Nittany Lions Underdogs as They Face Maryland on Homecoming

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State looks to continue its winning ways in Beaver Stadium and on Homecoming, as the Nittany Lions host Maryland for a noon kickoff Saturday televised on BTN.

(Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)

Penn State is playing the second game of a three-game homestand after opening it with a thrilling overtime win over Minnesota. Recent trends suggest the Penn State faithful could be in for another nail-biting finish. The 2013 Homecoming game was a four-overtime victory over Michigan, and the last two meetings with Maryland have been decided by just one point.

The Nittany Lions have been very successful recently in Happy Valley and have won nine out of their last 10 home games dating back to last season. Additionally, over the past decade and more, Penn State has been nearly as successful when welcoming back its alumni, as the Blue and White have won nine out of their last 11 homecoming contests, including a 29-7 win over Indiana last season.

Trace McSorley enters the Maryland week as the Big Ten passing yards leader. He threw for 335 in the win over Minnesota and added 73 on the ground to total 408 yards of total offense – the third most in Penn State history. He also accounted for two touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing), and his 26-yard scramble in the final seconds of regulation against Minnesota setup the game-tying field goal.

Safety Marcus Allen enters the week as the Big Ten tackles leader. He made 22 stops against the Golden Gophers, tying for the fourth most in Penn State history, aiding a “Linebacker U” group short-handed from injuries. Allen had ranked 20th in the conference with 28 tackles in the first four games.

Allen will be counted on to help in the running game, as Maryland brings one of the most prolific rushing attacks in the nation so far this season, averaging 300 yards per game. The ground game has helped Maryland get off to a 4-0 start, including a 50-7 win over Purdue in its most recent outing.

Although Penn State has only lost twice to Maryland in 39 meetings, the Terrapins were the victor that last time they visited Happy Valley.

HEAD COACH DJ DURKIN
• DJ Durkin was named the 36th head football coach in Maryland history on December 2, 2015.
• Durkin previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Michigan, leading a defensive unit that ranked fourth in the country.
• As the defensive coordinator at Florida from 2013-14, Durkin led the Gators to consecutive top-15 rankings in total defense. He was the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Florida from 2010-12.
• Durkin was the special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach at Stanford from 2007-09 after two years as an assistant at Bowling Green.
• As a student-athlete at Bowling Green, Durkin was a starter at defensive end and outside linebacker from 1997-2000. He led the team in sacks in 1998 and served as a team captain for two seasons. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business marketing in 2001 and his master’s degree in educational administration and supervision in 2004.

SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
• Maryland is off to a 4-0 start in 2016 with wins over Howard, FIU, UCF and Purdue.
• This will be Maryland’s third road game of the season.
• Maryland ranks fourth in the Big Ten in both total offense (466.3) and total defense (325.3).
• The Terrapins have scored a school-record 173 points through four games. Their 43.3 points per game ranks 15th in FBS and third in the Big Ten.
• Maryland boasts one of the top red zone defenses in the country, allowing scores on just 63.6 percent of possessions to rank sixth nationally and third in the Big Ten.
• Conversely, Maryland leads the Big Ten in red zone scoring with a 94.7 percent success rate. The figure ranks 13th nationally.
• Led by Lorenzo Harrison and Ty Johnson, the Terrapins are one of the most prolific rushing teams in the country, averaging 300.0 yards per game to rank seventh nationally and second in the Big Ten.
• Jesse Aniebonam is one of the top pass rushers this season. His 1.0 sacks per game rank 14th nationally and second in the Big Ten.

SUCCESS ON HOMECOMING
• The Nittany Lions own a 68-22-5 record in front of the alumni crowd since their 14-7 victory over Dartmouth in the first homecoming game on Oct. 9, 1920.
• Last season, the Nittany Lions defeated Indiana, 29-7.
• In 2013, the Nittany Lions claimed a thrilling 43-40 four-overtime victory over Michigan on homecoming.
• In 2012, Penn State rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to topple then-unbeaten Northwestern, 39-28.
• Penn State has won four of its last five homecoming tilts, defeating Indiana (2015), Michigan (2013), Northwestern (2012) and Purdue (2011).
• The Nittany Lions have claimed nine of their last 11 contests in front of the alumni crowd.

