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O T H E R M A T C H U P S THE LOWDOWNThe Fiesta Bowl will feature several of the country's top return specialists. Pettis is considered by many to be the nation's top punt returner with a 20.4-yard average and four touchdowns. 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 av- erage and one TD. Meanwhile, Barkley is third in the Big Ten with a 28.4-yard kickoff-return 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 Tristan Vizcaino has converted 12 of 19 field 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 SPECIAL TEAMS THE LOWDOWNLast year, Penn State was playing what amounted to a road game against Southern California 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. // EDGEEven THIS 'N' THAT THE LOWDOWN This is Chris Petersen's fourth season at Washington, and he has brought the Huskies back to na- tional prominence. The former Boise State coach has gone 37-16 in Seattle, including a Pac-12 championship and College Football Playoff appearance last year. (The Huskies lost to Alabama, 24-7, in the semifinals.) At Penn State, 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 COACHING STAFF D E C E M B E R   2 7 ,   2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 5 WASHINGTON PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE WASHINGTON PASSING GAME 221.8 YPG, 12.0 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE 210.2 YPG, 10.4 YPC THE LOWDOWNWashington's pass offense ranks sixth in the Pac-12, thanks primarily to Browning and WR Dante Pettis. Browning, a 6-2, 210-pound junior, enjoyed an amazing debut last season, throwing for 3,430 yards and 43 touchdowns. Due in part to injuries in the receiver corps, his numbers have declined this year, as he has completed 212 of 308 attempts for 2,544 yards, with 18 touchdown passes and five interceptions. Backup QB K.J. Carta- Samuels has seen limited action during his junior season and recently announced that he intends to transfer. Carta-Samuels, the younger brother of one of James Franklin's former Vanderbilt players, Austyn Carta-Samuels, is expected to remain with the team through the Fiesta Bowl. The Huskies' leading receiver is Pettis with 62 catches for 721 yards and seven TDs. He was injured in the Huskies' regular-season finale against Washington State but is expected to play in the bowl game. ABer Pettis, Washington has only four other receivers with more than 15 catches: TE Hunter Bryant (22 catches, 331 yards), WR Aaron Fuller (20 catches, 230 yards), TE Will Dissly (19 catches, 230 yards) and Gaskin (18 catches, 228 yards). Another running back – Coleman – has 12 catches for 155 yards and three TDs. Browning likes to throw to Gaskin and Coleman coming out of the backfield. Penn State's pass defense has been up-and-down all season. The Nittany Lions rank eighth in the Big Ten and have totaled 10 inter- ceptions, including four by reserve CB Amani Oruwariye. Grant Haley has two interceptions, while Allen, Apke, Christian Campbell and Tariq Castro-Fields each have one. Penn State is second in the Big Ten with 38 sacks. Miller and Toney have a team-high four apiece. // KEY MATCHUP Pettis's matchup with Haley will be one of the most important battles of the game. Also, Washington tackles Wattenberg and McGary will need to contain Miller, Buchholz and Toney. // EDGE Even and the Lions have allowed only 11 rushing TDs. ILB Jason Cabinda is Penn State's leading tackler with 84 total stops, including six tackles for loss. FS Marcus Allen is the Nittany Lions' second-leading tackler with 65 stops, including four tackles for loss. The fact that Penn State has four linebackers – Cabinda, Brandon Smith, Manny Bowen and Koa Farmer – among its six leading tacklers shows the strength of its run defense this season. Smith is the team's third-leading tackler with 55 stops, while Bowen ranks fiBh with 51. Bowen compiled that total despite missing the team's last three games due to a suspension, and it was announced in mid-December that he will miss the Fiesta Bowl as well. Farmer is sixth on the team with 46 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss, while SS Troy Apke is fourth with 52 total stops. As a team, Penn State is second in the Big Ten with 85 tackles for loss. DE Shareef Miller leads the way with 10, followed by Shaka Toney (6.5) and Cabinda (6.0). // KEY MATCHUP For the Huskies to have the same type of success they enjoyed during the regular season, offensive tackles Luke Wattenberg and Kaleb McGary will have to control Miller and Ryan Buchholz. The latter was out for much of November with a leg injury, but he did see action against Maryland and is listed as a starter on Penn State's Fiesta Bowl depth chart. In addition, Washington guards Andrew Kirkland and Nick Harris will be looking to neutralize Penn State's box linebackers, Cabinda and Smith. // EDGE Even

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