PENN STATE (0-1; 0-0 Big Ten) vs. VIRGINIA (1-0; 0-0 ACC)
SATURDAY, SEPT. 8, 2012 @ 12:07 P.M. (ET) • ABC
SCOTT STADIUM (61,500) • CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.
Nittany Lions Renew Rivalry With Cavaliers
TELEVISION: ESPN on ABC Mike Patrick (p-by-p), Ed Cunningham (analyst), George Smith (sideline)
TV APPEARANCES: The Nittany Lions are appearing on television for the 218th time in their last 220 games.
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network (60 stations):
Steve Jones (p-by-p), Jack Ham (analyst), Loren Crispell (sideline)
Local: 93.7 FM & 1450 AM; Virginia Sports Network: Dave Koehn, Tony Covington and Jay James
WEB: Gametracker & Audio at: GoPSUsports.com
ATTENDANCE: 60,000+
SERIES: The Nittany Lions and Cavaliers are meeting for the eighth time and the first time since 2002. Penn State leads the series, 4-2. The last meeting in Charlottesville was Dec. 1, 2001 as Virginia rallied for a 20-14 decision.
COACHES: Bill O’Brien:
PENN STATE RECORD: 0-1, 1st year
OVERALL RECORD: Same
VS. VIRGINIA: First Meeting
NOTABLE: Named Penn State’s 15th head football coach on Jan. 6, 2012…Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick…Coached NFL MVP Tom Brady from 2009-11.
MIKE LONDON:
VIRGINIA RECORD: 13-13, 3rd year
OVERALL RECORD: 37-17, 5th year
VS. PENN STATE: First Meeting
THIS WEEK
Penn State plays its first road game under Coach Bill O’Brien, visiting Virginia in the first meeting between the schools since 2002. The Nittany Lions will be playing in Charlottesville for the first time since 2001 and teams will meet in Beaver Stadium on Sept. 14, 2013.
All five of Penn State’s road opponents this season played in a bowl game last year, with the Cavaliers playing Auburn in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
The Nittany Lions are coming off an emotional 24-14 setback to Ohio last Saturday, while the Cavaliers opened the season with a 43-19 win over Richmond.
PENN STATE AND VIRGINIA AMONG NATION’S ELITE IN ACADEMIC AND ATHLETIC SUCCESS
Penn State and Virginia share several personnel ties (see page 4) and rank amongst the nation’s premier institutions in the graduation of their student-athletes and success on the field.
In the NCAA’s October, 2011 Graduation Rates Report, Penn State student-athletes earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 88 percent and Virginia’s GSR was 87 percent, both well above the national average of 80 percent.
In the AFCA’s annual Academic Achievement Award survey (minimum 70 percent football graduation rate), Virginia and Notre Dame are tied for the most honorable mention honors with 22 apiece. They are followed by Penn State and Rice with 21 and Vanderbilt with 20.
Penn State and Virginia are among only 14 institutions nationwide that have finished in the Top 30 of the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup all 19 years the survey has existed. The Nittany Lions are among only nine schools that have placed in the Top 25 all 19 years. In the 2011-12 Directors’ Cup standings, Penn State finished 12th and Virginia was 15th.