- OPENING KICK: No. 12 Penn State will conclude the 2019 regular season by hosting Rutgers for Senior Day Saturday in Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on BTN.
- SENIOR DAY: Penn State will honor 16 seniors who will be taking part in their final game in Beaver Stadium. The senior class has compiled a 40-11 record to become the first 40-win class since 2009. A win over Rutgers would tie the 1997 seniors' 41 wins.
- WINNING THE GAMES YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO: Over the last four seasons (2016-19), Penn State is 32-2 in games against unranked opponents, including a 30-1 mark since an overtime win over Minnesota early in 2016 and a 10-game winning streak dating back to last season.
- HOME SWEET HOME: A win over Rutgers would give Penn State its third undefeated home slate in the past four seasons (2016, 2017, 2019). Penn State has not gone undefeated in three out of four seasons in its Big Ten era, and last did so from 1972-75 (went 6-0 in 1972 and 1973 and 5-0 in 1975). The Nittany Lions enter the game with a 31-3 record (91.2%) in Beaver Stadium over the last five seasons for their best mark since going 27-1 (96.4%) from 1971-75. They also have wins in their last eight consecutive home games.
- THIS DEFENSE: Penn State (14.8 ppg) ranks ninth nationally in scoring defense and boasts a stingy rushing defense allowing just 89.9 yards per game (4th FBS). Penn State has 36 sacks to average 3.27 sacks per game (11th in FBS), putting it on pace for its fifth consecutive season with 40 or more sacks. The Nittany Lions now lead the country with 19 forced fumbles after punching the ball loose four times at Ohio State. Lamont Wade's three forced fumbles in that game tied a Big Ten record and are the most by an individual player in FBS this season.
- THE OPPOSITION: Rutgers is 2-9 this season with wins over UMass and Liberty. The Scarlet Knights are averaging 263.1 yards per game on offense and are allowing an average of 442.7 yards per game.
INTERIM HEAD COACH NUNZIO CAMPANILE
- Nunzio Campanile is in his second season on the Rutgers coaching staff and was named the interim head coach and offensive coordinator on Sept. 29, 2019.
- Campanile spent his first season at Rutgers coaching the running backs before moving to tight ends to start 2019.
- Campanile spent the previous eight seasons as the head coach at Bergen Catholic, including winning a state title in 2017, after working as offensive coordinator at Don Bosco Prep from 2000-09.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
- Rutgers is 2-9 overall and 0-8 in Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights are seeking their first Big Ten win since winning three conference games in 2017.
- Linebacker Tyshon Fogg ranks third in the Big Ten with 8.6 tackles per game.
- Aaron Young is among the top kickoff returners in the conference, averaging 21.2 yards per return to rank sixth.
- Running back Isaih Pacheco ranks ninth in the Big Ten with seven rushing touchdowns.
- Punter Aaron Korsak ranks third in the conference averaging 43.7 yards per punt.
NITTANY LIONS FROM NEW JERSEY
- OL Will Fries - Cranford/Cranford
- OL Steven Gonzalez - Union City/Union City
- DT Fred Hansard - Burlington/The Hun School
- DE Jayson Oweh - Howell/Blair Academy
- CB John Reid - Mount Laurel/St. Joseph's Prep (Pa.)
- QB Ta'Quan Roberson - Orange/DePaul Catholic
- WR Justin Shorter - Monmouth Junction/South Brunswick
- S Tawe Tawe - Hillsborough/Hillsborough
- OL Caedan Wallace - Robbinsville/The Hun School
- OL Sal Wormley - Newark/Smyrna (Del.)
SENIOR DAY
- There are 16 Nittany Lion seniors that will take the field in Beaver Stadium for the final time Saturday.
- The 2019 seniors have been instrumental in the Nittany Lions earning a 40-11 record the past four years with four winning seasons, starting with the 2016 Big Ten Championship, a Rose Bowl appearance, Penn State's highest ranking since 1999 (No. 2), a Fiesta Bowl Championship and a fourth bowl appearance upcoming.
