Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1511150
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 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 - 4 9 Rushing yards allowed by the Penn State football team in its 51-15 romp over Maryland on Nov. 4. It was the fewest rushing yards allowed in an FBS game this sea- son, easily topping Stanford's 37-24 win over Hawai'i on Sept. 1, a game in which the Cardinal held the Rainbow Warriors to minus-5 yards on the ground. It was also the second-lowest rushing total allowed by Penn State since 1947. 3 Penn State alumni on NBA rosters at the start of the sea- son in October. Forward Lamar Stevens is with the Boston Celtics after spending his first three seasons in Cleveland. In addition, PSU's two second-round 2023 draftees both made the cut with their respective teams. Point guard Jalen Pickett is with the defending league champion Denver Nuggets, while forward Seth Lundy is playing for the Atlanta Hawks. 5 Regular-season Big Ten championships won by the Penn State men's soccer team after the Nittany Lions claimed a share of this year's league title with a 1-1 tie against Wisconsin on Oct. 29. The Nittany Lions finished 4-2-2 in conference play (8- 3-4 overall) and shared the Big Ten crown with Indiana, but the Hoosiers received the top seed at the league tournament by virtue of a 2-1 win over PSU on Oct. 7. The Lions' latest conference reg- ular-season title is the team's second in the past three seasons. 6 . 3 % Penn State's third-down conversion rate in its 20-12 loss to Ohio State on Oct. 21. The Nit- tany Lions converted just one of their 16 third-down opportu- nities against the Buckeyes. According to ESPN Stats & Info, it was the worst third-down performance in the past 10 seasons (minimum 15 attempts) by a team ranked in the Asso- ciated Press poll. 8 Consecutive games in which Penn State had held its opponent to less than 100 yards rushing. Heading into the Michigan game Nov. 11, PSU hadn't allowed an opponent to surpass 100 yards on the ground since giving up 146 yards to West Virginia in the season opener. Through nine games, the Nittany Lions led the FBS in rushing yards allowed per game at 60.3 and in yards allowed per rush at 2.00, and were second in total defense, giving up 234.2 yards per game. 9 Goals by senior forward Peter Mangione during the men's soccer regular season, a total that led the Big Ten and was tied for 25th in Division I. Mangione also led the conference in game-winning goals (5) and points (22). 311 Passing attempts by sophomore quarter- back DREW ALLAR before throwing his first career interception. Allar was picked off by Indiana safety Josh Sanguinetti on his 29th pass of Penn State's 33-24 victory over the Hoosiers on Oct. 28. Allar broke an FBS record that had previously been held by Robert Griffin III of Baylor. The future Heisman Trophy winner didn't throw his first career interception until his 210th attempt as a true fresh- man in 2008. Allar attempted 251 passes this fall before finally throwing his first interception. His streak of consecutive passes without an interception to open a season ranks sixth in FBS history. Prior to Sanguinetti's pick, Allar was the only quarterback in the coun- try this year with 150 or more attempts and no interceptions. 9 .9 6 m i l l i o n Viewers who watched Penn State's game against Ohio State on Oct. 21. The game, which aired at noon on Fox, drew a 5.3 rating. It was the third-largest audience for any college game to that point this season according to Sports Media Watch, trailing only the Ohio State-Notre Dame game, which aired on NBC on Sept. 23, and the Colorado-Oregon game that same day on ABC. At its peak, 11.5 million viewers were tuned in to the PSU-OSU contest. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL