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VOLUME 76 ISSUE 6 Penn State vs. Michigan October 14, 2013

The Letter It was a game that will forever be remembered as the Miracle in Follow us on Beaver Stadium. Twitter and Check out the new The longest game in Penn State Football Letter history wound up as a 43–40 Blog Homecoming upset win over rival Michigan in the fourth overtime of a contest that flowed back and PSU 7 14 3 10 9 -43 forth as fast as the South Jersey UM 10 0 17 7 6 -40 tide. And a deafening White Out crowd played a big role in the stunning victory over the CONTENTS undefeated No. 16 Wolverines, after four hours and 11 minutes of suspenseful gridiron action. T he Letter N otes from the C uff The season’s first sellout crowd of 107,844 created an atmosphere that O ther Sports inspired the Lions to their most superlative play since last year’s season- N ews of N ote ending overtime triumph over Big Ten champion Wisconsin. Game P hotos After a roller-coaster contest that saw the home team capitalize on Statis tic s three Michigan turnovers to take a 21–10 halftime lead, then fall victim to the running and passing of lean, lanky and light-footed Devin Gardner, who drove Michigan to a 34–24 advantage in the fourth quarter, PAST ISSUES the Lions had to stage their own thrilling comeback in the final six and one-half minutes of the game. View past issues The feeling pervading the hoarse and emotionally drained crowd, after Bill Belton ran two yards around the Wolverine defense for the game-winning touchdown, was akin to that at the end of Penn State’s last-minute 27– 24 upset of No. 2 Nebraska in 1982 and the 17–10 night-time conquest of No. 6 Ohio State in a 2005 White Out. A fringe benefit to the Penn State program is that 100 recruits along the southeast sidelines were exposed to the incomparable Beaver Stadium atmosphere in a prime-time White Out. With “We Are … Penn State” cheers reverberating across the gridiron, a happy Coach Bill O’Brien talked to ESPN sideline reporter Maria Taylor amidst a gathering crowd of fans, then rushed to the student section in FAN ZONE the south end zone, where players were excitedly exchanging high-fives

Football Sc hedule with ecstatic fans hanging over the railings. T eam Ros ter After a vociferous rendition of the Alma Mater, players sprinted to the GoP SU Sports .c om Radio/T V Lis tings tunnel, from whence the loud clanging of the Victory Bell echoed Big T en Football T V throughout Happy Valley. Sc hedule The result highlighted a nearly Big T en Standings perfect Homecoming Week, during Big T en Sc hedule and Res ults which the men’s hockey team

