Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 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 7 Turnovers by the Penn State football team dur- ing its 2023 campaign, the fewest in school history. Sophomore quarterback DREW ALLAR threw just 2 interceptions in 389 passing attempts, compiling a 0.51 interception percentage that also stands as a PSU single- season record. 8th Olumuyiwa Fashanu's spot on ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper's Big Board as of Jan. 5. The senior tackle is the top offensive lineman in Kiper's rankings, coming in one spot ahead of Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt. "He has started just 21 career games and just turned 21 years old in December," Kiper noted. "It's not out of the question that he gets an Orlando Pace-type grade heading into April's draft." 1 0 Kills by junior middle blocker Toby Ezeonu in the Penn State men's volleyball team's season-open- ing sweep of Central State on Jan. 4 at Rec Hall. Ezeonu took just 10 swings against the Marauders, making him only the fourth player in Nittany Lion history to hit 1.000 in a match with a minimum of 10 attacks. 18.4 Points per game by sopho- more guard Kanye Clary through the Penn State men's basketball team's first 15 contests of the sea- son. Coming off a true freshman season in which he averaged 3.7 points in 32 games, Clary was ranked fifth in the Big Ten in scoring. 38 Points by Ole Miss against Penn State in the Peach Bowl. Before facing the Rebels in Atlanta, PSU had surrendered 24 points or fewer in 17 con- secutive games, a streak dating back to a 45-14 win over Indi- ana on Nov. 5, 2022. 40 Point differential in the Penn State women's basketball team's 95-55 rout of Northwestern on Jan. 2 at the Bryce Jordan Center. It was the Lady Lions' largest margin of victory over a Big Ten opponent since they defeated visiting Wisconsin by 44 points, 84-40, on Jan. 17, 2013. The victory was also noteworthy in that it was the 150th of coach Carolyn Kieger's career. Kieger is in her fifth season with the Lady Lions after starting her head coaching career at Marquette, her alma ma- ter. She held a 150-141 record through the first 14 games of Penn State's 2023-24 season. 84 Snaps played by senior cornerback Dae- quan Hardy in the Peach Bowl. It was the most snaps for any Penn State defensive player during the 2023 season. PSU was missing both of its starting cornerbacks against Ole Miss, with junior Kalen King and senior Johnny Dixon both opting out in anticipation of the upcoming NFL Draft. 127 Yards receiving by junior Ty- ler Warren in the Peach Bowl, the most ever by a Penn State tight end in a bowl game. Warren caught a team-high 5 passes against Ole Miss, including a 75-yarder in the first quarter to set up the Nittany Lions' initial touchdown of the game. That acrobatic catch-and-run — War- ren snared a deflected pass and sprinted through traffic to the 5-yard line — set the tone for an afternoon on which 103 of his yards came after the catch. 217 Fourth-quarter yards by Penn State in the Peach Bowl. The Nittany Lions had totaled a season-low 14 yards in the third quar- ter and were attempting to rally from a 31-17 deficit, but they converted their late yardage spree into just eight points. Penn State finished with 510 yards in the game. It was the third-highest total for a bowl game in program history, trailing only the 545 yards the Lions gained in a 35-28 victory over Washington in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl and the 529 yards they amassed in a 53-39 win against Memphis in the 2019 Cotton Bowl. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL