PSU vs Ohio State – 7:30pm

By PSUGreg On October 30, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Marina 84 is a wonderful venue for social distancing. Inside are booths with their own TV and the outside patio has ten 50+ televisions. The patio offers a lot of seating and is protected from the sun and rain

PENN STATE VISITS OHIO STATE FOR PRIME-TIME MATCHUP
• OPENING KICK: No. 20/17 Penn State takes on No. 5/5 Ohio State on Saturday in Ohio Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The 2021 season is presented by PSECU.
• SERIES HISTORY: The Nittany Lions will meet Ohio State for the 37th matchup. Three of the last five matchups have been decided by three or less points. In 2020, Penn State fell 38-25 in Beaver Stadium. Sean Clifford threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns. All three scores were caught by Jahan Dotson, who finished the game with eight receptions for 144 yards. Ellis Brooks led the PSU defense with 11 tackles and one tackle for loss.
• RED ZONE BATTLE: Saturday’s game will feature the Big Ten’s best red zone defense against its best red zone offense. Penn State leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh in the country allowing a 65.2 conversion rate in the red zone and holding opponents scoreless eight times, tied for the nation’s best. Ohio State paces the conference and holds sixth in the nation with a 96.6 conversion rate including 23 touchdowns in 29 trips.
• MORE TAKEAWAYS: The Nittany Lions forced three takeaways against Illinois. Curtis Jacobs recorded an interception in the first quarter, Brandon Smith forced a fumble in the second quarter and Derrick Tangelo and Nick Tarburton worked to force another fumble in the third quarter. Penn State has forced a turnover in 13-straight games (20 total takeaways) dating back to the 2020 season.
• LONG RECEPTIONS: Jahan Dotson, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Parker Washington have combined for 18 catches of 20-plus yards this season. Dotson leads the group with eight 20-plus yard catches, including a 36-yard grab against Illinois. Washington has six 20-plus yard receptions, while LambertSmith has four, including a 42-yard touchdown against the Illini. Dotson has caught at least one 20-yard pass in 24 career games.
• THE OPPOSITION: Ohio State is coming off a 54-7 win over Indiana last Saturday. The Buckeyes tallied 539 yards, including 382 through the air. C.J. Stroud completed 21-of-28 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns. TreVeyon Henderson scored three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving, while rushing for 81 yards. The Buckeyes recorded 14 tackles for loss as they held Indiana to 128 total yards.

HEAD COACH RYAN DAY

• Ryan Day became the 25th head football coach at Ohio State on Jan. 2, 2019.
• Day is in his third full season with a career record of 29-3, a 19-0 mark in Big Ten Conference games, and two Big Ten Championships and two College Football Playoff appearances.
• A QB coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 under Chip Kelly and in 2015 for the Philadelphia Eagles under Kelly, Day is in his fourth season overall at Ohio State and his 19th season as a coach in the NFL or collegiate ranks. He was Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2017-18.
• Day was a three-year starting quarterback at New Hampshire when Chip Kelly was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, graduating in 2002.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

• Ohio State is 6-1 this season with wins over Minnesota (45-31), Tulsa (41-20), Akron (59-7), Rutgers (52-13), Maryland (66-17) and Indiana (54-7).
• The Buckeyes’ offense leads the country in scoring (49.3 ppg) and total yards (559.7), while ranking seventh in passing offense (352.1) and 25th in rushing offense (207.6).
• QB CJ Stroud has completed 68 percent of his passes for 1,965 yards and 22 touchdowns.
• Stroud paces the Big ten in passing yards per game (327.5), passing touchdowns (22), yards per completion (15.7) and passing efficiency (192.8).
• WR Garrett Wilson leads the receiving corps with 36 receptions, 605 yards and six touchdowns, while WR Chris Olave has 32 catches for 518 yards and eight scores.
• RB TreVeyon Henderson paces the Buckeyes with 686 rushing yards (98.0 per game) and nine touchdowns.
• Ohio State’s defense sits 18th in the nation in scoring (18.6 ppg), 48th in total defense (350.3), 73rd in passing defense (230.9) and 28th in rushing defense (119.4).
• S Ronnie Hickman leads the Buckeyes with 52 tackles and two interceptions.
• DT Haskell Garrett paces the unit with 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks

