Penn State will face an unfamiliar opponent in San Diego State this weekend. Not only has Penn State never played the Aztecs, but Penn State has played just four games against the current alignment of the Mountain West in its history. Three of those games were against Air Force and the most recent meeting with a MWC foe was against Utah State in 1977.
The Aztecs will become the 155th different opponent that the Lions have faced in their history. Penn State is 14-2 against opponents it had never played prior to 2000.
Here are some interesting things to note.
SDSU HEAD COACH ROCKY LONG
• In 2011, Rocky Jones became the first San Diego State head coach to lead the team to a bowl game in his debut campaign.
• Long has also amassed the most victories of any Mountain West head coach since the league’s inception in 1999.
• He was named Mountain West Coach of the Year for the second time in his career in 2012 after guiding the Aztecs to a 9-4 record and their first conference championship since 1998. SDSU also set a school record with its third consecutive bowl appearance.
• In 2013, Long directed SDSU to an unprecedented fourth straight postseason appearance, capped by an impressive 49-24 victory over Buffalo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
• Last season, San Diego State advanced to its fifth straight bowl game and finished in a tie for first in the Western Division of the Mountain West.
• The Aztecs finished in the top 20 nationally in early every defensive category, including scoring defense (13th) and total defense (16th).
• He came to San Diego State to be the team’s defensive coordinator in December 2008.
SCOUTING THE AZTECS
• SDSU won its season opener over FCS-level San Diego, but suffered a loss at California the following week and fell in overtime to South Alabama this past week.
• Maxwell Smith has completed 31-of-66 passing attempts with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Donnel Pumphrey leads the team in rushing with 249 yards on 68 attempts two touchdowns, and also has a team-high nine receptions. Eric Judge leads the team in receiving yards with 101, followed by Pumphrey’s 92.
• On the other side of the ball, linebacker Calvin Munson has been a standout, leading the team with two interceptions returned for touchdowns, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Athlon Sports named Munson the preseason Mountain West Conference Player of the Year.
• The Aztecs finished 2014 at 7-6, losing the Poinsettia Bowl vs. Navy, 17-16.
LONG FLIGHT
San Diego State will making one of the longest trips within the continental United States of any team this season. The Aztecs will be traveling roughly 2,230 miles to reach Happy Valley, which is second only to UCF’s 2,427 mile trip to Stanford for a Sept. 12 game.
GROUND FORCE
• The Nittany Lions have had great success moving the ball on the ground the past two games against Buffalo and Rutgers, totaling 530 yards. That two-game effort equates to the most rushing yards in consecutive games since 2009 when Penn State racked up 623 yards at Illinois (338) and vs. Eastern Illinois (285).
• Both Saquon Barkley (195 yards) and Akeel Lynch (120) rushed for more than 100 yards against Rutgers, marking the first time Penn State had at least two 100-yard rushers since Lynch (108) and Bill Belton (108) passed the century mark against Eastern Michigan in 2013.
• It was also the first Big Ten Conference game that Penn State had two 100-yard rushers since Evan Royster (134) and Silas Redd (131) topped the mark vs. Northwestern in 2010.
STOPS BEHIND THE LINE
• Through the first three games of the season, Penn State ranks fourth in the nation and second in the Big Ten with 10.3 tackles for loss per game, and third in the nation and second in the conference with 4.33 sacks per game after totaling five more against Rutgers.
• Penn State leads the nation in both tackle for loss yardage (159) and sack yardage (115). Last year’s Pinstripe Bowl foe Boston College is second in TFL yardage at 134, while Penn State is the only team with over 100 sack yards; Pittsburgh is second with 90 yards.
• Penn State’s 15 tackles for loss against Temple were the second-most in the country during the opening week, trailing only Colorado State, which racked up 16 against FCS-level Savannah State. Eleven different Nittany Lions were credited with at least an assist, led by Carl Nassib, Brandon Belland Anthony Zettel with 2.5 TFL each, while Trevor Williams had 2.0.
• Nassib was again a force in the backfield against Buffalo, racking up three of Penn State’s six sacks on the day. Austin Johnson added 1.5 sacks and totaled 2.5 TFL against the Bulls.
PUTTING THE “D” IN DEFENSE
Penn State’s defense continues to shine under Defensive Coordinator Bob Shoop. The Nittany Lions have forced 16 three-and-outs this season on 39 drives, equating to 41 percent of the time that Penn State has not allowed their opponents to gain a first down on a drive.
at Temple — 6 three-and-outs in 14 drives.
vs. Buffalo — 5 three-and-outs in 12 drives.
vs. Rutgers — 5 three-and-outs in 13 drives.
