856 WINS 46 BOWL GAMES 28 BOWL WINS 99 1ST TEAM (8th in Nation) (T-9th in Nation) (T-3rd in Nation) ALL-AMERICANS Steve Jones (play-by-play); Jack Ham (analyst); Allen Bestwick (play-by-play); Dan Hawkins (analyst); TAXSLAYER BOWL Joe Putnam (sideline) Tiffany Greene (sideline) JANUARY 2, 2016 • NOON Local: 93.7 FM/1450 AM. Sirius: Ch. 80 ; XM: Ch. 80 Jacksonville, Fla. EverBank Field (67,246) PENN STATE GEORGIA BULLDOGS NITTANY LIONS Penn State, 1-0 7-5, 4-4 Big Ten Series: 9-3, 5-3 SEC Last Meeting: Penn State 27, Georgia 23 Head Coach: ........................ James Franklin Jan. 1, 1983 • Sugar Bowl (Louisiana Superdome) Interim Head Coach: ..................Bryan McClendon Record at Penn State (Yrs.) ................14-11 (Two) Complete Series Info on Page 8 Record at Georgia (Yrs.): ......................... 0-0 Career Record (Yrs.): .....................38-26 (Five) Career Record (Yrs.): ............................ 0-0 vs. Georgia ................................... 1-2 Penn State is making its 46th bowl appearance vs. Penn State: .........................First Meeting and fifth in the TaxSlayer Bowl. INSIDE THE GAME BREAKDOWN HISTORIC REUNION AS PENN STATE FACES GEORGIA IN TAXSLAYER BOWL RUSHING Penn State returns to a Florida bowl for the first time since the 2010 season when the Nittany Lions take on Penn State: Saquon Barkley 165 for 1,007 yds (100.7), 7 TD Southeastern Conference foe Georgia in the 71st annual TaxSlayer Bowl. The game will air on ESPN. Georgia: Sony Michel 199 for 1,101 yds (89.7), 7 TD PASSING The Nittany Lions and the Bulldogs were selected for just their second all-time meeting and the 46th all-time bowl Penn State: Christian Hackenberg 184-of-345, 2,386 yds (198.8), 16 TD/5 INT appearance for Penn State. The only other meeting between the teams came in the 1983 Sugar Bowl when the Georgia: Greyson Lambert 152-of-236, 1,844 yds (167.6), 11 TD/2 INT Nittany Lions claimed a 27-23 win over Georgia to claim their first National Championship. That game featured “The RECEIVING Catch,” a 48-yard diving touchdown reception by wide receiver Gregg Garrity from Todd Blackledge to give the Lions Penn State: Chris Godwin 63 for 968 yds (80.7), 5 TD a 27-17 lead. Garrity’s son, also named Gregg, is a student-athlete on the 2015 team. Georgia: Malcolm Mitchell 53 for 751 yds (62.6), 4 TD This will be Penn State’s fifth appearance in the TaxSlayer Bowl, formerly the Gator Bowl, with the last time DEFENSE coming in 1976 when the Nittany Lions fell to Notre Dame, 20-9. Penn State was 1-2-1 all-time in the Gator Bowl. Penn State: Carl Nassib 46 tkls, 19.5 TFL, 15.5 sacks, INT, 6 FF The Lions made back-to-back Gator Bowl appearances in 1961 with a win over Georgia Tech (30-15) and 1962 with Georgia: Dominick Sanders 45 tkls, 4.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 5 INT, 5 BU a loss to Florida (17-7). Penn State also tied Florida State (17-17) in the 1967 Gator Bowl. Penn State is tied for third nationally with Georgia and Oklahoma with 28 bowl victories and is No. 2 in bowl winning PSU TEAM UGA percentage with a 28-15-2 post-season record (64.4) among schools with at least 20 postseason appearances. 23.7 SCORING/GAME 26.5 135.1 RUSHING/GAME 194.3 Head coach James Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to a 7-5 regular season record to become bowl eligible for 193-362-5 PASSING (C-A-INT) 187-304-8 the second consecutive season and 46th time overall. The Nittany Lions’ mentor has guided all five of his teams 208.9 PASSING/GAME 187.1 as a head coach to a bowl appearance. Consensus first-team All-American defensive end Carl Nassib leads the 344.0 TOTAL OFF./GAME 381.4 nation in sacks and forced fumbles and earned numerous postseason awards, including Big Ten Defensive Player of +5 TURNOVER MARGIN +3 the Year and three national awards, including the Lombardi Award, Ted Hendricks Award and Lott IMPACT Award. 21.7 PTS ALLOWED/GAME 16.9 Penn State is 23-21-0 all-time against current SEC schools having played every SEC team except Arkansas, 149.8 OPP. RUSH YDS/GAME 151.9 Mississippi and Mississippi State. The most recent meeting with an SEC team was versus Alabama in 2011 in 202-350-10 OPP. PASSING 156-302-11 Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions are 12-6 against SEC teams in bowl games. 