P enn Staters in the dedicated the magnificent new P ros with a 4–1 inaugural triumph over Army at the same time the men’s soccer team was posting a 3–1 win over Michigan Friday night, while thousands of returning alums lined the streets of campus and town to enjoy the country’s biggest Homecoming Parade. Earlier Friday, the women’s field hockey team knocked off Ohio State, 6–1, and on Sunday the Lady Lions shut out Bucknell, 2–0. Saturday night the nation’s No. 4 women’s volleyball team swept Wisconsin, after having outlasted No. 11 Minnesota, 3–2, on Wednesday. The week was dimmed slightly, and Michigan gained a bit of revenge, when its women’s soccer team upset the 15-time Big Ten champion Penn State squad, 1–0, on Sunday. But the Lions’ feisty Irish football coach was ebullient in his post-game press conference. “Both teams hung in there, both teams fought hard and thankfully Penn State came out on the winning end,” O’Brien noted. “It just says a lot about our kids, a very resilient bunch of kids that care about each other and really love playing for Penn State.” The sanction-ridden 2013 Nittany Lions were out-manned but not outplayed, and their never-say-die attitude kept them in the ballgame, despite facing a 10-point deficit with less than seven minutes remaining in the contest. A faint few fair-weather fans started toward the exits when a Penn State drive faltered at the UM-26. But stalwart Sam Ficken booted a 43-yard field goal through the uprights to cut the home team’s deficit to seven with 6:28 left. Michigan tried to protect its margin by mounting a time-consuming rushing attack and forcing Penn State to call all three of its timeouts. The Wolverines drained five minutes and 38 seconds off the clock by running 10 times for 31 yards then punting. With only 50 seconds remaining, true freshman quarterback did what has been drilled into him at every Penn State practice he has attended in his short career. He executed the end-of- the-game drive. First, he threw a 14-yard pass to stellar wide receiver , who made a sure-handed catch while keeping a toe inbounds along the east sidelines. Next, Hack aimed an aerial at a double- covered Brandon Felder that the veteran wideout took away from both defenders for a 29-yard gain. Finally, he decided to launch a long shot at the man with a 38-inch vertical leap. Robinson, the 2012 Big Ten Receiver of the Year, out-jumped his defender 36 yards downfield to make a circus catch and maintain his place as the Big Ten leader in receptions and yardage for 2013, as he fell to earth on the half-yard line. Hackenberg dove over his right guard John Urschel to cross the plane of the goal-line and score the first rushing touchdown of the year against the country’s ninth-best defense. The Lions had completed a scintillating 80-yard touchdown march in just 23 seconds. As the crowd erupted, and the faint few wondered from the parking lots what they were missing, Coach O’Brien toyed with the idea of going for a two-point conversion. But he eschewed the risk and sent out Steady Sam to tie the game with his extra-point kick. Ironically, the Lions nearly left too much time on the clock, as Michigan got a 34-yard kickoff return by Dennis Norfleet, and QB Devin Gardiner passed 25 yards to Jeremy Gallon then five yards to Justice Hayes, before Brandon Gibbons attempted a long 52-yard field goal that fell short with just two seconds left. Thus ensued the fourth overtime game in Beaver Stadium history. Michigan won the toss and chose to play defense first. Penn State chose to play at the south end of the stadium in front of the raucous student section. Unable to get a first down after starting from the UM-25, State’s Kickin’ Ficken attempted a 40-yard field goal that sailed barely wide right, and Penn State hearts sank. But the Lion defense rose up to smite the Wolverines on three rushes, and Kyle Baublitz made the play of his young career by reaching up and blocking Gibbons attempt at a 40-yard field goal. The field of play moved to the north end zone for the second overtime, and Michigan had to go first. The Wolverine offense got as far as the PS- 16, before the visitors had to settle for Gibbons 25-yard field goal. Ficken countered four plays later with a 36-yarder. Back to the south end, where PSU had the ball first, but Robinson could not control a bad exchange from Hackenberg on an attempted reverse, and Michigan recovered the fumble. It looked like the visitors were going to walk out of Beaver Stadium victorious, when Gibbons lined up for a 33-yard attempt four plays later. But his boot barely missed wide left. In the fourth overtime—one longer than Penn State needed to beat Florida State in the 2005 Orange