The 2011 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

in the

2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 1, 2011 and ended on ...

. The team was coached by

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2 ...

for the first nine games until he was fired in the wake of the

Penn State sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years. ...

, with defensive coordinator Tom Bradley taking over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The team played its home games in

Beaver Stadium Beaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania. It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of ...

University Park, Pennsylvania University Park (also referred to as Penn State University Park) is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post office was ...

, US. They were members of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in the newly formed Leaders Division. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in the Leaders Division to be co–division champions with

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Due to their head-to-head loss to Wisconsin, they did not represent the division in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. They were invited to the TicketCity Bowl where they lost to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

14–30. The team was ranked number one in academic achievement out of the top 25 ranked BCS teams.

Pre-season

The team captains for Penn State's 125th season of football were tackle Quinn Barham, wide receiver

Derek Moye Derek Robert Moye (born August 12, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. After playing college football for Penn State, he was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Early years Moye attended Rochester ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

Drew Astorino, and

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

Devon Still Devon Joshua Still (born July 11, 1989) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State, where he earned consensus All-Am ...

. Penn State began the season with an unsettled quarterback situation. Sophomore

Rob Bolden Robert Craig Bolden, Jr. (born February 20, 1992) is a former American football quarterback. After attending St. Mary's Preparatory School in Orchard Lake, Michigan, he played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2010 to 2011 ...

and former walk-on junior

Matt McGloin Matthew James "Matt" McGloin (born December 2, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2010 to 2012. McGloin was the first walk-on quarterback to start ...

split starting duties in the 2010 season. Rob Bolden was named the starter for the season opener against Indiana State.

Pre-season awards

* Drew Astorino *:second-team Athlon Sports pre-season

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n *:fourth-team

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, pr ...

pre-season All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

* Quinn Barham *:third-team Athlon Sports pre-season

n *:fourth-team

pre-season All-

*Jack Crawford *:third-team

pre-season All-

Anthony Fera Anthony Fera (born June 18, 1991) is an American football placekicker and punter who is currently a free agent. Playing career Hailing from Cypress, Texas, Fera attended St. Pius X High School. Fera later attended Penn State, redshirting in ...

*:second-team Athlon Sports pre-season

n *:third-team

pre-season All-

Gerald Hodges Gerald Davon Hodges Jr. (born January 17, 1991) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Penn State. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round, 120th overall, of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years ...

*:second-team

pre-season All-

D'Anton Lynn D'Anton Lynn (born Anthony Ray Lynn II, October 24, 1989) is the defensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference (NCAA). He previously served as the defensive backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 before being elevated ...

*:third-team

pre-season All-

* Michael Mauti *:first-team Athlon Sports pre-season

n *:first-team

pre-season All-

*:first-team Athlon Sports pre-season

n *:first-team

pre-season All-

* Chaz Powell *:fourth-team

pre-season All-

Silas Redd Silas Raynard Redd Jr. (born March 1, 1992) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Penn State and USC, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Washington Redskins in 2014. His football career ended afte ...

*:third-team Athlon Sports pre-season

n *:third-team

pre-season All-

*Devon Smith *:second-team Athlon Sports pre-season

n *:second-team

pre-season All-

*:third-team Athlon Sports pre-season

n *:third-team

pre-season All-

* Nick Sukay *:third-team

pre-season All-

* Johnnie Troutman *:fourth-team

pre-season All-

Rankings

Schedule

Penn State did not play Michigan, Michigan State, and Minnesota in the 2011 Big Ten football season. The schedule was as follows:

Coaching staff

- head coach (first 9 games) * Tom Bradley – interim head coach (final 4 games) * Dick Anderson – guards and centers coach *Kermit Buggs – defensive backs *

Galen Hall Galen Samuel Hall (born August 14, 1940) is a retired American college and professional football coach and player. He is a native of Pennsylvania, and an alumnus of Penn State University, where he played college football. Hall was previously t ...

– offensive coordinator and running backs * Larry Johnson, Sr. – co-defensive coordinator/defensive line *Bill Kavanaugh – wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator *

Bill Kenney William Patrick Kenney (born January 20, 1955) is an American former quarterback who spent nine years in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs from 1980 to 1988 and a former politician who spent 8 years as a Missouri State S ...

– offensive tackles and tight ends *''

Mike McQueary Michael Jacob McQueary (born October 10, 1974) is a former American football assistant coach for the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) under head coach Joe Paterno until late in the 2011 football season. McQueary was identified as a ke ...

'' – wide receivers and recruiting coordinator (placed on administrative leave November 11, 2011) * Jay Paterno – passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach *Elijah Robinson – defensive line *

Ron Vanderlinden Ron Vanderlinden is a retired American college football coach. Vanderlinden was most recently the linebackers coach at Air Force. He served as the head football coach at the University of Maryland, College Park from 1997 to 2000. Vanderlinden is ...

