UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 10/9/9 Penn State welcomes No. 3/2/2 Michigan to Beaver Stadium on Saturday. The matchup is set to air on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff.
BIG NOON KICKOFF: Penn State will appear as FOX's Big Noon Kickoff for the third time this season. Penn State was the featured game for its contests at Illinois and Ohio State.
SERIES HISTORY: The Nittany Lions meet Michigan for the 27th time in the series. Penn State trails the all-time series, 16-10. The teams have split 3-3 in the last six matchups. Last season in Ann Arbor, Penn State fell 41-17. Curtis Jacobs had a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown and Kaytron Allen added a rushing score. Coziah Izzard recorded two tackles for loss, including a sack.
STRONG AGAINST THE RUN: After holding Maryland to -49 rushing yards, Penn State leads the country in rushing defense, allowing just 60.3 rushing yards per game. The Nittany Lions have held each of its last eight opponents under 100 rushing yards, the longest active streak in the FBS. Contributing to PSU's rushing defense is the Nittany Lions' ability to make plays in the backfield. Penn State paces the nation in sacks per game (4.2) and ranks fourth in tackles for loss per game (8.4). PSU is tied first among FBS teams with 24 players who have recorded at least a full tackle for loss and leads the FBS with 19 players who have recorded at least one full sack.
MULTIPLE TIGHT END TOUCHDOWNS: The Nittany Lions' tight ends have continuously found the end zone this season. At Maryland, Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren each caught touchdown receptions, marking the fourth game this season that mulitple PSU tight ends made touchdown grabs. Penn State leads FBS teams with 12 receiving touchdowns by tight ends and is the only FBS team who has two tight ends with 4+ receiving touchdowns this year.
THE OPPOSITION: Michigan is 9-0 overall and 6-0 in Big Ten play after a 41-13 win over Purdue last Saturday. The Wolverines racked up 445 yards, including J.J. McCarthy's 335 passing yards. Blake Corum scored three of Michigan's five rushing touchdowns. Michigan held Purdue to 269 yards, while Will Johnson had a pick and two pass breakups.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 50+: The Nittany Lions' 51 points at Maryland marked Penn State's third game with 50+ points this season.
- -49: Penn State limited Maryland to -49 rushing yards, the second-lowest allowed by the Nittany Lions since 1947.
- 8th: PSU will play in the eighth Penn State Stripe Out game. The Nittany Lions are 5-2 in the previous seven games.
- 4: Drew Allar matched his career high with four touchdown passes against the Terrapins.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
- Jim Harbaugh is in his ninth season as head coach at Michigan. In five of his eight previous seasons as the Michigan head coach, Harbaugh has guided the Wolverines to 10-win seasons.
- Michigan is 9-0 on the season, including 6-0 in Big Ten play.
- Last Saturday, the Wolverines earned a 41-13 win over Purdue.
- Michigan tallied 445 total yards, including 335 passing yards by J.J. McCarthy, and scored on five rushing touchdowns.
- Michigan ranks fifth in the nation in scoring offense (40.7 ppg; 1st in B1G), 42nd in total offense (424.2 ypg; 2nd), 44th in passing offense (257.1; 3rd) and 50th in rushing offense (167.1; 4th). The Wolverines also sit first in the country in completion percentage (75.1).
- J.J. McCarthy ranks third in the country with a 75.7 completion percentage and second in the nation with a 188.7 passing efficiency. McCarthy owns 2,134 passing yards and 18 touchdowns.
- RB Blake Corum leads the country with 16 rushing touchdowns to go with 649 yards.
- The Wolverines hold first in the nation in scoring defense (6.7 ppg), total defense (231.4 ypg) and passing defenese (141.3) and ninth in rushing defense (90.3).
- LB Junior Colson paces Michigan with 49 tackles.
BIG NOON KICKOFF
- Penn State will be featured on Big Noon Kickoff, FOX's college football pregame show, for the second time this season.
- The Nittany Lions' 30-13 win at Illinois was the Big Noon Kickoff Game on Sept. 16 and Penn State's 20-12 setback at Ohio State highlighted the pregame show and the game.
- The broadcast will begin at 10 a.m. and lead up to kickoff between the Nittany Lions and Wolverines at noon.
- The crew of Rob Stone, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn and Urban Meyer will be live ahead of the meeting, while the in-game crew of Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft will call the action.
PENN STATE STRIPE OUT
- The Nittany Lions will play in their eighth Penn State Stripe Out Game.
- The Penn State Stripe Out game has been played each season since 2015, except for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
- The first Penn State Stripe Out game was against Rutgers in 2015, a 28-3 victory.
- Penn State Stripe Out Games:
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| 9/19/15 | Rutgers | W, 28-3 |
| 9/17/16 | Temple | W, 34-27 |
| 9/18/17 | Nebraska | W, 56-44 |
| 10/13/18 | Michigan State | L, 17-21 |
| 9/14/19 | Pitt | W, 17-10 |
| 10/2/21 | Indiana | W, 24-0 |
| 10/29/22 | No. 2 Ohio State | L, 31-44 |
| 11/11/23 | No. 2 Michigan | -- |
* Rankings are AP Poll
MARYLAND POSTGAME NOTES
- Under head coach James Franklin, Penn State has averaged a 24.8 margin of victory in 10 matchups against Maryland.
- In road games against Maryland in the James Franklin era, Penn State has averaged a 43.75 margin of victory in four contests.
- Penn State limited Maryland to -49 rushing yards. Since 1947, the -49 rushing yards are the second-lowest allowed by a Penn State defense.
- The -49 rushing yards allowed are the fewest by an FBS team in a game this season. The previous low was Stanford allowing -5 rushing yards against Hawaii.
- Since 2013, Penn State is one of four FBS teams that have allowed -49 or fewer rushing yards in a game joining San Diego State (-66 vs. Middle Tennessee State, 12/24/22), Michigan State (-73 vs. Tulsa, 8/30/19) and Arizona State (-52 vs. Washington State, 10/22/16).
- Penn State scored 51 points, marking the third time this season the Nittany Lions have posted 50+ points and the fourth time PSU has scored 40+ points.
- TE Theo Johnson and TE Tyler Warren both had touchdown grabs in the first half. It marked the fourth game this season that Penn State had multiple tight ends with touchdown receptions in a game.
- Penn State held Maryland to 234 total yards. The 234 total yards are Maryland's lowest this season.