Blue White Illustrated

January 2018

Penn State Sports Magazine

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V S . W A S H I N G T O N O T H E R M A T C H U P S THE LOWDOWN The Fiesta Bowl will feature several of the country's top return specialists. Pettis is considered by many to be the nation's top punt re- turner with a 20.4-yard average and four TDs. He has an NCAA-record nine punt-return TDs in his career. Penn State's DeAndre Thompkins is second in the Big Ten with a 14.5-yard average and one TD. Pettis also leads the Pac-12 with a 28.8-yard kicko;- return average, while Barkley is third in the Big Ten with a 28.4-yard average and two TDs for Penn State. The Lions have a slight edge elsewhere, with Blake Gillikin averaging 43.2 yards per punt and Washington's Joel Whitford averaging 41.4 yards. Huskies PK Tris- tan Vizcaino has converted 12 of 19 :eld goals, with a long kick of 44 yards. His Penn State counterpart, Tyler Davis, has made 9 of 16, with his longest being 47 yards. // EDGE EVEN THE LOWDOWN Last year, Penn State was playing what amounted to a road game against USC in the Rose Bowl. This year? It's another West Coast game, but Penn State has always traveled well to the Fiesta Bowl, so this should be a true neutral-site game. // EDGE EVEN THE LOWDOWN This is Chris Petersen's fourth season at Washington, and he has brought the Huskies back to national prominence. The former Boise State coach has gone 37-16 in Seattle, including a Pac-12 champi- onship and College Football Playo; appearance last year. (The Huskies lost to Alabama, 24-7, in the semi:nals.) At Penn State, James Franklin hasn't gotten to the CFP yet, but he does have the Lions on the rise, having guided them to their second consecutive 10- win regular season. // EDGE EVEN SPECIAL TEAMS THIS 'N' THAT COACHING STAFF Backup K.J. Carta-Samuels has seen limited action and recently announced that he plans to transfer. Carta-Samuels is expected to remain with the team through the Fi- esta Bowl. The Huskies' leading receiver is Pettis with 62 catches for 721 yards and seven TDs. He was injured in the Huskies' regular-season :nale against Washington State but is expected to play in the bowl game. A

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