– co-defensive coordinator and linebackers *John Thomas – strength and conditioning

Roster

Game summaries

September 3 vs. Indiana State

The Nittany Lions defeated the

NCAA Football Championship Subdivision NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

Indiana State Sycamores The Indiana State Sycamores are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic teams of Indiana State University. Since the 1977–78 academic year, Indiana State has been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The Indiana State foo ...

41–7.

started for the Nittany Lions at quarterback and shared QB duties with

. The game began with a 95-yard kick-off return for touchdown by Chaz Powell.

ran for 104 yards on 12 carries scored two touchdowns. and fullbacks Joe Suhey and Michael Zordich each had one running touchdown. Third string quarterback Shane McGregor closed the scoring for Penn State with a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter. The Sycamores were able to score the final touchdown of the game against Penn State's third and fourth string defense. Head coach Joe Paterno, still recovering from injuries sustained in a practice collision with

Devon Smith Devon Sheldon Smith (born 21 October 1981 in Hermitage, Grenada) is a cricketer who features as a opening or top order left-handed batsman. Smith has played for the West Indies and the Windward Islands in regional tournaments. Smith also ho ...

coached from the

press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the e ...

. TV announcers=

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs ...

Matt Devlin,

Glen Mason Glen Orin Mason (born April 9, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. Mason served as the head football coach at Kent State University from 1986 to 1987, the University of Kansas from 1988 to 1996, and the University of Minnesota ...

& Dionne Miller

September 10 vs. Alabama

The third ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, coached by

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphi ...

, defeated the Nittany Lions 27–11 at Beaver Stadium. Rob Bolden was once again the starting quarterback and shared playing time with Matt McGloin. Bolden completed 11 of 29 passes for 144 yards and one interception while McGloin was 1 of 10 for 0 yards. Penn State took the opening possession down the field and recorded a 43-yard field goal by Evan Lewis. The Nittany Lions were held scoreless through the second, third, and most of the fourth quarters when Silas Redd scored a one-yard touchdown. Bolden converted the

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...

to bring the Penn State total to 11 points. TV announcers ABC: Brad Nessler,

Todd Blackledge Todd Alan Blackledge (born February 25, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship. A member of the famed Class of 19 ...

and

Holly Rowe Holly Rowe (born June 16, 1966) is an American sports telecaster currently working for the sports television network ESPN. Rowe is best known as a sideline reporter for college football games which are telecast on ESPN. Rowe made Utah Jazz team ...

September 17 at Temple

Penn State defeated Temple 14 – 10 at

Lincoln Financial Field Lincoln Financial Field is an American football stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It serves as the home stadium of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. Fullback Michael Zordich scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard dive with 2:42 to play in the game. While the offense, once again led by quarterbacks Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin, struggled the defense was able to keep the game within reach.

had 7 receptions for 112 yards with all 7 catches being good for a Penn State first down. Chaz Powell and Michael Mauti each picked off one Temple pass and Nick Sukay recovered a fumble. Mauti's interception set up the Penn State offense at the Temple 44 with 8:46 remaining. Bolden led the game-winning drive that was highlighted by two successful fourth down conversions and a Zordich recovery of a fumbled snap between Bolden and center Matt Stankiewitch. Despite the close score, Temple finished with only 197 yards of offense, their fewest since a 27–13 win over Army in 2009, where they had only 195. It's also only the fourth time since 2008 that Temple has finished with less than 200 yards of offense.

September 24 vs. Eastern Michigan

The Nittany Lions defeated the Eagles 34–6. The victory marked the first time in the 2011 season that head coach Joe Paterno coached from the sidelines. He spent the first half on the field and coached the second half from the press box. Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin shared quarterback duties again. McGloin threw three touchdown passes, one to fullback Joe Suhey and two to wide receiver Derek Moye who became the sixth Nittany Lion to have more than 2,000 yards receiving in his career. Bolden threw a 71-yard pass to receiver Devon Smith. Kickers Anthony Fera and Sam Ficken each kicked a field goal. Fera was the first Penn State player to punt, kick-off, and serve as the place kicker in a single game since 1975 when Chris Bahr did the same. The Penn State defense limited the Eagles offense to just two fourth-quarter field goals and picked up three turnovers including an interception by Nick Sukay. Malcolm Willis blocked an Eastern Michigan punt. Linebacker Michael Mauti and cornerback D'Anton Lynn both left the game with apparently severe injuries. Mauti injured his knee and is out for the season with an ACL injury to his left knee. Lynn was placed on a backboard as a precautionary measure and was admitted to the local hospital. Post game reports said that Lynn was able to move his arms and legs and may have suffered a stinger, which caused a burning sensation in his extremities.

October 1 at Indiana

The game against the Indiana Hoosiers was Joe Paterno's 700th game as a member of the Penn State coaching staff. He has been coaching at Penn State since 1950 when he moved to Penn State from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

with his mentor and predecessor

Rip Engle Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University from ...

