Penn State welcome Minutemen for Saturday’s Homecoming matchup
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Penn State (5-0) hosts UMass (1-6) for its 103rd homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday on Big Ten Network.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State meets UMass for the second time in program history. The first matchup came in 2014, a 48-7 Penn State win. The Nittany Lions tallied 464 total yards, including 228 on the ground. Penn State had five rushing touchdowns, including two each by Bill Belton and Zach Zwinak. Penn State held UMass to three rushing yards while collecting 10 tackles for loss and three sacks.
HOMECOMING: The Nittany Lions are set to host their 103rd homecoming game. Penn State holds a 73-24-5 record in front of the alumni crowd, including wins in 14 of the last 17 games. PSU earned a 45-17 win over Minnesota in last year’s homecoming contest.
CREATING HAVOC: The Penn State defense is making its impact known in opposing backfields. Through five games, Penn State already has 18 different players who have recorded at least a full tackle for loss and 14 different players who have recorded at least a full sack. The Nittany Lions are the only FBS team with at least 14 players registering at least one sack this season. Penn State secured seven sacks at Northwestern, marking 10-straight games with at least three sacks, tied for the nation’s longest streak. Since 2014, Penn State has posted six or more sacks in 16 games, tied for most in the FBS.
PROTECTING THE BALL: Through the first five starts of his career, and his first 15 career games, Drew Allar has shown an ability to avoid interceptions. In his PSU career, Allar has thrown 218 pass attempts without an interception. In 2023, Allar, with 158 attempts, is the only FBS quarterback with 150+ pass attempts and no interceptions. Since 2000, he is one of 14 FBS quarterbacks, and the only Big Ten quarterback, with 150+ pass attempts and no interceptions through the first five games of a season.
THE OPPOSITION: UMass is 1-6 this season after falling 41-24 against Toledo last Saturday. The Minutemen tallied 439 total yards, including 272 passing yards. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown, while Anthony Simpson caught seven passes for 140 yards and a score.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 10 x 14: Penn State has won 10-straight games, all by at least a 14-point margin of victory. Over the last two seasons, no other FBS team has won by a 14-point margin for longer than six-straight games.
• 12: With 41 points against Northwestern, Penn State has scored at least 30 points in 11-straight games, the nation’s longest active streak.
• <>: Penn State has held its opponent under 100 rushing yards in four-straight games.
• 14: Fourteen different Nittany Lions have recorded at least one full sack this season, most among any FBS team.
SCOUTING MINUTEMEN
• UMass is led by head coach Don Brown.
• Brown returned to UMass for his second stint as head coach on November 22, 2021.
• UMass is 1-6 this season, including a 41-30 win over New Mexico in its 2023 opener.
• The Minutemen dropped a 41-24 decision against Toledo last Saturday.
• UMass tallied 439 yards, including 272 through the air.
• QB Taisun Phommachanh completed 20-of-31 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns, while Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams rushed for 157 yards and a score.
• On the season, the UMass offense ranks 84th in the FBS in scoring (26.1 ppg), 65th in total offense (396.4 ypg), 53rd in passing offense (253.7) and 85th in rushing offense (142.7).
• Phommachanh (788 yards, 3 TD) has started four games at quarterback this season.
• RB Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams ranks seventh in the nation in total rushing yards (661), 23rd in rushing yards per game (94.4) and 24th in rushing touchdowns (6).
• WR Anthony Simpson sits ninth in the country with 566 receiving yards.
• The Minutemen defense holds 129th in the FBS in scoring defense (39.4 ppg), 123rd in total defense (452.1 ypg), 74th in pass defense (232.0) and 128th in rushing defense (220.1).
• UMass has forced eight takeaways on the season.
• LB Gerrell Johnson leads the team with 33 tackles, while DT Billy Wooden has a team-best eight tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
• Desrosiers is second in the nation with 428 combined kick return yards, while averaging 19.5 yards per return.
GENERATIONS OF GREATNESS
• Penn State is turning back the clock for its “Generations of Greatness” game, as the Nittany Lions will don uniforms with design elements from uniforms past.
• Penn State is wearing its “Generations of Greatness” uniforms for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. The threads debuted in 2017 against Indiana (W, 45-14) and Penn State donned them again against Purdue in 2019 (W, 35-7), Iowa in 2020 (L, 21-42), Illinois in 2021 (L, 18-20, 9OT) and Minnesota in 2022 (W, 45-17).
Uniform Elements
• Numbers on Helmets – The Nittany Lions had the number on the side of their helmet from 1959-61 and then again from 1967-74. A No. 42 also appeared on the side of every Penn State helmet in the season finale against Wisconsin in 2012 to honor injured senior Michael Mauti.
• Block Uniform Numbers – The block uniform numbers are similar to those uniform numbers that donned the Blue & White from mid-1950s-66.
• White Stripe on Sleeve – Penn State’s uniform had a white stripe on the sleeve several times, including 1957-66, 1982-89 and 1992-2011.
• Stripe on the Pants – The Nittany Lions had a blue stripe on their pants from 1952-68.
• Gray Facemask – The gray facemask was donned by the Nittany Lions from 1959-86.
• White Cleats – The white cleats were worn by the Nittany Lions in the 1979 Sugar Bowl.
• Gloves – The gloves will feature the Lion Shrine on the palm of the hands.
• Lion Shrine – The image of Lion Shrine appears on the “home plate” of the front of the jersey. It is an original element of the “Generations of Greatness” uniform to pay homage to the Lion Shrine that was a gift from the Class of 1940.
• Back Inside Collar – The back inside collar of the jersey reads “Penn State 1959” in recognition of the first Liberty Bowl game, played in Philadelphia. Penn State defeated Alabama, 7-0.
SUCCESS ON HOMECOMING
• The Nittany Lions own a 73-24-5 record in 102 games in front of the alumni crowd since their 14-7 victory over Dartmouth in the first Homecoming game on Oct. 9, 1920.
• In 2022, Penn State won 45-17 against Minnesota, which also served as last year’s Penn State White Out game.
• Penn State has won eight out of its last 11 Homecoming tilts, defeating Minnesota (2022), Purdue (2019), Rutgers (2017), Maryland (2016), Indiana (2015), Michigan (2013), Northwestern (2012) and Purdue (2011).
• The Nittany Lions have claimed 14 of their last 17 contests in front of the alumni crowd.
STREAKING
• Penn State has won 10-straight games, each by a 14-point margin of victory. Over the last two seasons, no other FBS team has won by a 14-point margin in more than six-straight games.
• The 10-straight wins are tied with Air Force for the fourth-longest active streak in the FBS.
• Penn State has recorded at least 30 points in 12-straight games, which is the longest active streak in the nation.
• Dating back to the Rutgers game in 2022, Penn State has scored in 32-straight quarters, the longest active streak in the nation.
• Penn State has not allowed a first-drive touchdown in the last 19 games, dating back to the Michigan State game in 2021.
• Penn State has a streak of 14-straight games with at least five tackles for loss. It is the second-longest streak in FBS behind James Madison’s 15-game string.
• The Nittany Lions have recorded at least three sacks in 10-straight games, dating back to the Indiana game in 2022. The streak is tied with James Madison for the longest in the FBS.
• Penn State has not allowed a special teams touchdown in 53-straight games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.
• Penn State has won 17 consecutive games against teams that are not members of a Power Five conference.
• Penn State has won 18 consecutive games over non-conference opponents during the regular season, dating back to a win over Temple in 2016.
• Penn State has won 23-straight non-conference home games, dating back to a win over Kent State in 2013.
