Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/873185
O T H E R M A T C H U P S THE LOWDOWNThe Lions appear to have found a very effective punt returner in DeAndre Thompkins, who aver- aged 22.6 yards per attempt in his first two games. Blake Gillikin has averaged 44.9 yards per punt on his eight at- tempts, and Penn State's coverage teams have allowed zero net punt-return yards. Tyler Davis is one of the top two kickers in the Big Ten, having converted 2 of 3 field goal attemps, with a career-long 47-yarder against Akron. For Georgia State, Bateman averages 5.0 yards per punt return. Oliver Holdenson averaged 41.5 yards per punt against Tennessee State, while PK Brandon Wright missed his only field goal attempt, a 20-yarder. // EDGE Penn State SPECIAL TEAMS THE LOWDOWN The Panthers have never faced Penn State, which means they've never been to Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions have won nine in a row at home, and although this isn't the most anticipated matchup on their schedule, the night-game atmosphere usually creates some electricity, and that will definitely work in their favor on Saturday. // EDGEPenn State THIS 'N' THAT THE LOWDOWN This is Shawn Elliott's first year as Georgia State's head coach. His only other head coaching expe- rience was at South Carolina, where he served in an interim capacity in 2015, going 1-5. James Franklin is in his fourth year as the head coach at Penn State, where he has won 13 of his past 16 games, including the first two games of the 2017 season. // EDGE Penn State COACHING STAFF S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 5 Big Ten in pass defense. The Nittany Lions are sixth in pass-efficiency defense with a rating of 151.4. In their first two games, the Lions totaled eight sacks, including two by Miller. Penn State has also totaled 15 QB hurries. CB Grant Haley has one interception that he returned for 42 yards against Pitt. CB Amani Oruwaryi and FS Troy Apke also have one interception each. CB Christian Campbell leads Penn State's secondary with four passes bro- ken up and four passes defended. The Nittany Lions' 15 passes defended are 25 percent of their total from the en- tire 2016 season. // KEY MATCHUP Miller will be looking to get past Atkinson, while Haley will take on Hart in the secondary. The key to shutting down Georgia State's offense will be to put pressure on Manning. That's why the matchup between Miller and Atkinson will be critical. // EDGE Penn State