HOMESTAND
• The Nittany Lions are spending nearly the entire month of October in Happy Valley.
• A three-game homestand began against Minnesota and will continue against Maryland and Ohio State (Oct. 22) with an off week (Oct. 15) in between.
• It will be the longest stretch of home games this season and the longest since Penn State played five in a row at home early last season.
• Dating back to last season, Penn State has won nine out of its last 10 home games.

COACHING STAFF CONNECTIONS
• Penn State head coach James Franklin spent eight seasons on staff at Maryland. He was the Terrapins’ asst. head coach/offensive coordinator (2008-10) and recruiting coordinator/wide receivers coach (2000-04).
• Franklin’s wide receivers coach at Vanderbilt in 2011 was Maryland wide receivers coach Chris Beatty.
• Penn State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks served on the Bowling Green coaching staff in 1999 and 2000 during Maryland head coach DJ Durkin’s final two seasons as a student-athlete.
• Banks and Beatty were also on the same coaching staff at Illinois in 2012.
• Banks served on the Maryland defensive coaching staff from 2003-06.
• Penn State special teams coordinator/running backs coach Charles Huff was an assistant offensive line coach at Maryland in 2009.
• Penn State Assistant AD of performance enhancement Dwight Galt is a graduate of Maryland and spent 22 years with the Maryland strength and conditioning staff.
• Assistant director of performance enhancement Dwight Galt IV and offensive graduate assistant Tommy Galt played for the Terrapins from 2005-09.
• Penn State Chief of Staff Jemal Griffin was the director of football operations at Maryland from 2008-10.
• Penn State Director of Football Administration Kevin Threlkel served as a football operations intern for two seasons at Maryland.
• Maryland head coach DJ Durkin is familiar with Penn State, visiting Beaver Stadium as Michigan’s defensive coordinator last season and taking on the Nittany Lions as Florida’s special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at the 2011 Outback Bowl.
• Maryland defensive coordinator Andy Buh was the linebackers coach at Wisconsin in 2012.

NITTANY LIONS FROM MARYLAND
• S Marcus Allen — Upper Marlboro/Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.
• RB Mark Allen — Hyattsville/DeMatha Catholic
• LB Cam Brown — Burtonsville/Bullis School
• WR Dae’Lun Darien — Baltimore/Dunbar
• CB Desi Davis — Ardmore/Harriton
• G/C Brian Gaia — Pasadena/Gilman School
• TE/H Jonathan Holland — Brandywine/The Bullis School
• DT Ellison Jordan — Upper Marlboro/Gilman School
• WR Josh McPhearson — Columbia/Annapolis Area Christian
• CB Zech McPhearson — Columbia/Riverdale Baptist School
• S Ayron Monroe — Largo/Saint Johns College H.S.
• DE Shane Simmons — Laurel/DeMatha Catholic

PENN STATE-MARYLAND CONNECTIONS
• Penn State freshman DE Shaka Tony and UMD sophomore WR D.J. Moore played together at Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia.
• Penn State senior G/C Brian Gaia, freshman DT Ellison Jordan and Maryland junior LB Shane Cockerille, senior RB Kenneth Goins Jr. and redshirt sophomore Melvin Keihn all played at the Gilman School.
• Penn State sophomore RB Mark Allen, freshman DE Shane Simmons and UMD freshman WR DJ Turner, freshman WR Tino Ellis, freshman RB Lorenzo Harrison III, junior WR Chris Jones and freshman OL Terrance Davis played together at DeMatha Catholic.
• Penn State redshirt freshman G Zach Simpson and Maryland senior DB J.T. Ventura played together at Hollidaysburg Area.
• Penn State redshirt freshman S John Petrishen and Maryland senior QB Perry Hills played together at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh.

MILLEN ON BTN BROADCAST TEAM
• Former Penn State and NFL standout Matt Millen will be calling Saturday’s meeting between the Nittany Lions and Terrapins.
• Millen earned first-team All-America honors as a junior in 1978, helping the unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Nittany Lions earn a berth vs. Alabama in the dramatic 1979 Sugar Bowl for the national title. Millen was a team co-captain in 1979, but missed most of his senior year with an injury. He also helped Penn State earn the first of two consecutive 11-1 records in 1977, capped by a win in the Fiesta Bowl.
• The Oakland Raiders selected Millen the second round of the 1980 NFL Draft to begin a 12-year career that would see him earn four Super Bowl rings. Millen played for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (1980-88), San Francisco 49ers (1989-90) and Washington Redskins (1991). He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1988.
• Millen began his broadcasting career in 1992, working NFL games for CBS and then FOX. The Lehigh Valley native left broadcasting in 2001 and was team president of the Detroit Lions for the next eight years. Millen returned to broadcast booth as a college football and NFL analyst with ESPN and the NFL Network in 2009. He joined Fox Sports and BTN in 2015.

