Penn State travels to Northwestern for only the seventh time on Saturday to take on the Wildcats. The game will begin at 4:30 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast by ESPN television. Penn State is 9-3 versus Northwestern and 4-2 at Ryan Field.
Last Meeting – 2006
Penn State put together a strong effort to defeat Northwestern, 33-7, in Beaver Stadium on Sept. 30, 2006 in the last meeting between the teams. The Nittany Lions limited the Wildcats to 12 first downs, 238 yards (81 rushing) and 1 of 13 on third down conversions. Penn State recorded three sacks and Sean Lee grabbed his first career interception late in the third quarter to set-up Tony Hunt’s third rushing TD of the game. The offense delivered a complete performance, gaining 528 yards, 295 through the air and 233 on the ground. Hunt posted his third consecutive 100- yard rushing game, gaining 137 yards on a careerhigh 28 carries.
Quarterback Anthony Morelli was 19 of 33 for a career-high 288 yards, with most of the yardage gained by wide receiver Deon Butler. The sophomore broke the school record for receiving yardage in a game with 216 yards on 11 receptions. The previous
mark was 212 yards on 11 catches by O.J. McDuffie against Boston College in 1992. Butler made grabs of 40, 55 and 49 yards. Linebacker Paul Posluszny led the Lions with 10 tackles, including a tackle for loss.
The Game – 2005
After two lackluster seasons, Penn State traveled to Northwestern on September 24, 2005 to begin the Big Ten season and did not disappoint.
For the first time in the 2005 season, Penn State faced adversity and the Lions responded with a last minute 34-29 win at Northwestern on Sept. 24, 2005. Penn State moved to 4-0 overall and won its Big Ten opener for the first time since 1999. The Lions turned the ball over four times in the first half and the Wilcats took advantage, scoring 13 points off the turnovers to take a 23-7 lead. A 26-yard TD pass from Michael Robinson to freshman Deon Butler with :35 left in the half gave PSU some momentum.
In the second half, the defense stiffened and Robinson’s 8-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter gave Penn State its first lead at 27-26. The Wildcats came back and took a 29-27 lead with 2:10 to play. From their own 15-yard-line, the Lions converted a monumental 4th and 15 play, gaining 20 yards on a pass from Robinson to tight end Isaac Smolko. Five plays later, Robinson threw his third TD pass of the game, connecting on a 36-yard pass to freshman WR Derrick Williams with :51 to play. Anwar Phillips grabbed an interception on first down to seal the game. All-America linebacker Paul Posluszny made 22 tackles (14 solo), the most by a Lion since 1977 and tied for the fourth-highest total in school history to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. The conference honor would be the first of three consecutive for Posluszny, a first for the Big Ten since selections began in 1987.
The winning drive:
Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Pat Fitzgerald has a 24-21 record in his fourth season as head coach of the Wildcats. Fitzgerald was an assistant coach at his alma mater from 2001-05. He was a two-time national defensive player of the year for the Wildcats in 1995-96 and is a 1996 graduate of Northwestern.
Fitzgerald is 0-1 against Penn State.
Penn State’s record at Ryan Field:
11/20/1993 – PSU 43, @ Northwestern 21 (PSU +1)
11/04/1995 – @ Northwestern 21, PSU 10 (streak broken; NW +1)
11/01/1997 – PSU 30, @ Northwestern 27 (PSU +2)
10/20/2001 – PSU 38, @ Northwestern 35 (PSU +4)
11/08/2003 – @ Northwestern 17, PSU 7 (streak broken; NW +1)
09/24/2005 – PSU 34, @ Northwestern 29 (streak broken; PSU +1)
Next Meeting
These two teams meet again on November 6, 2010 at State College.
After playing Michigan
Penn State is 11-3 following its game with Michigan.
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