Bowl, when all-time leading scorer Kevin Kelly kicked the game-winner in the third OT—State’s defense stymied the Wolverines, so Gibbons knocked a 40-yarder through the uprights. In their last turn before the north end zone crowd, the Lions turned to tailback Bill Belton. Three Belton runs netted nine yards. At that point Coach O’Brien decided “someone needed to win this game.” Instead of counting on Ficken’s foot to force a fifth frame, O’Brien gambled and called a fourth straight running play by Belton through the right side. The offensive line did its job, fullback Pat Zerbe nailed his lead block and Belton slipped through for three yards and a first down. After another Belton rush gained two, Hackenberg fired a pass at Robinson in the end zone. A Michigan defender was called for pass interference and State got the ball at the two-yard line. O’Brien immediately called another Belton run to the left side, and the scatback bounced it to the outside, outflanking the Michigan defense for the touchdown and the crowd went W-I-L-D. The team that suffered a disappointing loss at Indiana and slipped to a 3–2 record last week regained its pride, before getting a week off and then traveling to Columbus for a shot at conference-leading undefeated No. 3 Ohio State. “Winning, like salt water, cures a lot of ills,” O’Brien concluded. “We were a little down on ourselves after that loss (to Indiana), and we really needed this win to get us going through the rest of the season,” said senior middle linebacker and leading tackler Glenn Carson. “I’m proud of how everyone played in this game, and we just did an awesome job.” “We were focused on having the whole unit work as one for the win,” said tight end Jesse James, who had six catches for 67 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown. “We were mad about last week and we wanted to play our best football this week … We made dumb mistakes in that game and we wanted to redeem ourselves … That’s why you come to Penn State, for close games like this in Beaver Stadium” Academic All-American guard John Urschel, the math whiz who graduated in three years with a perfect 4.0 average and acknowledged that his offensive mates asked him for the formula to make the game-saving drive in less than 50 seconds, said, “A Saturday night under the lights, a white-out versus Michigan in my senior year and we won. This is probably going to be the greatest game that I’ve ever played in.” Defensive end C.J. Olaniyan had a breakout game with a career-high eight tackles, including 2.5 sacks for 18 yards in losses, a forced fumble recovered by teammate DaQuan Jones and two pass breakups. The redshirt junior came to Penn State from Warren, Michigan. Other standouts who played their high school football in Michigan include game- breaker Allen Robinson and defensive end Anthony Zettel, who intercepted a pass to set up State’s second touchdown in the first half, and said, “I don’t think you could ever get a win better than this.” Attesting to the intensity of Saturday’s battle were statistics such as these: Penn State had a 390 to 389 edge in total offense, a 305 to 240 margin in passing, a 24–21 edge in first downs, an 89 to 83 advantage in total plays, a 34.8 to 33.2 difference in net yards per punt; Michigan outgained the Lions on the ground 149 to 85, had a 25.7 to 19.5 margin in kickoff return average and a 36:13 to 23:47 advantage in time of possession; Penn State converted three of 16 third downs and two of three fourth downs, Michigan four of 18 third downs and no fourth downs. The Lions had two returned for 32 yards, the Wolverines two returned for five yards. The visitors had four sacks for 16 yards in losses, the home team three sacks for 22 yards in losses. Penn State scored on five of six chances in the Red Zone (three touchdowns and two field goals), Michigan two of three chances (one TD, one FG). Christian Hackenberg completed 23 of 44 passes for 305 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Devin Gardner hit on 15 of 28 for 240 yards and three TDs with two INTs, but also ran for 121 yards to lead all rushers in the game. Bill Belton led the Lions with 85 yards and one TD on a career-high 27 carries. UM’s Devin Funchess led all receivers with four catches for 112 yards and two TDs, including a long of 59 yards. State’s Brandon Felder had six receptions for 97 yards and two TDs, with a long of 29. Penn State has beaten Michigan in their last four meetings, the Lions’ longest win streak against the Wolverines but still short of UM’s nine straight from 1997 to 2007. The Lions have won their last four overtime games, after losing their first three. They are 2-2 at home in overtime. For the Glory,

