- OPENING KICK: No. 9/11 Penn State looks to extend its home winning streak and honor Servicemembers as it hosts No. 24/25 Indiana in its annual Military Appreciation game Saturday in Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon on ABC.
- TOUGH COMPETITION: Indiana is Penn State's fourth opponent in the last five games to be ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The last time Penn State played as many ranked opponents in a five-game stretch was 2003. It will be Penn State's first game against a ranked Hoosiers team.
- HOME SWEET HOME: Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium for the first time in almost a month, as it last played there on Oct. 19, earning a win over then-No. 16 Michigan before more than 110,000 white-clad fans. Since then, the Nittany Lions had a pair of road games split by a bye week. They have won their last seven at home dating back to last season.
- PILING UP THE YARDS: Penn State QB Sean Clifford and WR KJ Hamler both rank among Big Ten leaders in yardage. Clifford leads the conference with 2,271 passing yards, 252.3 passing yards per game and 287.8 yards of total offense per game. Hamler ranks fourth in all-purpose yardage per game (129.9), receiving yards (739) and receiving yards per game (82.1).
- THIS DEFENSE: Penn State (12.0 ppg) ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense and 13th in total defense (300.0 ypg), led by a stingy rushing defense allowing just 74.2 yards per game (3rd FBS) and an FBS-best 2.12 yards per rush. Penn State has 31 sacks through nine games to average 3.44 sacks per game (9th in FBS). The Nittany Lions also rank 10th in the country with 8.1 tackles for loss per game.
- THE OPPOSITION: At 7-2 overall Indiana is off to its best start since 1993. The Hoosiers were off last weekend, but entered both major polls this week, getting a nod in the AP poll for the first time since Sept. 20, 1994 and the Amway Coaches Poll for the first time since Oct. 24, 1994.
HEAD COACH TOM ALLEN
- Tom Allen was named Indiana University's 29th head football coach on Dec. 1, 2016. He made his head coaching debut in the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl.
- Allen joined Indiana as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator prior to the 2016 season.
- He was a nominee for the 2016 Broyles Award, which honors college football's top assistant coach.
- A 26-year coaching veteran, Allen was the defensive coordinator at USF in 2015, the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Ole Miss (2012-14), the assistant head coach at Arkansas State (2011) and the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Drake University (2010).
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
- Indiana is 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play, and enters the Penn State game riding a four-game winning streak and following a bye week.
- The Hoosiers are ranked in AP and Coaches polls for the first time since 1994.
- Indiana is 0-2 against ranked opponents this season, dropping its first two Big Ten games of the year against then-No. 6 Ohio State and then-No. 25 Michigan State. Since then, it has tallied wins against Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska and Northwestern.
- The Hoosiers have scored at least 31 points in their last six consecutive games and in eight out of nine games on the year (held to 10 points against Ohio State).
- Indiana ranks seventh in FBS and second in the Big Ten in time of possession (34:06).
- Indiana is very complementary in the passing game, leading the Big Ten and ranking 15th in FBS with 308.0 yards per game on offense while ranking fourth in the Big Ten and ninth nationally allowing just 176.3 yards per game on defense.
- Indiana ranks second in total offense in the Big Ten with 446.4 yards per game.
- Quarterback Peyton Ramsey ranks fifth in FBS and second in the Big Ten with a 72.0 completion percentage, while wide receiver Whop Philyor is second in the Big Ten with 90.3 receiving yards per game.
SEATS FOR SERVICEMEMBERS
- Active duty, Guard and Reserve military, veterans, and Fallen and Gold Star families were able to apply online for complimentary tickets to the Penn State-Indiana game as part of the Seats for Servicemembers program at Penn State's Military Appreciation Week.
- In its eighth year, the program honors the commitment and sacrifices of veterans, families and loved ones by providing tickets at no cost to active and retired service members, as well as a complimentary pregame tailgate at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State supporters, alumni and business donations have graciously made this possible.
NITTANY LION FROM INDIANA
- WR Mac Hippenhammer - Fort Wayne/R. Nelson Snider
PENN STATE-INDIANA CONNECTIONS
- Penn State sophomore DT Aeneas Hawkins and Indiana redshirt freshman Shamar Jones are cousins.
- Penn State sophomore WR KJ Hamler, freshman RB Noah Cain and freshman CB Makai Self and Indiana freshman DL Antoine Whitner junior all attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Cain and Self played with Whitner.
- Penn State junior QB Sean Clifford and Indiana redshirt sophomore OL Dominic Altimari played together at St. Xavier in Cincinnati.