ILLINOIS NOTES

• The nine overtime-game set an NCAA record for most overtimes across all divisions. The previous NCAA football mark was an eight-overtime game between Bethune-Cookman and Virginia State in 1998. In FBS, there have been six, seven-overtime games.
• The nine-overtime game came under the NCAA’s overtime format, adopted before the 2021 season, which includes teams trading 2-point conversion attempts beginning in the third overtime.
• Penn State’s previous longest overtime game was a four-overtime win over Michigan (43-40) in 2013. • The Nittany Lions held Illinois to 38 yards passing, on 21 attempts, the second-lowest mark under James Franklin.
• Dating back to the Nebraska game in 2020, Penn State has forced a turnover in 13-straight games (20 total, 14 interceptions, 6 fumbles).
• Penn State has held opponents to 24 or less points in 11-straight games, dating back to the Michigan game in 2020.

IN THE POLLS

• Penn State sits No. 20 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the USA Today/ AFCA Coaches Poll.
• Penn State is one of five Big Ten teams in the Top 20 in the AP Poll, including No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 9 Iowa.
• The Nittany Lions own two wins over Top 25 teams this season, defeating No. 12/15 Wisconsin (16-10) and No. 22/20 Auburn (28-20).

NITTANY LIONS FROM OHIO

• QB Sean Clifford – Cincinnati/St. Xavier
• WR Liam Clifford – Maineville/St. Xavier
• DT Aeneas Hawkins – Cincinnati/Moeller
• OL Juice Scruggs – Ashtabula/Cathedral Prep (Pa.)
• OL Mike Miranda – Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls
• SN Chris Stoll – Westerville/St. Francis DeSales

A GLOBAL GAME
• The Nittany Lions’ roster includes 10 players with hometowns outside of the U.S.
• Redshirt senior P Barney Amor is from Gilly, Switzerland.
• Redshirt sophomore DT Joseph Appiah Darkwa (North Rhine-Westphalia) and freshman WR Jan Mahlert (Fürstenfeldbruck) are both from Germany.
• Sophomore TE Theo Johnson (Windsor, Ont.), freshman S Frederik Lesieur (Montreal), senior DE/LB Jesse Luketa (Ottawa), redshirt freshman WR Malick Meiga (Saint Jerome, QC), redshirt senior S Jonathan Sutherland (Ottawa) and freshman QB Christian Veilleux (Ottawa) are all Canada natives.
• Sophomore DT Jordan van den Berg is from Johannesburg, South Africa

FAMILY AFFAIR
• Penn Staters know that it is very common for generations of families to all attend Penn State. For a fortunate few, immediate family members are also able to follow in a brother, father or grandfather’s footsteps on the Penn State football team.
• Two sons of Penn State lettermen are on the 2021 team.
Father (Letters)                                            Son (Class)
Brian Chizmar (1986-89)              Max Chizmar (R-Sr.)
Bruce Ellis (1973-76)                     Keaton Ellis (Jr.)
• Three pairs of brothers are currently represented.
Older (Years/Class)                        Younger (Class)
Max Chizmar (2017-pres.; R-Sr.)   Ben Chizmar (Fr.)
Sean Clifford (2018-pres.; R-Sr.)    Liam Clifford (Fr.)
Kalen King (2021-pres; Fr.)            (Twins) Kobe King (Fr.