• PSU has forced three-and-outs on the opponent’s first offensive possession in each game this season.
• Penn State’s average of 5.33 three-and-outs ranks in a tie for ninth in the country.
• 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).
AVOIDING TURNOVERS AND SACKS
• Minimizing turnovers and sacks are extremely important to the success of an offense, and the Nittany Lions were able to avoid both against Buffalo. Penn State had zero turnovers for the first time since having none against Massachusetts last season, and did not allow a sack for the first time since the win at Wisconsin in 2013. The 2013 Wisconsin game was also the last time Penn State posted zeroes in both categories.
• Penn State surrendered an interception against Rutgers, but avoided giving up a sack for a second consecutive game – a feat not accomplished since 2011 against Ohio State and Wisconsin.
SPECIAL TEAMS ARE SPECIAL
• Chris Gulla took over the starting punting job for the Nittany Lions against Rutgers and helped Penn State to control field position as he averaged 41.0 yards per punt. He also dropped all five of his punts inside the 20-yard line.
• The punting average was the highest for the Nittany Lions since averaging 48.8 yards per punt against Akron last season.
• His five punts downed inside the 20-yard line equal the total number by the Nittany Lions last season and are the most in a single game since having six punts inside the 20 against Nebraska in 2013.
• Penn State saw success in all three phases of the game in its win over Buffalo, including a pair of big returns on special teams. The game had an electrifying start as redshirt freshman Nick Scottreturned the opening kickoff 58 yards to the Buffalo 42. It was the longest kickoff return for Penn State since Chaz Powell had a 92-yard return against Purdue in 2011.
• Classmate DeAndre Thompkins returned a punt 58 yards, on which he was barely tripped up by UB punter Tyler Grassman on a diving play, preventing him from reaching the end zone. It was the longest punt return by a Nittany Lion since Derrick Williams’ 63-yard punt return for a TD at Wisconsin in 2008.
• Thompkins’ return was also the longest non-scoring punt return since Mike Archie had a 62-yard return at Michigan State in 1993.
• The last time that Penn State had both a punt return and kick return of at least 58 yards in the same game was against Notre Dame in 2007. In that game, Derrick Williams had a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown and A.J. Wallace had a 68-yard kickoff return.
WINS LEADER
In its 129th season of varsity football, Penn State has amassed 850, becoming just the eighth program nationally to reach the milestone. The Nittany Lions are one of just 10 programs with 800 wins and currently hold an official all-time mark of 851-377-42.
GODWIN LEADS RECEIVING CORPS
Sophomore wide receiver Chris Godwin has caught at least four passes in the first three games for a team-best total of 14 for 205 yards. He now has at least one catch in 15 of 16 career games and three career games with five-or-more grabs, joining his seven-catch night vs. Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Averaging 4.7 catches and 6.3 yards per game, Godwin ranks in the Top 10 in the Big Ten.
SOLD OUT ARMY WEST POINT GAME TO KICK AT NOON ON ESPNU
The Penn State-Army West Point game on Saturday, October 3 will kickoff at noon on ESPNU.
It’s the first sellout of a non-conference game since Alabama visited Happy Valley in 2011. The Nittany Lions host the Black Knights for the first time since 1979 as part of Military Appreciation Day.
The sellout includes tickets requested through the Seats for Servicemembers program. Servicemembers from as far away as California, Texas and Washington have signed up to receive donated tickets purchased by Penn State alumni, fans and businesses. In its fourth year, the Seats for Servicemembers program honors the commitment and sacrifices of veterans, families and loved ones by providing tickets at no cost to active and retired Servicemembers, as well as a complimentary pregame tailgate at Bryce Jordan Center.
More than 6,500 Seats for Servicemembers have been donated by Penn State supporters, members of the community and businesses to date, surpassing last year’s total of 5,500.
HOME SWEET HOME
With a 267-71 all-time record in Beaver Stadium (1960), Penn State boasts the seventh-best winning percentage (.790) in its current home venue amongst current FBS schools, and leads the Big Ten. Ohio State ranks eighth overall with a 419-110-20 (.781) mark in Ohio Stadium, which was built in 1922. Only Alabama (.816) and Auburn (.797) boast higher winning percentages than Penn State in facilities older than Beaver Stadium. Baylor leads the country with a perfect 7-0 mark in the brand new McLane Stadium (2014).
