first career 200-yard game.
- Clifford connected with KJ Hamler on two touchdown passes, 36- and 21-yard scores, for his first multi-touchdown game.
- Clifford completed 14-of-23 passes, including seven completions of more than 20 yards.
- Clifford averaged 20.0 yards per completion to rank second in FBS for the week, trailing only UTEP's Brandon Jones (26.8 ypc).
- Clifford averaged 12.17 yards per pass attempt to rank third in FBS for the week, trailing only Western Michigan's Jan Wassink (14.72 ypa) and Jones (13.40 ypa).
- The sophomore added 57 rushing yards on seven carries with a long run of 25 yards, establishing career highs in all three categories.
- Clifford's passing and rushing efforts gave him 337 yards of total offense for the 23rd highest figure in FBS this weekend.
- See National Nits on Page 9
NEW SIGNAL CALLER NO. 2
- Redshirt freshman QB Will Levis threw for 62 yards in his Penn State debut, completing 11-of-14 passes after entering early in the second half against Idaho.
- Levis connected with true freshman TE Brenton Strange on a 4-yard touchdown pass for his first career touchdown pass.
- Levis also rushed for 21 yards on five attempts with a long run of 12 yards.
CAUSING CHAOS BEHIND THE LINE
- Penn State opened the 2019 season atop the sacks and tackles for loss national rankings, ranking fourth with seven sacks and eighth with 11 tackles for loss.
- See National Nits on Page 9
- Penn State's 11.0 tackles for loss were the most since recording 15.0 vs. Maryland last year.
- Penn State's 7.0 sacks were the most since notching 7.0 vs. Kent State last season.
- DE Yetur Gross-Matos notched a career-best 2.5 sacks to lead FBS for the week. His previous best was 2.0 on two occasions, last vs. Iowa last year.
- In 2018, Penn State led the country in sacks per game (3.62) and ranked fourth and led the Big Ten in tackles for loss (8.2) per game.
- Penn State's 3.37 sacks per game over the last five years (2015-19) are the most in FBS, leading Clemson (3.33).
- Penn State's 182 sacks over the last five years (2015-19 are second only to Clemson (200) and Alabama (193), the lone winners of the last four National Championships.
- Penn State has posted four consecutive 40-plus sack seasons for the first time in program history after totaling 47 last season, 42 in 2017, 40 in 2016 and 46 in 2015.
NOT GIVING GROUND
- The Nittany Lion defense held Idaho to just 4 rushing yards, the fewest since allowing 3 yards to UMass in 2014 and the second-fewest under James Franklin.
- Penn State gave up just 145 yards of total offense to Idaho, which are the fewest since allowing 87 yards to Rutgers in 2016 and the second-lowest total under Franklin.
- It was the fifth time under Franklin the Nittany Lions have given up less than 200 yards of total offense.
REID HASSLES QB IN OPENER
- CB John Reid tallied the first full sack of his career, as he forced an intentional grounding penalty in the opening stanza. He previously had a half-sack against Kent State in 2016.
- Reid then grabbed the sixth interception of his career early in the third quarter, and his first since last year at Rutgers.
LIMITED ACCESS
- Penn State has held six of its last seven regular season non-conference opponents to 14 points or less, dating back to 2017.
- Penn State's 20.5 points allowed per game in 2018 ranked 23rd in FBS and fourth in the Big Ten. Last season, Penn State led the Big Ten and ranked 11th in FBS in red zone defense, only yielding scores on 75.0 percent of opponents' trips inside the 20.
PINEGAR MATCHES EXTRA POINT RECORD
- K Jake Pinegar connected on all 10 extra point attempts against Idaho, which tied the Penn State record for extra points made and extra point attempts in a game. He equaled the mark set by Charles Atherton vs. Gettysburg in 1894 and Travis Forney vs. Akron in 1999.
- He also tied the program record for extra point percentage (min. 10 attempts) with Atherton and Forney.
- Pinegar now has 63 career extra points. He is tied with Chris Bahr (1973-75) for 13th all-time in program history.
STOUT LEG
- Junior transfer K Jordan Stout impacted the season opener with several booming kicks.
- Stout's 53-yard field goal in the first quarter is tied for sixth-longest in Penn State history with Kevin Kelly (vs. Iowa, 2007) and Massimo Manca (vs. Notre Dame, 1985).
- Stout's 53-yard field goal was the longest since Sam Ficken had a 54-yard field goal vs. Kent State in 2013 and the first 50-plus-yard field goal since Ficken converted a 50-yard kick vs. Temple in 2014.
- Stout booted 12 touchbacks on kickoffs, which is the most at Penn State since the kickoff spot moved to the 35-yard line in 2011.
- Stout was the only kicker to post double-digit touchbacks in FBS' opening week.
- Idaho was unable to return any of Stout's 13 kickoffs, as the lone kick to not go for a touchback was fair caught at the 2-yard line.
PENN STATE UNRIVALED PODCAST & POSTGAME SHOW
- Penn State continues to give fans exclusive access with the introduction of a weekly podcast and a postgame show.
- Penn State's Mitch Gerber is hosting "Unrivaled: The official podcast of Penn State Football," which is a medium dedicated to providing fans with exclusive interviews focused on stories outside of football and an all-access look into one of the nation's premier college programs.
- New episodes will be available weekly on GoPSUsports.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts and TuneIn with others to come.
- Former Penn State and NFL quarterback Matt McGloin will join Gerber as a co-host on "Unrivaled: The Official Postgame Show of Penn State Football," which will be available following home games on Facebook Live and LionVision on GoPSUsports.com.
- Gerber and McGloin with speak with head coach James Franklin and select players to breakdown the game.