CORNERBACKS NOTES

• The Nittany Lion defense includes a deep and talented secondary. The group has combined to play in 330 games and start 82 contests at the Power Five level.
• Penn State has forced nine interceptions in 2021, ranking 14th in the FBS and second in the Big Ten.
• The Nittany Lions are holding opposing offenses to a 97.04 passing efficiency, leading the Big Ten and sitting third in the nation.
• Penn State is allowing just 178.0 passing yards per game, holding third in the Big Ten and 15th in the country.
• An All-Big Ten selection in 2019 and 2020, senior CB Tariq Castro-Fields returns to lead the cornerbacks. He has 128 tackles, three interceptions and 24 pass breakups in his Penn State career.
• Castro-Fields had a season-high two pass breakups against Indiana.
• Castro-Fields also had a key pass breakup that resulted in an interception by S Ji’Ayir Brown against Villanova.
• Redshirt sophomore CB Joey Porter Jr. matched a career high with six tackles against Wisconsin and made a key pass breakup on third down before an interception by S Jaquan Brisker.
• Porter tied his career best with six stops and had a pass breakup against Auburn.
• Porter added his first career forced fumble in the fourth quarter against the Tigers.
• Porter grabbed his first career interception against Indiana.
• Porter recorded a career-high nine tackles, eight solo, against Illinois and broke up a pass.
• Redshirt sophomore CB Daequan Hardy recorded his first career interception against Ball State.
• Hardy broke up two passes in each game against Villanova and Indiana.
• Hardy had a career-best 2.0 tackles for loss and a solo sack at Iowa.
• Freshman CB Kalen King posted three tackles and his first career forced fumble against Ball State.
• Since 2014, the Nittany Lions have allowed less than 200 passing yards in 56 games, tied for the fourth-most among FBS teams.
• Penn State held Illinois to 38 yards passing, the second-lowest by an opponent in the James Franklin era.
• Terry M. Smith is in his eighth season as Penn State’s cornerbacks coach. He is also the program’s associate head coach and defensive recruiting coordinator.
• Over the last six seasons, Smith has tutored a secondary which has seen six defensive backs taken in the NFL Draft, tied for the ninth-most nationally.
• Smith was a four-year letterwinner (1988-91) and three-year starter at wide receiver at Penn State. He ranks tied for 10th in career receiving touchdowns (15), 13th in career receiving yardage (1,825) and 14th in career receptions (108).

SAFETIES NOTES

• Senior Jaquan Brisker leads the safeties room.
• Brisker was tabbed a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.
• Brisker was named Midseason All-America by the Associated Press, ESPN and The Athletic (first team). • Brisker is on preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Jim Thorpe Award and Reese’s Senior Bowl. He additionally was named a second-team Preseason All-American by the Associated Press.
• Brisker has at least a half tackle for loss in six of seven games this season.
• According to Pro Football Focus, Brisker has played 738 coverage snaps without allowing a touchdown, the most in college football since 2019.
• Against Wisconsin, two Lackawanna College alums played a big role. Brisker and senior S Ji’Ayir Brown each recorded interceptions in the closing minutes to seal the victory.
• Brisker’s interception stopped a Wisconsin drive inside the Penn State 10. He returned the interception 41 yards.
• Brisker added a tackle for loss and a pass breakup against the Badgers.
• Brisker recorded an interception in the first quarter against Iowa. He added a career-high-tying nine tackles (seven solo).
• Brisker tallied eight tackles and a fumble recovery against Illinois.
• Brown ranks third in the Big Ten with three interceptions this season, good for seventh in the FBS.
• Since 2000, Brown is the third Nittany Lion to record three interceptions in the first five games of a season, joining James Boyd (2000) and Nick Sukay (2010).
• Brown had a career-high, and team-best, 13 tackles (11 solo) against Illinois.
• Against Indiana, Brown became the first Penn State player with at least three interceptions in a season since 2018 (Garrett Taylor 3, Amani Oruwariye 3, Nick Scott 3).
• Brown made his first start against Wisconsin and tallied his first interception, as time expired, as a Nittany Lion.
• Brown picked off a pass in the third quarter against Villanova and added a tackle for loss.
• Brown intercepted a pass against Indiana.
• Redshirt senior S Jonathan Sutherland led the PSU secondary with seven tackles, six solo, against the Badgers.
• Co-Defensive coordinator/safeties coach Anthony Poindexter is in his first season on the Nittany Lion coaching staff.
• Poindexter has 18 years of collegiate coaching experience, including seven as a defensive or co-defensive coordinator.
• As a player, Poindexter was a two-time consensus All-American at Virginia and was chosen as the 1998 ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
• Poindexter was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020.