- Penn State sophomore CB Trent Gordon and Indiana junior OL Mackenzie Nworah and sophomore DL Alfred Bryant played together at Manvel High School in Texas.
- Penn State senior OL/DL Hunter Kelly, junior DT Fred Hansard and freshman OL Caedan Wallace and Indiana redshirt junior DB Gabe Cohen both attended The Hun School.
- Penn State sophomore DT Judge Culpepper and Indiana redshirt sophomore DB Juwan Burgess, redshirt sophomore LB Thomas Allen, junior WR Whop Philyor and Micah McFadden played together at H.B. Plant High School in Florida.
- Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover (2001-07) and Indiana associate head coach/offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kalen Debor (2010-13) both served as the offensive coordinators at Southern Illinois University.
WINNING WAYS
- Penn State is 39-10 over the past four seasons (2016-19), which is tied for the fifth-best record in FBS.
- Dating back to 2015, Penn State has won 29 of its last 32 home games.
- Penn State's 46 wins over the last five years (2015-19) rank 10th in FBS and third in the Big Ten (Ohio State, 57; Wisconsin, 49).
- Penn State's 135 wins over the last 15 years (2005-19) rank tied for 13th in FBS and third in the Big Ten (Ohio State, 167; Wisconsin, 147).
- Penn State clinched its 15th consecutive winning season. The Nittany Lions join Wisconsin, Oklahoma, LSU and Boise State as the only teams with a winning season each of the last 15 years.
- Over the last 14 seasons, Penn State has totaled at least nine wins in nine seasons, including the last three seasons.
- Head coach James Franklin has guided his teams to a winning record each of the last eight seasons (2 at Vanderbilt, 6 at Penn State).
- Since 2016, Franklin's 79.59 percent (39-10) winning percentage ranks third among current FBS coaches behind Clemson's Dabo Swinney 94.44 percent (50-3) and Alabama's Nick Saban 92.45 percent (49-3).
PENN STATE IN THE RANKINGS
- Penn State is ranked No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season.
- Penn State has been ranked in the last 15 CFP rankings, dating back to its first-ever appearance in the first poll of the 2016 season.
- Penn State's No. 4 CFP ranking is its best all-time in the current format, which was adopted in 2014.
- Penn State is ranked No. 9 by the AP and No. 11 in the Amway Coaches Poll.
- Penn State has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for the last 52 weeks, dating back to the 2016 season, for the third-longest streak in program history and longest streak since 1993-2000 when PSU was ranked for 121-straight weeks.
- Penn State's streak is the fifth-longest active streak in FBS.
- Penn State is one of six teams (Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Washington) to rank in the Top 15 of the CFP final rankings in each of the last three seasons (2016-18).
PSU ON ABC
- Penn State is appearing on ABC for its sixth time this season, fifth consecutive game and 186th time all-time, the most of any other network.
- Penn State is 109-76-1 all-time playing on ABC.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Noah Cain is one touchdown shy of tying the Penn State record for rushing TDs by a freshman (D.J. Dozier, 1983; Saquon Barkley, 2015).
- ... is 150 yards shy of 500 career rushing yards.
- KJ Hamler is 414 yards shy of 3,000 career all-purpose yards.
- ... is 165 yards shy of 1,000 career kickoff return yards.
- ... is 14 receptions shy of 100 career receptions.
- ... is 261 yards shy of 1,000 receiving yards this season.
- Ricky Slade is 124 yards shy of 500 career rushing yards.
- Journey Brown is 35 yards shy of 500 career rushing yards.
- Pat Freiermuth is 240 yards shy of 1,000 career receiving yards.
- Sean Clifford is 729 yards shy of 3,000 passing yards this season.
- ... is 218 yards shy of 3,000 career total offense yards.
- ... is seven touchdowns shy of 30 career passing TDs.
- ... is 534 yards shy of 3,000 career passing yards.
- Micah Parsons is 49 tackles shy of 200 career tackles.
- Yetur Gross-Matos is one tackle shy of 100 career tackles.
- ... is 5.0 sacks shy of 20 career sacks
- Shaka Toney is 4.5 tackles for loss shy of 25 career TFLs.
- ... is 5.5 sacks shy of 20 career sacks.
- Lamont Wade is seven tackles shy of 100 career tackles.
- Robert Windsor is 6.5 tackles for loss shy of 25 career TFLs.
- ... is 7.0 sacks shy of 20 career sacks.
- Tariq Castro-Fields is 20 tackles shy of 100 career tackles.
- Jake Pinegar is six extra points shy of 100 career XP made.