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VOLUME 76 ISSUE 6 Penn State vs. Michigan October 14, 2013

Notes from the Cuff An estimated 1,500 fans staged a candlelight vigil in memory of outside the stadium Follow us on after the Homecoming game Saturday. Bouquets Twitter and of blue and white carnations spelled out “409” Check out the new near the former site of the Paterno statue, and Football Letter notes of praise and remembrance for all that he Blog did for Penn State accompanied the bouquets. “We are because he was,” said vigil organizer

PSU 7 14 3 10 9 -43 Heather Wilson … UM 10 0 17 7 6 -40 Sue Paterno received cheers from grateful alumni as she rode in the Lion Ambassadors’ conveyance in the Homecoming CONTENTS Parade Friday evening …

T he Letter About 370 Blue Band alumni returned to participate in the Parade Friday N otes from the C uff evening, in the Bryce Jordan Tailgreat Saturday afternoon and on the O ther Sports Beaver Stadium grass before the game and during the always-impressive N ews of N ote halftime performance of both alumni and student bands … Game P hotos The unusually tall new Blue Band Drum Major, Christopher Siergiej, Statis tic s exemplified the Homecoming overall theme of “Generations Evolve, Traditions Remain” with his dazzling front flips extended by his foot-high hat and hasn’t missed one yet this season … PAST ISSUES World champion feature twirler Matt Freeman, national champion “Touch View past issues of Blue” majorettes and national champion Lionettes Dance Team continue to add an amazing dimension to the Band’s outstanding performances in the Bryce Jordan Center and Beaver Stadium … The annual Bandorama spectacular will take place in Eisenhower Auditorium on the Friday night before the Purdue football game on November 16 … Throughout the weekend, alumni enjoyed the 100th annual Horticulture Show in the Ag Arena, the All-Sports Museum in Beaver Stadium and the beautiful flowers and plants in the Arboreteum adjacent to the striking Lewis Katz Law School Building north of Park Avenue … Saturday’s four-overtime game was the longest in the Big Ten FAN ZONE Conference’s 118-year gridiron history and the longest in the Football Bowl Subdivision this fall. Penn State’s only other multiple overtime games Football Sc hedule came in 2000 against Iowa, a 26–23 loss in 2 OTs, and in the FedEx T eam Ros ter Orange Bowl after the 2005 season, where No. 3 Penn State beat Florida GoP SU Sports .c om Radio/TV Listings State, 26–23, in 3 OTs … Big Ten Football TV For the second consecutive year, the Nittany Lions have come from Sc hedule behind to defeat a previously unbeaten, ranked team on Homecoming. Big Ten Standings Last year, a 22-point fourth quarter produced a 39–28 victory over No. Big Ten Schedule and Res ults 24 Northwestern … Penn Staters in the Penn State is now 5–1 in games after a loss under Bill O’Brien and has not P ros lost consecutive games since its 0–2 start in 2012 … The combined 83 points scored by Michigan and Penn State Saturday are the fourth most in Beaver Stadium history, the second highest in a Big Ten game in the Beav and the most since the record set in 1999, when State defeated Akron, 70–24 … Penn State has tallied 23 points after getting takeaways from opponents, but Saturday’s were the first touchdowns scored after interceptions this season … The 59-yard TD toss to by Devin Gardner to a wide open Devin Funchess was the longest play from scrimmage allowed by the Nittanies this season … Placement holder Adam Geiger and special teams player Dad Poquie became the 11th and 12th true freshmen to play this fall … State has scored in a school-record 151 straight games since a 20–0 shutout by Michigan in 2001. The longest previous scoring streak was 138 games in 1973–84 … Christian Hackenberg has tied with his third 300-yard passing performance and trails only Matt McGloin (6) and (4). He still leads the Big Ten in passing (278.7 ypg) and completions (132). His 11 TD passes tie him for third. He has thrown three in each of the last two games. He scored his first career rushing touchdown against Michigan. Hack’s performance under pressure earned him Athlon Sports’ National Freshman of the Week award as well as Big Ten Freshman of the Week … Brandon Felder’s touchdown catches against the Wolverines were his first two of the season and third of his career … Allen Robinson continues to lead the Conference with 43 receptions (7.2 per game) and 705 yards (117.5 per game). He is tied for second with five TDs … Tight end Jesse James set a career high with six catches. Bill Belton tied his career high of six … DaQuan Jones recovered the second fumble of his career, tied his career high with nine tackles, and leads the Big Ten with 8.5 tackles for loss … Defensive end Anthony Zettel made his first career start and nabbed his first … Jordan Lucas’ pick was the first of his career … Mike Hull had 10 tackles for the second straight game, while Ryan Keiser and Kyle Baublitz tied their career highs for tackles … Alex Butterworth kicked the longest punt of his career—66 yards—to top his previous long of 58 against Ohio State last year … C.J. Olaniyan was named Athlon’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after the best game of his career.

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VOLUME 76 ISSUE 6 Penn State vs. Michigan October 14, 2013

News of Note OCTOBER NITTANY NETWORKING EVENT ’96: “Life After Football—What Happens When Life Follow us on Changes”* Twitter and Friday, Oct. 18 Check out the new 6:00–9:00 p.m. Football Letter We sometimes find ourselves in expected transitions in life. How do we Blog navigate these changes? Most professional athletes face retirement before hitting the age of 30, after spending years preparing to play on a

PSU 7 14 3 10 9 -43 professional level for just a narrow window of time. UM 10 0 17 7 6 -40 Join Wally Richardson, former Penn State starting quarterback and current Penn State Football Letterman's Club director, as he provides a CONTENTS candid look inside the world of professional athletics, the shift his life took post-football, and how he managed to navigate these changes T he Letter towards a successful career. His fantastic story will inspire you to face N otes from the C uff your own life transitions. O ther Sports N ews of N ote Co-sponsored by the Penn State Alumni Association’s Alumni Career Game P hotos Services, the Smeal Business Club of , and the Smeal Statis tic s Executive MBA program.