- The group is the first class to reach 40 wins since the 2009 class (40-12).
- A win over Rutgers would tie the class with the 1997 class' 41 wins (41-8).
- Those to be introduced in a pre-game ceremony and include: Nick Bowers, Cam Brown, Weston Carr, Dan Chisena, Nick Eury, Blake Gillikin, Steven Gonzalez, Jan Johnson, Hunter Kelly, Colton Maxwell, John Reid, Michael Shuster, Garrett Taylor, Justin Tobin, Robert Windsor and Jake Zembiec.
- The Nittany Lions have earned victories in 23 of their 29 Senior Day games since 1990.
PENN STATE-RUTGERS CONNECTIONS
- Penn State redshirt sophomore WR KJ Hamler and freshmen RB Noah Cain and CB Makai Self and Rutgers sophomore QB Artur Ritowski and redshirt freshman WR Jalen Jordan all attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
- Penn State sophomore S C.J. Holmes and Rutgers junior OL Sam Vretman and freshman DL Malachi Burby and played together at Cheshire Academy.
- Penn State redshirt freshman WR Justin Shorter and Rutgers juniors WR Julius Turner and WR Mohamed Jabbie played together at South Brunswick in New Jersey.
- Penn State freshman QB Ta'Quan Roberson and Rutgers freshman LB Chris Conti played together at DePaul Catholic in New Jersey.
- Penn State freshman S Tyler Rudolph and Rutgers freshmen P David Broncati and LS Donato Crisanti played together at St. Thomas More in Connecticut.
- Penn State redshirt sophomore DL/LS Dan Vasey and Rutgers redshirt junior LB Rashawn Battle played together at Wallenpaupack Area High School near Scranton.
- Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover and Rutgers special teams coach Vince Okruch coached together at Northwestern from 1995-96. Okruch was the defensive line coach and Limegrover was a graduate assistant.
- Penn State tight ends coach Tyler Bowen and Rutgers defensive coordinator Andy Buh coached together at Maryland in 2017. Bowen was the offensive line coach and Buh was the defensive coordinator.
STRONG START
- Penn State is outscoring opponents 107-38 in the first quarter.
- Penn State only allowed three points in the opening stanza through the first eight games of the season.
- Penn State was the only FBS team to reach Week 7 without allowing a first-quarter point this season.
BUTKUS FINALIST
- Micah Parsons was named a finalist for the Butkus Award, which honors the nation's top linebacker.
- Parsons is a finalist along with Zack Baun (Wisconsin), Jordyn Brooks (Texas Tech), Isaiah Simmons (Clemson), Evan Weaver (Cal) and Logan Wilson (Wyoming).
- Parsons will be vying to become the first Nittany Lion to earn the honor since Paul Posluszny in 2005. LaVar Arrington also won the award in 1999, and five have previously been named finalists: Shane Conlan (1986), Andre Collins (1989), Brandon Short (1999), Posluszny (2006) and Dan Connor (2007).
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
- Penn State's FBS opponents' combined .615 winning percentage is the highest among current FBS two-loss teams and ninth among Power Five teams.
- At Ohio State, Penn State played its fifth AP Top 25 team in its last six games, marking the Nittany Lions' most difficult stretch since the AP Poll debuted in 1936.
- Penn State played three consecutive AP Top 25 teams in a single regular season for the first time since 2017 and sixth time (1960, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2017, 2019) since the AP Poll began in 1936.
- Penn State played at least five AP Top 25 teams in a single regular season for the first time since 2003 and fifth time ever (1955, 1982, 1999, 2003, 2019).
- Penn State defeated ranked opponents in back-to-back games (No. 17 Iowa, 17-12; No. 16 Michigan, 28-21) for the first time since 2005 (No. 18 Minnesota, 44-14; No. 6 Ohio State, 17-10) in consecutive weeks.
- At Iowa, Penn State defeated a ranked opponent in a true road game for the first time since a 31-24 victory at No. 14 Wisconsin in 2013.