OVERTIME OVER TIME
• College football introduced overtime during the bowl season in 1995 and adopted the system for regular season games in 1996.
• Since then, Penn State has played 12 overtime games, including six over the 2012-14 seasons. Eight of the 12 overtime tilts have come at home, two in true road games, one in the 2006 Orange Bowl and one in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl.
• Penn State is 7-5 all-time in overtime games, with a 4-4 record at Beaver Stadium, 1-1 mark in true road games and 2-0 ledger at a neutral site.
• Most recently, Penn State defeated Minnesota, 29-26, on Oct. 1, 2016. After Minnesota kicked a field goal on its first possession, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley rushed 25 yards for a touchdown on the Nittany Lions first offensive play.
• It was the sixth overtime game at Beaver Stadium since the start of the 2012 season. Penn State is 4-2 in those games.
• Penn State’s first two overtime contests came vs. Iowa in 2000 and 2002 at home. The Nittany Lions dropped their first three contests that went to the extra period, but won five straight overtime contests before falling to Nebraska on Nov. 23, 2013.

COMEBACK
• Trailing by 10 at halftime, 13-3, Penn State’s 29-26 overtime win over Minnesota ranks as the Nittany Lions’ biggest comeback win since erasing a 21-7 deficit to defeat Boston College in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl.
• It was the biggest comeback win in a Big Ten game for Penn State since erasing a 10-0 deficit at Rutgers in 2014 to win 13-10.
• It was also the biggest comeback win at home since erasing a 34-24 deficit vs. Michigan in 2013. Penn State won the four overtime thriller, 43-40.

INJURY BUG HITS LINEBACKER U
• Penn State’s linebackers have had a tough go early in the season. For the past two weeks (at Michigan, Minnesota), Penn State has been without its starting linebacker trio of Jason Cabinda, Nyeem Wartman-White and Brandon Bell due to injuries.
• Wartman-White is out for the season due to an injury suffered against Temple in the third game of the season.
• The trio owned a combined 63 career starts, while their replacements, sophomores Manny Bowen (2 starts) and Jake Cooper (2 starts) and junior Brandon Smith, had just four combined career starts entering the Michigan game. Three of Bowen and Cooper’s starts came in the previous two weeks.
• Penn State again had just four career starts amongst its linebackers entering the Minnesota game, as Bowen (3) and Smith (1) were joined by Cam Brown, who made his first career start.
• Smith was disqualified on the first play of the second quarter at Michigan due to a targeting penalty, and his replacement, Jan Johnson, then suffered a season-ending injury later in the quarter. It was Johnson’s first career game. The targeting call was later announced as incorrect by the Big Ten.
• The five linebackers have missed a combined 12 1/2 games in the first five weeks, including 4 1/4 at Michigan:
o Jason Cabinda – 4 games
o Brandon Bell – 3.5 games
o Nyeem Wartman-White – 2.75 games
o Brandon Smith – 0.75 game
o Jan Johnson – 1.5 game
• Bell was Penn State’s leading tackler through the first two games.
• Cabinda and Wartman-White were both named to the 2016 Butkus Award Watch List prior to the season. The award, named in honor of legendary linebacker Dick Butkus, annually recognizes the nation’s top collegiate linebacker.
• Cabinda and Wartman-White entered the season vying to become the first Nittany Lion to earn the honor since Paul Posluszny in 2005. LaVar Arrington also won the award in 1999, and five have previously been named finalists: Shane Conlan (1986), Andre Collins (1989), Brandon Short (1999), Posluszny (2006) and Dan Connor (2007).
• Cabinda garnered All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades and was an ECAC first team All-Star as a sophomore. Starting all 13 games, Cabinda led the team and was 15th in the Big Ten with 7.7 tackles per game. He had three games with 10 or more tackles last season after entering 2015 with a career high of eight tackles during his freshman season in 2014.
• Wartman-White had a strong return after missing nearly all of the 2015 season with an injury. He had 14 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack. He also had two pass breakups.
• In 2014, Wartman-White ended the season as the team’s second-leading tackler behind All-American Mike Hull. His 75 tackles in 2014 more than doubled his previous career high, with his 6.2 stops per game ranking 28th in the conference. He grabbed his first career interception at Indiana in 2014, helping secure the Nittany Lions victory, and added 3.5 TFLs.

