TEAM
-Penn State improves to 115-13-1 in home openers, including a 47-9 mark in Beaver Stadium, winning 13 out of the last 14.
– The Nittany Lions have a 24-3 record against the teams in the 2015 alignment of the Mid-American Conference.
– In the second half, Penn State gained 202 yards on 31 plays (6.5 avg.), finishing the game with 328 yards.
– 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.
– Penn State held Buffalo to 69 yards rushing today, the fewest since holding Illinois to 68 yards rushing last season.
– Penn State recorded 7.0 tackles for loss (minus-50 yards), giving the Nittany Lions 22 TFL for minus-99 yards in the first two contests.
– The 14 penalties committed by Buffalo today were the most by an opponent since Notre Dame committed 14 in 2007.
OFFENSE
-QB Christian Hackenberg’s 14 completions today gives him 526 for his career, moving him into second place in the Penn State record books He trails only Zack Mills (606 completions).
-Two true freshmen scored touchdowns in the same game for the first time since Justin King and Derrick Williams both had touchdown receptions in the 2005 victory at Northwestern.
-True freshman RB Saquon Barkley had a season-high 115 yards. He is the first true freshman to rush for more than 100 yards in a game since Silas Redd had 131 yards on 11 carries and scored one touchdown against Northwestern in 2010.
DEFENSE
-DT Austin Johnson had a career-best nine tackles. His previous high was seven last year vs. Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. He also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss vs. the Bulls with 1.5 sacks.
-DE Carl Nassib grabbed the first interception of his career in the second quarter on a pass tipped by DT Anthony Zettel.
-Nassib also had a career-high three sacks. Previously he had one sack on three occasions, most recently last week at Temple.
-Nassib had a personal-best two forced fumbles and equaling his career total entering the season (1 in 2014 and 1 in 2013).
SPECIAL TEAMS
-Redshirt freshman DeAndre Thompkins’ 58-yard punt return in the second quarter was the longest by a Nittany Lion since Derrick Williams’ 63-yard punt return for a touchdown at Wisconsin in 2008.
-Thompkins’ 58-yard return was the longest non-scoring punt return since Mike Archie had a 62-yard return at Michigan State in 1993.
-Redshirt freshman Nick Scott’s kickoff return of 58 yards on the opening kickoff was the longest for Penn State since Chaz Powell had a 92-yard return against Purdue in 2011 (not a TD).