174.5 OPP. PASS YDS/GAME 146.1 324.2 OPP. TOTAL OFFENSE/GAME 298.0 2015 SCHEDULES PENN STATE GEORGIA Overall (B1G): 7-5 (4-4 East) Home: 6-1 Road: 0-4 Ntrl: 1-0 Overall (SEC): 9-3 (5-3 East) Home: 6-1 Road: 3-1 Ntrl: 0-1 PSU Rank Opponent (Rank) Time/Score TV Attend. UGA Rank Opponent (Rank) Time/Score TV Attend. September September 5 at Temple L, 10-27 ESPN 69,176 5 9/9 Louisiana at Monroe W, 51-14 SECN 92,746 12 BUFFALO W, 27-14 ESPN2 93,065 12 10/9 at Vanderbilt * W, 31-14 CBS 37,185 19 RUTGERS * W, 28-3 BTN 103,323 19 7/8 South Carolina * W, 52-20 ESPN 92,746 26 SAN DIEGO STATE W, 37-21 BTN 95,107 26 7/6 Southern W, 48-6 SECN 92,746 October October 3 ARMY WEST POINT W, 20-14 ESPNU 107,387 3 8/6 Alabama * (13/13) L, 10-38 CBS 92,746 10 INDIANA * W, 29-7 ESPN 97,837 10 19/16 at Tennessee * L, 31-38 CBS 102,455 17 at Ohio State * (1/1) L, 10-38 ABC 108,423 17 Missouri * W, 9-6 SECN 92,746 24 at Maryland * ^ W, 31-30 ESPN 68,948 31 -/23 vs. Florida *& (11/12) L, 3-27 CBS 84,628 31 ILLINOIS * W, 39-0 ESPN2 94,417 November November 7 Kentucky * W, 27-3 SECN 92,746 7 at Northwestern * L, 21-23 ESPNU 34,116 14 at Auburn * W, 20-13 CBS 87,451 21 MICHIGAN * (14/13) L, 16-28 ABC 107,418 21 Georgia Southern W, 23-17 ESPNU 92,746 28 at Michigan State * (6/6) L, 16-55 ESPN 74,705 28 at Georgia Tech W, 13-7 ESPN2 55,000 January January 2 vs. Georgia & (-/25) Noon ESPN 2 -/25 vs. Penn State & Noon ESPN * - Big Ten game Rankings: AP/Coaches ^ - M&T Bank Stadium & - EverBank Field * - SEC game Rankings: AP/Coaches & - EverBank Field TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 2 ...................Quick Facts/NFL Notes 12-13 ................. Hackenberg’s Resume Page 23 .. Depth Chart/Pronunciations/Asst. Coaches Page 3 .... CFP/Big Ten Standings/Media Information 12 ................National Statistical Rankings Page 24-25 .....................Numerical Roster Page 4-5 ..............Head Coach James Franklin 13 ............Winningest Programs/At the Start Page 26-27 ...................Alphabetical Roster Page 6 ...Opponents/National Polls/Future Schedules 14-16 ..................... Honors & Awards Page 28 .....................Career Highs Chart Page 7 ......................... TaxSlayer Bowl 17 .........Air Attack/New Offensive Coordinator Page 29 ....................... The Last Time... Page 8 ................... The Series vs. Georgia 18 ..........Barkley Breaks Out/Offensive Tidbits Page 30 .........................Record Watch Page 9-21 ..........................Bowl Notes 19 ..Special Teams/Community Service/Graduates Page 31-42 ....Game-by-Game Recaps (Games 1-12) 9 .........Nittany Nuggets/NFL Stadiums (Bowls) 20 .................Happy Valley/Winning Time Page 43-47 .......................Bowl Records 10 ........Dominating D-Line/Record Breakdown 21 ...Youth & Injuries/NFL Stadiums (Reg. Season) Page 48-61 ......................... Player Bios 11 .................... Defense/End of an Era Page 22 ................Starts Chart/Career Starts Page 62-78 ...........................Statistics 2 2015 PENN STATE FOOTBALL GAME NOTES PROGRAM NOTES TEAM CAPTAINS 129TH SEASON OF GRIDIRON EXCELLENCE Penn State is in its 129th season of intercollegiate football and owns an 856-381-42 record, to rank No. 8 nationally in all-time victories. Penn State is one of just eight programs to pass the 850-win milestone, four of whom are Big Ten members: Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio State. ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE A total of 370 of Penn State football student-athletes, including 22 in 2015, have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors since 1993 for owning at least a 3.0 grade point Penn State football head coach James Franklin occasions in 2014, including 453 yards vs. Boston College average and being a letterwinner. announced on Aug. 10 that Christian Hackenberg, in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Jordan Lucas, Angelo Mangiro, Von Walker and Walker earned a scholarship in April after two seasons ONE OF NATION’S TOUGHEST HOME VENUES Anthony Zettel will serve as team captains for the 2015 as a walk-on, including a move from running back to Penn State owns a superlative 271-72 (.790) record season. Hackenberg is a team captain for the second linebacker during 2014 spring practice. Walker appeared inside Beaver Stadium, the nation’s second-largest facility, consecutive year. in 12 games last season and made his first career start which opened in 1960 and has a capacity of 106,572. “This group of guys was selected by their teammates versus Northwestern. He was also a major contributor on ON YOUR TELEVISION and coaches because they are outstanding ambassadors special teams, ranking third on the team with five special Penn State has appeared on television 275 times in its for our program,” Franklin said. “They are leaders in the teams tackles, including four on kickoff coverage. He has last 277 regular season games. classroom, in the community, in the locker room and are also excelled in the classroom, earning Academic All-Big important influencers for our team.” Ten honors last year.