ROLLER COASTER FOR SMITH
• Originally a walk-on, Brandon Smith made a career-high eight tackles against Temple, after having just one career stop entering the game. Smith also added his first career tackle-for-loss, a combined stop with Torrence Brown in the fourth quarter.
• Entering the Temple game, Smith had played three defensive snaps (all in 2016) and 44 total career snaps. • He was on the field for 57 defensive and 11 special teams snaps against Temple.
• Smith received the chance to start at Michigan and made two tackles, including one for loss, in the first quarter, but was disqualified on the first play of the second quarter for targeting. The Big Ten laster announced that the call should have been reversed by the replay official.
• Smith was back in the starting lineup against Minnesota, and he made seven tackles, including an assist on a TFL and a pass breakup.

UNDERCLASSMEN AT LINEBACKER U
• A trio of underclassmen are helping fill the void in Penn State’s injury riddled linebacking corps.
• Sophomore Manny Bowen made his first career start in place of Jason Cabinda at Pitt. He has started four games this season at the WILL position.
• Bowen has 23 tackles to lead all Penn State linebackers and rank third on the team.
• Bowen also leads the team with 5.0 TFL and also owns a sack and two pass breakups.
• Against Minnesota, Bowen had a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss and also tied his personal mark for tackles with seven stops, equaling the total from the previous week’s Michigan game.
• Sophomore LB Jake Cooper has made two starts (Temple, at Michigan) at SAM in place of Brandon Bell. He has made 15 tackles.
• True freshman Cam Brown made 10 tackles at Michigan in his first significant action, which earned him his first starting nod the following week against Minnesota at the SAM.
• Brown made nine more tackles and now ranks fourth on the team with 20 tackles on the season.
• Brown had previously seen limited snaps at Pitt and against Temple, and his only tackle entering the game came at Pitt.
• Brown made his first career tackle-for-loss in the Michigan game, stopping Jake Butt behind the line for a 1-yard loss in the third quarter.
• The last true freshman to make at least 10 tackles in a game was Marcus Allen with 11 against Ohio State in 2014.
• The last true freshman linebacker with at least 10 tackles was Khairi Fortt against Illinois in 2010.

B1G CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Junior S Marcus Allen made a career-high 22 stops (8 solo, 14 assisted) against Minnesota, the most by a Penn State player since Paul Posluszny made 22 stops at Northwestern in 2005.
• Allen was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week and the Big Ten Rose Bowl Game Player of the Week for his performance.
• The 22 stops are tied with Posluszny and Ron Crosby (vs. Ohio, 1974) for No. 4 on the all-time single game tackles list.
• Allen’s 22 tackles are the most by a Big Ten player since Wisconsin’s Mike Taylor had 22 stops at Ohio State on Oct. 29, 2011.
• Entering the week, Allen is only one of two FBS players to reach the 20-tackle mark in a game this season. Rodney Butler of New Mexico State made 24 stops (4 solo, 20 assisted) against New Mexico on Sept. 10.
• Allen vaulted from 148th in FBS and 20th in the Big Ten with 7.0 tackles per game entering the Minnesota game to 22nd in FBS and first in the Big Ten with 10.0 tackles per game.
• Allen had 28 tackles in the first four games of the season.
• His previous career high was 12 tackles against Michigan in 2015.

GESICKI GAINS IN NEW OFFENSE
• Junior TE Mike Gesicki has been one of Penn State’s top targets this season, as he ranks second on the team in both receptions (19) and receiving yards (251).
• Both totals are single-season career highs.
• Gesicki entered the season with 24 career catches for 239 yards.
• Most recently against Minnesota, Gesicki caught a career-long 53 yard pass from QB Trace McSorley to set up Penn State’s second touchdown of the game in the third quarter.
• Gesicki tied his career best with five receptions and 70 receiving yards, matching his five grabs from the previous weekend at Michigan.
• Gesicki has set at least one single game career high in each game this season.

