Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1445781
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M By The Numbers 5 t h Penn State's ranking in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings at the conclusion of the fall athlet- ics season. Paced by four teams that finished in their respec- tive final top-25 polls — field hockey (fourth), women's vol- leyball (17th), women's soccer (23rd) and men's soccer (24th) — Penn State compiled 298 points coming out of the fall ac- tion. The Nittany Lions trailed only BYU (368), Notre Dame (360), Michigan (354) and Wisconsin (339.5). Over the years, Penn State's fall teams have typically been strong perform- ers, with the Nittany Lions ranking in the top 10 of the final fall standings in 24 of the 28 years that the Directors' Cup has been awarded. 9 t h Penn State's spot in a recent poll that used As- sociated Press rankings to determine the greatest college football programs of all-time. The poll em- ployed the AP's final rankings dating back to 1936, awarding teams 25 points for finishing No. 1, 24 points for finishing No. 2, etc. Penn State totaled 702 points, placing just ahead of Tennessee with 686. Oklahoma topped the rankings, finishing with 1,136 points. Behind the Sooners were Al- abama (1,129), Ohio State (1,119), Notre Dame (1,028), Michigan (1,016), USC (837), Nebraska (798) and Texas (797). 1 7 Points by Sam Ses- soms in Penn State's 66-49 victory over visit- ing Rutgers on Jan. 11. It was a bounce-back game for both Sessoms and the Nittany Lions. The team had lost to third-ranked Purdue, 74-67, three nights earlier, and the senior guard had played a season-low seven minutes. Coach Micah Shrewsberry wasn't happy with Sessoms' effort, but he didn't feel the need in the days after the game to discuss it any further. "Him playing seven minutes was the message," the first-year coach explained. That message was received loud and clear. Against the Scarlet Knights, Sessoms hit 10 of 17 shots and added six assists, the second-highest total of his career. "I know my teammates expect a lot from me, so when I leave knowing that I didn't give my best effort, which is the thing you can control, it just eats me up until the next oppor- tunity," he said. "I feel like I'm letting my teammates down in a selfish way because it's nothing I can't do. It's all inner. … I was just itching to get the next opportunity, which was to- night [against Rutgers]. Hopefully I made them feel better." 4 0 Percentage of all individual championships that have been won by Penn State wrestlers in the past four NCAA Tournaments. During the 2017, '18, '19 and '21 tournaments (the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the pandemic), the Nittany Lions sent 19 wrestlers to the finals of their respective weight classes. Those wrestlers compiled a combined record of 16-3, including a 4-for-4 perfor- mance at last year's tournament. So, of the 40 individual finals that were held from 2017-21, PSU wrestlers won 16. During the past 10 NCAA Tournaments, Penn State has averaged four finalists and 2.7 champions per year. 1 4 .7 m i l l i o n Total number of viewers of Penn State's football games against Ohio State and Auburn last fall. The Nittany Lions' visit to Co- lumbus was the 10th-most- watched game of the regular season, while the Auburn game was the ninth-most- watched contest. The top-rated game of the year was Ohio State- Michigan, which drew 15.9 million viewers on Nov. 27. 3 Passing first downs allowed by Penn State in its matchup with Arkansas on Jan. 1, tying an Outback Bowl low. The Nittany Lions held the Razorbacks to just 90 yards through the air, and senior safety JI'AYIR BROWN tied another Outback Bowl record with his two in- terceptions. But the main reason why the Arkansas passing game compiled such modest numbers was because the Razorbacks were having too much success on the ground to bother trying to throw the football. They rushed for 361 yards, including 110 yards by quarterback K.J. Jefferson. In the process, they set a few Outback Bowl records of their own, for most rushing first downs (21) and most rushing attempts (58). PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL