Numbers never tell the whole story in football, but they usually tell some pretty interesting stories. Once again, Lions247 takes a look at 10 numbers that identify important trends, unusual statistics or standout individual performances, and put them in context.
11
Matt McGloin's jersey number and the number of touchdowns -- nine passing, two rushing -- the senior quarterback has accounted for this season. McGloin, who leads the Big Ten with 251.5 yards per game, is responsible for all of Penn State's offensive touchdowns on the year.
42
Michael Mauti's jersey number and his current tackle total, which puts the senior linebacker second in the Big Ten and tied for 13th in FBS in tackles per game. Mauti had nine more tackles Saturday and has led the Nittany Lions in stops in each of the first four weeks.
8
Catches by Penn State tight ends Saturday, for 122 yards.
Kyle Carter, who is second on the team in receiving, had five of those catches,
Matt Lehman had a pair and
Garry Gilliam, who later dropped a pass in the end zone, had another. Penn State tight ends have caught 24 passes on the season and are becoming an increasingly big part of the passing game.
12.2
Punt-return average by
Jesse Della Valle, who is the only Nittany Lion (besides
Nyeem Wartman, who picked up seven yards on the return of his blocked punt against Ohio) who has a positive punt return average this season. Della Valle's average, which comes on four attempts, would be the third-best in the Big Ten if he had enough attempts to qualify.
46
Percentage of third-down conversions by Penn State opponents this season. That's down from the 61 percent rate the Nittany Lions had allowed the first two weeks of the season, though they still rank last in the Big Ten in that category.
3
Sacks allowed in 148 pass attempts. That's the lowest total in the Big Ten and is reflective of both the job McGloin has done getting the ball away quickly and the job his offensive linemen have done giving him time to throw. Illinois, generally one of the conference's best pass-rushing teams the last few seasons, has just six sacks in its first four games.
16.2
Penn State's yards per kickoff return on the season, which puts the Nittany Lions last in the Big Ten and tied for 109th in FBS. The Nittany Lions have returned just eight kickoffs this season (mainly the result of the new rules, which moved the kickoff up to the 35-yard line), with a long return of 27 yards.
41.7
Average net yardage this season recorded by Penn State's kickoff coverage unit, which puts the Nittany Lions second in the Big Ten.
491
Penn State's yardage total in Saturday's win over Temple, the team's most total yards in a game since its defeat of Indiana in 2010. The Nittany Lions recorded season-highs in both passing yards and rushing yards and had 27 first downs.
229
Total yards this season by running backs
Michael Zordich and
Zach Zwinak, who had entered the season with 90 career yards rushing between them. They racked up 169 of those yards against the Owls on 33 carries.