McSORLEY AT THE HELM
• Sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley leads in the Big Ten in passing yards with 1,243 in his first season as the starting quarterback.
• McSorley threw one touchdown pass against Minnesota, moving his touchdown pass streak to six straight games with at least one scoring strike.
• The touchdown pass against the Gophers was also his longest career completion, an 80-yard touchdown to Irvin Charles.
• The last Penn State quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in six consecutive games was Christian Hackenberg in 2015. Hackenberg also posted an eight-game streak in 2013, while Matt McGloin had a 13-game streak starting with the last game of 2011 and the entire 2012 season.
• McSorley has thrown for 200 or more yards in four of his five career starts.
• He is coming off his finest performance to date, as he accounted for for 408 yards of total offense — 335 passing and 74 rushing — against Minnesota to mark the third-highest total in school history. It was the most yards of total offense since Christian Hackenberg posted a school-record 454 yards against UCF in the 2014 Croke Park Classic vs. UCF.
• McSorley posted his second career game with 300-plus passing yards, ending the night with 335 yards on 19-of-41 passing with one touchdown and zero interceptions.
• McSorley’s 335 passing yards are a career high, moving past his 332 yards through the air at Pitt earlier this season, and rank No. 13 on the all-time passing list.
• McSorley is the 12th quarterback in Penn State history to register a 300-yard passing game, and just the fifth to record to have multiple 300-yard pass games, joining Christian Hackenberg, Matt McGloin, Kerry Collins and Daryll Clark.
• McSorley also led the team against Minnesota with a career-high 73 rushing yards on only eight attempts.
• The last Penn State quarterback to lead the team in rushing was Michael Robinson at Michigan State on Nov. 19, 2005. Robinson had 90 yards on 13 carries with one touchdown run against the Spartans.
• McSorley’s 73 rushing yards were the most by a quarterback since Daryll Clark had 83 against Illinois in 2009.
• McSorley was named Penn State’s starting quarterback during the final week of preseason camp.
• With the departure of all-time passing leader Christian Hackenberg, Penn State was one of 10 teams that did not have an FBS start at quarterback on its roster.
• The other teams were Arizona State, Arkansas, North Carolina, NC State, Rice, USC, Utah, UMass and Big Ten foe Wisconsin.

TAKING CARE OF THE FOOTBALL
• Wet conditions were not a problem for Penn State against Minnesota, as it had zero turnovers for the first time in 2016.
• The last time Penn State did not turn the ball over in a game was in 2015 against Army.
• The Nittany Lions had two such games in 2015, also logging zero turnovers against Buffalo.

THOMPKINS BREAKING OUT
• Sophomore WR DeAndre Thompkins is having a break out season after entering the starting lineup starting with the second game of the season at Pitt.
• He posted three consecutive three-catch games (Pitt, Temple, and Michigan) and, most recently, caught a career-high four passes against Minnesota.
• One of the receptions against Minnesota went for a career-long 53 yards.
• He had a career-high 87 receiving yards at Pitt, highlighted by a one-handed, over the shoulder 39-yard catch deep in Pitt territory that setup a touchdown run. Thompkins also made a 34-yard reception on fourth-and-16 during Penn State’s final drive, moving Penn State into Pitt territory.
• Thompkins entered the season with three career grabs for 33 yards. He has 14 catches for 237 yards this season, ranking third on the team in the latter.
• His 16.9 yards per reception leads the team.

STRANGE BUT TRUE
• The last two times Penn State has opened its Big Ten season the road with a loss, it has pulled out an overtime win at home.
• Penn State opened the 2013 Big Ten season on the road with a loss was 2013 at Indiana. The Lions returned home against No. 18 Michigan and pulled out the victory in the fourth overtime.
• This season, Penn State opened the conference slate with a loss at Michigan, but returned home to defeat Minnesota in overtime.
• Penn State is 16-8 in Big Ten home openers, winning six of its last seven.

ALL HE CATCHES ARE TOUCHDOWNS
• Redshirt freshman WR Irvin Charles made his first career catch an 80-yard touchdown in the third quarter against Minnesota.
• It was Penn State’s first touchdown of the game and was the first of three straight scoring drives that swung momentum back in Penn State’s favor.
• Charles is the first Penn State wide receiver to catch a touchdown for his first career reception since Justin King had a 59-yard scoring grab on his first reception. King’s pass came from Michael Robinson vs. Cincinnati in 2005.
• Charles joins the running back duo of Saquon Barkley and Mark Allen as current Penn Staters with a touchdown on their first career reception.
• Charles’ catch was the longest for a Penn State player since Derek Moye’s 80 yarder from Rob Bolden vs. Illinois on Oct. 9, 2010.