FUMBLE!
- Penn State leads FBS with 19 forced fumbles this season, which ranks as the third most in a season in Penn State history and the most since forcing 20 fumbles in 2015. The team record of 25 was set in 1968.
- Penn State's 12 fumble recoveries this season rank sixth in FBS and second in the Big Ten.
- S Lamont Wade tied a Big Ten record with three forced fumbles at Ohio State.
- Wade's three forced fumbles are the most by an FBS player this season.
- Wade is the fifth player in Big Ten history to have three forced fumbles in a game, joining Michigan's Jerry Hartman (vs. Indiana, 10/21/1967), Ohio State's Antoine Winfield (at Pittsburgh, 9/23/1995), Iowa's Bob Sanders (vs. Minnesota, 11/15/2003) and Northwestern's Ifeadi Odenigbo (vs. Western Illinois, 9/20/2014).
- Wade is the third player to have three forced fumbles in a Big Ten game.
- Wade is the sixth player in FBS since 2000 to have three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in a game. The last occurrence was Kansas State's Jayd Kirby against Kansas in 2017.
- Wade is the second Big Ten player since 2000 to have three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in a game. The last occurrence was Northwestern's Ifeadi Odenigbo vs. Western Illinois in 2014.
- In the Ohio State game, Wade factored in on all four Buckeye fumbles, as he made his first career fumble recovery on a fumble forced by LB Micah Parsons.
- Wade is one of three Nittany Lions with three forced fumbles this season, joining freshman CBs Keaton Ellis and Marquis Wilson.
- Ellis and Wade are tied for 10th in FBS and fourth in the Big Ten with three forced fumbles each this season.
- Fifteen Nittany Lions on 16 occasions have forced as many as three fumbles in a season since 2000.
- Parsons has forced a fumble in each of the last two weeks (Indiana, Ohio State).
LOW SCORING
- Penn State is 14th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 14.8 points per game.
- Penn State's 163 points allowed in the first 11 games is its fewest since allowing 143 points in the first 11 of 2011.
- Penn State has held 11 of its last 15 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 eighth in FBS in third-quarter points allowed (2.45) and are sixth in FBS in second-half points allowed (6.45) 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 85 tackles and ranks seventh in the Big Ten averaging 7.7 tackles per game.
- Parsons has six 10-plus tackle games this season.
- Parsons, who led Penn State with 83 tackles as a true freshman last season, has 168 tackles for his career.
- Parsons is second on the team with 10.0 tackles for loss.
80+ TACKLES AND 10+ TFLs
- LB Micah Parsons is one of 22 players in FBS and two in the Big Ten (Dele Harding, Illinois) to total at least 80 tackles and 10 tackles for loss this season.
- Parsons is the first Nittany Lion to total at least 80 tackles and 10 TFLs in a single season since Mike Hull in 2014.
- Parsons is the first Nittany Lion sophomore to total at least 80 tackles and 10 TFLs in a single season since NaVorro Bowman in 2008.
- Since 2000 Parsons is the seventh Nittany Lion (nine occasions) to total at least 80 tackles and 10 TFLs in a single season.
Nittany Lions with 80+ Tackles & 10+ TFLs since 2000
| Yr. | Name | Cl. | G | Tot | TFL |
| 2019 | Micah Parsons | So. | 11 | 85 | 10.0 |
| 2014 | Mike Hull | Sr. | 13 | 138 | 10.5 |
| 2011 | Gerald Hodges | Jr. | 13 | 106 | 10.0 |
| 2009 | NaVorro Bowman | Jr. | 10 | 93 | 17.0 |
| 2009 | Sean Lee | Sr. | 10 | 86 | 11.0 |
| 2008 | NaVorro Bowman | So. | 13 | 106 | 16.5 |
| 2007 | Dan Connor | Sr. | 13 | 145 | 15.0 |
| 2007 | Sean Lee | Jr. | 13 | 138 | 10.5 |
| 2005 | Paul Posluszny | Jr. | 12 | 116 | 11.0 |