Penn State Football: Army Game Note Highlights

As is Monday night/Tuesday morning tradition, the game notes are out for the upcoming Nittany Lions football game.

Check out some of the interests facts and figures heading into Penn State’s game against Army this weekend.

ARMY WEST POINT HEAD COACH JEFF MONKEN
• Like Penn State, Army West Point is guided by a head coach in his second year at the helm of the program. Jeff Monken guided Army to a 4-8 record in his inaugural campaign last season.
• He was previously the head coach at Georgia Southern for four seasons, where he guided the Eagles to the NCAA FCS semifinals in three consecutive years (2010-12). In his fourth season, Georgia Southern was transitioning to FBS and was not eligible for postseason play. 
• Georgia Southern won two Southern Conference championships and he was named the 2011 SoCon Coach of the Year. 
• He was a 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Finalist. 
• Monken previously served as an assistant at Georgia Southern (1997-2001), and was also an assistant at Georgia Tech (2008-09), Navy (2002-07), Concordia (Ill.) (1996) and Buffalo (1992-94). He was also a graduate assistant at Hawaii (1989-90) and Arizona State (1991).

COACHING CONNECTIONS
• Penn State assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brent Pry coached at Georgia Southern in 2010 with current Army West Point head coach Jeff Monken, offensive coordinator Brent Davis, cornerback coach Orlando Mitjans and quarterback coach Mitch Ware. 
• Monken and Pry were also together at Buffalo in 1992. Pry was an undergrad coach after a career-ending injury and Monken was the team’s wide receivers and tight ends coach. 
• Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop coached the defensive backs at Army in 1998. Current Army safeties coach John Loose was on Army staff with Shoop as the linebackers coach.

SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
• Army West Point is 1-3 after dropping its first three games by margins of less than a touchdown. Army came up short against Fordham (L, 37-35) and Connecticut (L, 22-17) in the first two weeks, and Wake Forest kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired for a 17-14 victory in week three. 
• The Black Knights earned their first win of the season in their last outing, rushing for 556 yards in a 58-36 win over Eastern Michigan. The 556 rushing yards were the most in a game against a current FBS opponent in Academy history. Six different players rushed for 60 yards or more. 
• Using a triple-option offensive scheme, Army averages 50 rushing attempts per game to nine passing attempts per game. Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw is the team’s leading rusher with 341 yards on 68 attempts and four touchdowns. He has also completed 11-of-22 passing attempts for 194 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. 
• When Army West Point does pass, it has been able to get big gains, as the Black Knights are second in the nation only to fellow service academy Air Force, averaging 21.76 yards per completion. 
• Linebacker Andrew King ranks fifth in the nation with 2.0 tackles for loss per game. 
• Army is one of three FBS programs not affiliated with a conference. The other two are Notre Dame and BYU. 
• The athletics program recently went through a rebranding process, which produced the new “Army West Point” nomenclature and new logos. Commonly referred to as just “Army” or just “West Point” throughout history, the differing names had produced confusion as to whether “Army” and “West Point” were referring to the same institution, which is officially named the “United States Military Academy at West Point.”

FAMILIAR FOE FOR FRANKLIN
• While Penn State and Army West Point are meeting for the first time since 1979, head coach James Franklin is facing Army for the second time as a head coach. Franklin guided Vanderbilt to a 44-21 victory over the Black Knights in 2011 – his first season as head coach. 
• Army will be the third opponent Franklin has coached against at both Vanderbilt and Penn State. The other two are Northwestern and UMass. 

PENN STATE VS. SERVICE ACADEMIES

• Penn State holds a 35-27-4 record in 66 games against the three Division I service academies. 
• Penn State has faced Navy the most, holding a 19-17-2 record over the Midshipmen. In addition to a 13-10-2 mark against Army West Point, the Nittany Lions hold a 3-0 mark over Air Force. 
• Penn State’s history against the service academies dates back to 1894, when it first played Navy. 
• Navy was the last service academy Penn State faced, as the Lions hosted the Midshipmen in 2012, winning 34-7. 
• The 2012 meeting against Navy was the first against a service academy since 1979 against Army, as Penn State and Navy had not played each other since 1974. PSU last competed against Air Force in 1973. 
• Penn State is 18-1 in its last 19 games against the academies, last losing to Navy in 1974, 7-6. 
• At home, Penn State is 16-6 all-time against the academies.

PENN STATE-ARMY WEST POINT CONNECTIONS
• PSU freshmen guard/center Ryan Bates and linebacker Jake Cooper and Army defensive lineman Jeff Panara played together at Archbishop Wood High School. 
• PSU guard Brian Gaia and Army defensive lineman Sheldon Johnson Jr. played together at Gilman School. 
• PSU safety John Petrishen and Army defensive lineman Angelo Natter played together at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School.

NITTANY LION MILITARY CONNECTIONS 
DeAndre Thompkins’ father, Shawn, and DaeSean Hamilton’s parents, Johnie and Madgeline, have served in the Marine Corps. Shawn Thompkins has served for more than 15 years and is currently a Staffing and Recruiting Specialist. Hamilton’s parents both served more than 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. DaeSean was born on a military base in Okinawa, Japan. The Hamilton family also lived in Hawaii, Greece and Illinois before settling at its current residence in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

TURNING TURNOVERS INTO POINTS

• Penn State converted three San Diego State fumbles into 21 points. The Nittany Lions entered the game having converted five turnovers into three points in the first three games. 
•  Austin Johnson’s fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter was the Nittany Lions’ first fumble return for a touchdown since Mike Hull vs. Navy in 2012. • It was the first touchdown of Johnson’s career. 
• It was also the first defensive score for Penn State since Grant Haley returned an interception for a touchdown in 2014 vs. Temple.

STINGY DEFENSE
• Penn State has held opponents to less than 325 yards for 11 consecutive regular season games, which is the longest streak in the nation. 
• The Penn State defense has not allowed more than seven points in the first half of 10 consecutive games (does not include special teams scores). 
• Penn State’s 141 passing yards allowed against SDSU were its fewest against an FBS non-conference opponent in the regular season since giving up 134 to Kent State in 2013. 
• The unit is climbing in the national rankings in multiple categories, led by its prolific defensive line. It ranks 15th nationally in total defense at 281.8 yards per game. 
• In 2014, Penn State ranked in the Top 10 in the FBS in fewest first downs allowed (2nd, 190), pass efficiency (2nd, 101.14), total (2nd, 278.7 ypg), rushing (3rd, 100.5 ypg), third down (6th, 30.2) and scoring defense (7th, 18.6 ppg).