KNOCK ON WOOD
• Junior K Tyler Davis converted three field goals against Minnesota to match a career high and move his consecutive field goals streak to 17, breaking the school record for consecutive field goals made.
• The mark was previously held by Sam Ficken, who made 15 straight field goals between the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
• Davis set a career best with 11 points scored, as he added two PATs.
• Davis forced overtime against Minnesota, kicking a 40-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in regulation. It matched his season long for distance.
• Davis is tied for the longest active made field goals streak in FBS with 17.
• Consecutive Made Field Goals (Active)
o 17 -Tyler Davis, Penn State
o 17 – Luke Strebel, Air Force
o 15 – Austin Jones, Temple
• Davis is one of 13 kickers perfect on field goal attempts this season.
• Davis, Minnesota’s Emmit Carpenter and Southern Mississippi’s Parker Shaunfield lead the country perfecting nine field goal attempts this season.
• Davis is now 17-for-17 for his career on field goal tries and 25-for-25 on extra points for a 42-for-42 start to his career, which is the best in Nittany Lion history.

WEATHER FORCES PARKING LOT CHANGES

The Penn State football team continues its homestand with a Homecoming matchup against Big Ten East Division opponent Maryland Saturday at noon. In addition to Homecoming, Saturday is also Varsity ‘S’ Day and Celebrate Agriculture Day.

Due to cooler, damp conditions, damage to the fields at last week’s game and the potential for inclement weather on Saturday, the Brown lot, Family Friendly and Yellow Lot 12 (IM Fields) will be closed for the Maryland game, in order to preserve campus student recreation’s interest in the IM Fields.

Parking Changes for Maryland Game:
– Brown lot, Family Friendly lot and Yellow Lot 12 will be closed Saturday.
– Brown parking permits will be honored in the Orange lot and Blue lot. Please plan to arrive from the East to access the Orange lot or from Route 26 to access the Blue lot.
– Yellow pass holders who have parked in Lot 12, should plan to park in the yellow lots on the east side of the stadium.
– ADA parking is not affected.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early and are reminded that Penn State is providing security screening for all guests this season at entry gates using metal detection wands. With this security measure in place, all public gates, including the ADA and student gates, will open two hours prior to kickoff to provide ample time for all fans to pass through security.

Patrons will be asked to remove items from their pockets upon entering Beaver Stadium when the gates open. Beaver Stadium gates will open at 10 a.m., with the exception of Gate C. Due to Maryland’s team arrival, Gate C will open at 10:30 a.m.

With the potential for wet weather, fans are reminded that umbrellas are prohibited from entering the stadium. A list of prohibited items can be found on page 15 of the Stadium Game Day Guide: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/psu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/football-gameday-guide-16.pdf.

The Alumni Blue Band will be featured as they join the Blue Band performance at halftime of the Homecoming clash with Maryland. The Homecoming court will parade onto the field and the 2015-16 King and Queen will be announced during halftime. Additionally, the annual Homecoming Parade will be held on campus and downtown State College on Friday, starting at 6 p.m. in front of the IM Building on Curtin Road.

The College of Agricultural Sciences will be celebrating the origins of Penn State as the Farmers High School of Pennsylvania by Celebrating Agriculture at the Snider Ag Arena before and after the game and invites the general public to join.

The complete 2016 football promotions and game themes schedule is available at: gopsusports.com/promotions/football.html.

Stadium Parking Lots Open at 7 a.m.; Team Arrival at 9:20 a.m.
Parking lots will open Saturday at 7 a.m., the Beaver Stadium ticket office opens at 8 a.m., the team arrival is scheduled for 9:20 a.m. on Curtin Road and the stadium gates will open at 10 a.m.

The Penn State Customer Relations Center (1-800-NITTANY) will be open on Saturday from 7 a.m. until one hour after the game.

Fan assistance also is provided by the customer relations staff, by texting the word “Nittany”
your issue and location to the phone number 69050, or by calling 1-800-NITTANY.

For parking maps, the bag policy and a complete list of items prohibited from entry into Beaver Stadium, fans should review the Beaver Stadium Parking and Information guide at Game Day Central: GoPSUsports.com/gameday.