- ... is 37 points shy of 200 points scored.
- Blake Gillikin is 382 yards shy of 10,000 career punt yards.
PILING UP THE POINTS
- PSU ranks 17th in FBS and third in the Big Ten averaging 37.1 points per game.
- QB Sean Clifford ranks 19th in FBS and second in the Big Ten averaging 16.2 points responsible for per game.
- Penn State has scored 40 points 18 times since 2016. By comparison, from 2008 until 2015, the Nittany Lions had 18 40-point outings.
- Of the five games Penn State has scored less than 20 points in since 2016, Penn State has won two this season (Pitt & Iowa). Two of the games were losses at Michigan (2017 & 2018) and the other was a loss to Michigan State last season.
- 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. The 79 points are tied for the most in FBS this season with Maryland (79 vs. Howard).
GREEN LIGHT IN THE RED ZONE
- Dating back to 2017, Penn State has scored on 111 of its last 120 red zone trips, including 89 touchdowns.
- This season, Penn State is 33-for-37 in the red zone with 26 touchdowns.
- The non-scoring drives were the result of a missed field goal against Purdue, a decision to run out the clock to close out the Michigan State win and a pair of failed fourth down conversions at Minnesota.
- Penn State is eighth in red zone scoring over the last three years (2017-19) with a scoring rate of 89.61 percent.
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS
- Explosive plays have been a key part of Penn State's offense this season.
- Penn State ranks:
- 12th in FBS in 15-plus yard pass play percentage (62 plays, 21.91%).
- 14th in FBS with 1.45 percent of plays (9 plays) going for 50 yards or more.
- Accordingly, 71.21 percent (141-of-198) of PSU's first downs this season have come on first or second down.
PASSING YARDAGE
- QB Sean Clifford leads the Big Ten with 252.3 yards passing per game (27th in FBS) and 2,271 yards total (31st in FBS).
- Clifford's season passing yardage total of 2,271 ranks 16th on Penn State's list.
- With six 200-yard passing games this season, Clifford is tied for 10th in the category at Penn State.
- Clifford is the third Penn State quarterback to have three games with 250 or more passing yards and three or more passing touchdowns in a season, joining Trace McSorley (2017, 4 games) and Christian Hackenberg (2013, 3 games) as the only Lions to do so.
- Clifford threw for 398 yards at Maryland, ranking third in Penn State single-game history, behind Christian Hackenberg (454; vs. UCF, 2014) and Zack Mills (299, vs. Iowa, 2002).
- Clifford threw for 340 yards at Minnesota, ranking tied for 15th in Penn State single-game history with Christian Hackenberg (Indiana, 2013).
FOUR TOUCHDOWN CLUB
- QB Sean Clifford became the 16th different Penn State quarterback with at least four touchdown passes in a game against Buffalo. He accomplished the feat again at Michigan State.
- Clifford's four-touchdown performance at Michigan State was Penn State's 18th by a quarterback since 2000.
- Clifford is the fifth quarterback in program history to have multiple games with four or more passing touchdowns.
RECORD PASSING TD PACE
- QB Sean Clifford is the first Penn State quarterback to throw 21 touchdown passes in the first nine games of a season.
- Clifford's 21 touchdown passes rank 18th in FBS and second in the Big Ten.
- Clifford has already surpassed Trace McSorley's 2018 season (18 TD passes) and currently ranks in a tie for sixth place with Tony Sacca (1991) and Kerry Collins (1994) on Penn State's single-season ledger.
- Clifford needs eight more passing touchdowns this season to equal the single-season record of 29 set by McSorley in 2016.
- If Clifford reaches 25 passing touchdowns this season, the three highest single-season passing touchdowns totals in Penn State history will have come in the last four seasons.
- Clifford's season passing touchdown percentage of 8.10 currently ranks first all-time at Penn State.
- Clifford's 23 career touchdown passes rank tied for 14th in Penn State history with Michael Robinson (2002-05).
- Clifford's career passing touchdown percentage of 8.64 currently ranks second all-time at Penn State.
- Clifford has five games of three or more touchdown passes this season.
- Clifford has six multi-touchdown pass games this season.
- Clifford has thrown three touchdowns in a half four times this year: 2nd half vs. Buffalo, 1st half vs. Maryland, 1st half vs. Purdue, 1st half vs. Michigan State.
- Clifford has five multi-touchdown pass quarters this year: 2nd quarter vs. Idaho; 3rd quarter vs. Buffalo; 2nd quarter vs. Maryland; 1st quarter vs. Purdue; 2nd quarter vs. Michigan State.
