Nittany Lions host Auburn for Whiteout game Saturday

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – No. 10/12 Penn State hosts No. 22/20 Auburn on Saturday in Beaver Stadium for a non-conference battle to continue the home schedule of the 2021 season.  Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

ESPN’s College Gameday will make its 22nd appearance at the site of a Penn State game. Penn State is the only school to host GameDay in each of the last five seasons. GameDay will appear at a Penn State game for the sixth consecutive season. Saturday’s broadcast marks the 10th time ESPN’s College Gameday has originated from Penn State.

Penn State will host its 13th annual full-stadium Penn State Whiteout. A tradition stretching back to a student section White Out in 2004, Penn State White Outs have created an unrivaled atmosphere inside Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions are 6-6 in Penn State White Out games.

The Nittany Lions will take on Auburn for the third time in program history. The two previous matchups came in bowl games. In 1995, Penn State earned a 43-14 win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl. Auburn’s quarterback in that game, Patrick Nix, is the father of Auburn’s current quarterback, Bo Nix. Wally Richardson threw for four touchdowns, while Bobby Engram had four catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. In the last matchup, Penn State fell 13-9 against the Tigers in the 2002 Capital One Bowl. Robbie Gould hit three field goals.

Penn State holds a 23-23 record against current members of the SEC. Of the 46 matchups, 20 have come in bowl games, including Penn State’s most recent game against an SEC opponent, the 2019 Citrus Bowl against Kentucky. Penn State is 10-16 in regular season contests against the SEC.

Auburn earned a 62-0 win over Alabama State last Saturday to improve 2-0 on the season. The Tigers ran for 364 yards and three scores. Auburn had two 100-yard rushers as Jarquez Hunter gained 147 yards on eight carries and Tank Bigsby rushed for 122 yards on 11 carries. Hunter added a rushing touchdown. Bo Nix threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns. The Tigers defense held Alabama State to 176 yards and forced two takeaways.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

• Auburn, led by head coach Bryan Harsin, began its 2021 campaign with a 60-10 win over Akron and followed with a 62-0 victory against Alabama State.
• The Tigers went 6-5 in 2020, earning a bid to the Outback Bowl against Northwestern.
• Auburn ranks second in the country in scoring offense (61.0), third in rushing offense (340.0) and eighth in third down conversion percentage (58.8).
• Junior QB Bo Nix has completed 74.4 percent of his passes for 383 yards and five touchdowns.
• WR Shedrick Jackson leads the Tigers with seven catches for 90 yards, while WR Demetris Robertson has six catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
• Freshman RB Jarquez Hunter is averaging 128.5 rushing yards per game with 257 yards on 17 carries (15.1 average) and two touchdowns.
• Sophomore RB Tank Bigsby has rushed for 120.5 yards per game. He has 241 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries (10.0 average). Bigsby was a preseason first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus.
• On defense, Auburn leads the country in scoring defense (5.0) and rushing defense (21.5) while sitting third in total defense (182.0).
• Senior LB Zakoby McClain leads the Tigers with 17 tackles.
• CB Roger McCreary has 10 tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception.
• K Anders Carson was a preseason second-team All-American selection by the Associated Press.

GET UP, IT’S GAMEDAY

• ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will be live from Happy Valley on Saturday.
• This is the 22nd time College GameDay has been at the site of a Penn State game.
• The popular pregame college football program will air live from 9 a.m.-noon (ET) Saturday.
• Penn State is the only school to host College GameDay in each of the last five years.
• College GameDay will be appearing at a Penn State game for the sixth consecutive season, joining the 2020 Ohio State game, 2019 Michigan and Ohio State games, 2018 Ohio State game, 2017 Michigan and Ohio State contests and the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game.
• The 12-time Emmy Award-winning show is hosted by Rece Davis, with analysts Lee Corso – who returns to the main desk after contributing virtually last season, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, and reporters Jen Lada and Gene Wojciechowski.
• Saturday’s broadcast marks the 10th time College GameDay has originated from Penn State and the first time it has done so in five consecutive years. It was also in Happy Valley in 1997 (Michigan), 1999 (Arizona), 2005 (Ohio State), 2007 (Ohio State), 2009 (Iowa), 2017 (Michigan), 2018 (Ohio State) and 2019 (Michigan) and 2020 (Ohio State).
• Penn State is 4-5 with GameDay on campus, defeating  Arizona (1999), Ohio State (2005) and Michigan (2017, 19).
• Saturday’s GameDay appearance be the third for a non-conference game, joining Arizona (1999) and at Alabama (2010).

PENN STATE WHITE OUT

• A tradition stretching back to a student section White Out in 2004, Penn State White Outs have created an unrivaled atmosphere inside Beaver Stadium.
• Saturday marks the 13th time the Nittany Lions will host a full-stadium Penn State White Out.
• Penn State will host a student-only White Out against Michigan on November 13, 2021.
• Penn State holds a 6-6 record when the full stadium wears white.
• This is Penn State’s second White Out against a non-conference opponent. Penn State’s first full stadium White Out was against Notre Dame in 2007.

TALIAFERRO RETURNS AS HONORARY CAPTAIN

• Former Nittany Lion Adam Taliaferro will return to Beaver Stadium to serve as honorary captain this Saturday.
• As a true freshman cornerback, Taliaferro suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury making a tackle against Ohio State in a game on Sept. 23, 2000. Paralyzed by the injury when he fractured his 5th cervical vertebrae and bruised his spinal cord, the Voorhees, N.J. native was given a five percent chance by doctors of ever walking again. He made a full recovery.
• A little more than 11 months after his injury, Taliaferro completed one of the major goals he had set on September 1, 2001 as he walked, then skipped and jogged onto the Beaver Stadium turf, leading the Nittany Lions onto the field against Miami (Fla.).