Location: PAST ISSUES ACE Conference Center View past issues 800 Ridge Pike Lafayette Hills, Pa. Cost: $25 for Penn State Alumni Association Members $40 for all others Click here to register and for more information. For more information about Alumni Career Services, click here. Or, call 814-865-5465. * This event was originally entitled "Matthew Rice—From Artist to Athlete,” with Richardson as a scheduled participant. Unfortunately, Rice had a last-minute scheduling conflict, so Richardson will now be the featured presenter. There will be no art component to the evening. FAN ZONE

Football Sc hedule RALLY AWAY AT OHIO T eam Ros ter Penn State fans can get revved up for the game against the Buckeyes at GoP SU Sports .c om Radio/T V Lis tings the Alumni Association’s Penn State Pep Rally, featuring the Penn State Big T en Football T V cheerleaders, the Nittany Lion, the Penn State Pep Band, free Sc hedule refreshments and more. Alumni and friends can also gather together the Big T en Standings evening before at the Friday night mixer, which is co-sponsored by the Big T en Sc hedule and Alumni Association and its local chapter. Res ults

P enn Staters in the Friday Night Mixer: Meet Friday, Oct. 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Quaker Steak P ros & Lube, 8500 Lyra Drive, in Columbus. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Central Ohio Chapter’s local scholarship fund and another local charity. Cost: $20 for adults if registering in advance by Oct. 18; $25 for adults at the door; $15 for kids ages 5–12; and free for children under five. The event features the Nittany Lion and the Penn State cheerleaders, a two-hour buffet, a cash bar, door prizes and a silent auction. For more information and to register, visit the Central Ohio Chapter website. Game-day Pep Rally: Meet Penn Staters inside The Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, in Columbus. Kickoff is at 8:00 p.m. The pep rally location opens at 5:00 p.m. and the program begins at 6:00 p.m. Click here for an Ohio State map and more info.

HUDDLE WITH THE FACULTY Alumni and friends can catch a quick breakfast and some food for thought at “Huddle with the Faculty,” the popular free lecture series each home football Saturday at The . The next presentations in the 21st annual Huddle series are: Nov. 2 (Illinois): “Educating Global Citizens: A Penn State Model,” featuring Verónica Montecinos, professor of sociology at Penn State Greater Allegheny Experimenting with various models of global education is crucial to satisfy the high demand generated in recent decades. This talk will focus on a successful model of curriculum internationalization, which was developed at Penn State Greater Allegheny and has the potential for being adopted at other educational institutions. All “Huddle with the Faculty” programs start promptly at 9:00 a.m. and include free parking at the Nittany Parking Deck. The Huddle series, presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, is sponsored by The Village at Penn State and supported by the The Nittany Lion Inn and Penn State Press. Nov. 16 (Purdue): “Protecting Children from Abuse: From the Frontlines,” featuring Benjamin Levi, Professor of Pediatrics and Humanities at the Penn State College of Medicine and Director of the Penn State Center for the Protection of Children Learn about the creation and development of the Penn State Hershey Center for the Protection of Children. Consider research findings about decision-making with regard to reporting suspected abuse and determining that abuse occurred, and discuss some of the ethical and practical challenges that arise in efforts to protect children from abuse.

2013 HOMECOMING COOKBOOK For the first time in several years, the Homecoming Committee— comprised of Penn State students—has revived an old tradition by creating a 2013 Homecoming Cookbook filled with 60 Penn Staters’ favorite tailgate and fall-themed recipes. The cookbook can be ordered through Penn State Homecoming’s online store.

TAILGREAT 2013 Penn State fans looking for a break from traditional tailgating can head to the Bryce Jordan Center for The Blue Band TailGreat Show, which offers free fun for families and fans of all ages. Get pumped up for football with a pre-game performance by the Blue Band, cheerleaders, Lionettes dance team, Nittany Lion and more. Activities throughout the season will be available on the BJC concourse, including free airbrush tattoos, spirit hairstyles, football player cards, photos with cheerleaders and games with prizes. The BJC opens three hours before kickoff, and the Blue Band performance starts two hours before kick and lasts about one hour.

FOOTBALL SHOW WITH COACH O’BRIEN ON THURSDAYS “The Penn State Football Show,” a one-hour call-in program that takes place at Damon’s Grill in State College every Thursday throughout football season, is being carried on nearly 40 radio stations in five states and live on gopsusports.com. The program begins at 6:05 p.m. and features football Coach Bill O'Brien, assistant coaches and members of the football team answering questions from fans live at Damon's. Fans can watch in person, participate online or call in at 800-52-LIONS (525-4667) to ask questions. Or submit ahead of time at www.GoPSUsports.com/askthecoach.

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Published by Penn State Alumni Association Copyright © 2013 Penn State Alumni Association. All rights reserved.

Part of your Penn State Alumni Association's mission is to strengthen the connection of alumni to the University and to provide valued services to members. The Football Letter is just one of the many benefits of membership provided to support that mission.