- Clifford became the first Penn State quarterback to open a season with six touchdown passes in the first two games since Daryll Clark did the same in 2009.
LOW SCORING
- Penn State is fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 12.0 points per game.
- Penn State's 108 points allowed in the first nine games is its fewest since allowing 84 points in the first nine of 2009.
- Penn State has held 11 of its last 13 opponents to 21 points or less, and 10 of those to 13 points or less.
- The Nittany Lions shut out Michigan State in the first half, marking the third time this year Penn State put up zeroes in the opening half this season (Idaho and Maryland).
- The Nittany Lions are second in FBS in fourth-quarter points allowed (2.50) and are third in FBS in second-half points allowed (4.63) this season.
- According to Elias Sports Bureau, Penn State was the first FBS team to allow no more than 13 points in each of its first six games of a season since Louisville in 2013.
- Since 2000, the only other team besides Penn State (2019) and Louisville (2013) to allow no more than 13 points in each of its first six games was Wisconsin (2004). Penn State was a victim of Wisconsin's streak, taking a 16-3 loss in its Big Ten opener that year.
- The 19 points allowed by Penn State in its first three Big Ten games this season (0 at Maryland, 7 vs. Purdue, 12 at Iowa) are the fewest allowed in a three-game stretch of Big Ten games in a single season since joining the conference in 1993. The previous low was allowing 20 in three straight games on two occasions (last in 2018).
- The seven points allowed by Penn State in its first two Big Ten games this season (0 at Maryland, 7 vs. Purdue) were the fewest allowed in a two-game stretch of Big Ten games in a single season since joining the conference in 1993. The previous low was allowing 10 in two consecutive games on two occasions (last in 2018).
- Penn State has held eight of its last nine regular-season non-conference opponents to 14 points or less, dating back to 2017.
PARSONS PRODUCING
- LB Micah Parsons leads the team with 68 tackles and ranks 10th in the Big Ten averaging 7.6 tackles per game.
- Parsons has made at least 10 tackles in his last three consecutive games.
- Parsons has five 10-plus tackle games in his career.
- Parsons, who led Penn State with 83 tackles as a true freshman last season, has 151 tackles for his career.
- Parsons is second on the team with 8.0 tackles for loss.
- Parsons matched career highs with 2.0 tackles for loss and a full sack at Minnesota
- Parsons made 14 tackles against Michigan, tying his career high set last year vs. Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl.
STOPPING THE RUN
- Penn State is allowing just 74.2 yards rushing per game to rank third in FBS and lead the Big Ten.
- Penn State is allowing 2.12 yards per rush to lead FBS.
- Penn State has held six of nine opponents this season to less than 100 yards rushing.
- Penn State is one of seven teams (Utah - 7; Georgia & San Diego State - 6; Penn State, Michigan, Ole Miss, San Diego State, Wisconsin - 5) to have held opponents to 70 or fewer rushing yards in five or more games this season.
- Penn State held Purdue to minus-19 yards rushing, the fewest rushing yards allowed by a Nittany Lion defense since holding Maryland to minus-32 in 1978.
- The minus-19 yards rushing allowed is the second-lowest rushing yards allowed in an FBS game this season, trailing the minus-73 yards allowed by Michigan State against Tulsa in the season opener.
- Three of the five lowest rushing yard allowed totals under Franklin have been established this season, with minus-19 yards allowed to Purdue, 4 yards allowed to Idaho and 24 yards allowed to Pitt.
PINEGAR CLIMBING KICKING CHARTS
- K Jake Pinegar has converted 23 career field goals to rank 15th all-time at Penn State. Next on the list is Ray Tarasi (1986-89) with 27 career field goals.
- Pinegar has 94 career extra points to rank ninth all-time at Penn State.
PREMIER PUNTING
- P Blake Gillikin ranks tied for the Penn State record with a career average of 43.13 yards per punt.
- Gillikin's average of 42.4 yards yards per punt ranks fifth in the Big Ten.
- Gillikin has landed 92 career punts inside the 20.
- Gillikin has landed 48 career punts inside the 10.
- Gillikin has 51 career punts of 50 or more yards.
- Gillikin booted his eighth career punt of 60 or more yards against Michigan and his second in two weeks (62 yards, at Iowa).
HIDDEN YARDS
- Penn State has 1,064 hidden yards the season, according to Coaches by the Numbers, which is calculated by multiplying average starting field position by total possessions.
- Hidden yards are defined "as yards a team does not have to gain because of field position advantages."