. The Nittany Lions defeated the Hoosiers 16–10 for Paterno's 405th career win as head coach. Both offenses struggled throughout most of the game. Rob Bolden started for Penn State at quarterback and shared playing time with Matt McGloin. Derek Moye caught a 74-yard touchdown pass from McGloin in the third quarter. Kicker Anthony Fera was successful on 3 of 4 field goal attempts. Chaz Powell had one interception and

recovered a fumble that was forced by Sean Stanley. Silas Redd led the Nittany Lion ground game with 126 yards on 30 carries. Penn State committed two turnovers in the red zone, Bolden threw an interception to Forisse Hardin and Redd fumbled the ball at the three-yard line.

October 8 vs. Iowa

Penn State defeated Iowa 13 – 3. The victory over the Hawkeyes was just the second win in the series for the Nittany Lions since 2000. Rob Bolden started the game, but played just two series. Matt McGloin took the rest of the snaps at quarterback and completed a 2-yard touchdown to Kevin Haplea. The Penn State defense produced five sacks and three turnovers, one fumble and two interceptions to help control the game. The running game led by Silas Redd and Curtis Dukes ran up 231 yards on the ground to help control the clock and keep the Iowa offense off the field. Joe Paterno, still recovering from off season injuries spent the first half on the sidelines before moving to the pressbox in the second half. Penn State honored the 1986 National Champions at halftime of the game to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Penn State's upset victory over the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

in the

1987 Fiesta Bowl The 1987 Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game that served as the final game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Part of the 1986–87 bowl game season, the 1987 Fiesta Bowl also served as the National Championship Game, between ...

October 15 vs. Purdue

Penn State defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 23 – 18 for a

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

victory and to go to 6 – 1 on the season and 3 – 0 in the Big Ten. Rob Bolden once again started at quarterback, but Matt McGloin took the great majority of the snaps. He threw one interception that bounced off the feet of receiver Bill Belton and into the arms of the Boilermaker's Albert Evans who returned it 55 yards from the endzone. Silas Redd ran for 131 yards and one touchdown. Backup tailback Curtis Dukes scored his first career touchdown. The Penn State defense came up with three interceptions, two by linebacker Nate Stupar and one by safety Nick Sukay. Starting wide receiver Derek Moye missed the game with a foot injury and coach Joe Paterno, still recovering from off season injuries, spent the entire game in the pressbox.

October 22 at Northwestern

Penn State defeated Northwestern 34–24 giving Joe Paterno his 408th career win and tying him with Grambling's legendary Eddie Robinson. Matt McGloin started and played the entire game at quarterback. The first half was an offensive shoot-out and the second a defensive struggle. Despite the fact that McGloin took every snap at quarterback, both Joe and quarterback coach Jay Paterno stated that the competition between McGloin and Rob Bolden to be the starter was still active. The defensive star of the game was linebacker Gerald Hodges. He had a career-high 14 tackles and returned an interception thrown by

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 1 ...

native

Dan Persa Daniel Vaughn Persa (born November 20, 1988) is a former American college football quarterback who played for the Northwestern Wildcats. He attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Early life and high school career Persa was bo ...

for 63 yards. Anthony Fera kicked two field goals to go with the four touchdowns produced by the Nittany Lions. McGloin threw touchdown passes to Justin Brown and Devon Smith. Silas Redd and Stephon Green both scored one running touchdown.

October 29 vs. Illinois

Paterno earned his 409th win and passed Grambling State's Eddie Robinson as Division I's winningest coach in what would unexpectedly become his final game at Penn State. The game at halftime was 0–0, Illinois took a 7–0 lead in the 3rd quarter on a 10-yard pass from quarterback

Nathan Scheelhaase Nathan Scheelhaase (born November 8, 1990) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current the offensive coordinator for the Iowa State Cyclones. He played college football at Illinois from 2010 to 2013. While playing at R ...

to wide receiver Spencer Harris. A blocked punt by Brad Bars set up Penn State's first score of the game, a thirty-yard field goal by Anthony Fera with 7:00 remaining. Matt McGloin led Penn State on the game-winning drive that was sparked by the return from injury of

. The Nittany Lions drove 80 yards down the field in the final three minutes of the game. A three-yard touchdown run by running back

put the Lions ahead 10–7. Illinois drove into field goal range, and attempted a 42-yard field goal. The field goal hit the right upright, and Penn State won 10–7. Redd topped 1,000 yards for the season while running for 137 yards on 30 carries. Linebacker

led the defense with 19 tackles, a forced fumble, and two pass break-ups.

November 12 vs. Nebraska

This was the first Nittany Lion's game not coached by

in 46 years due to his firing for his involvement in the

Penn State child sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years ...

. Penn State fell behind 10–0 at halftime and trailed 17–0 after a Matt McGloin fumble in the third quarter that led to a Nebraska touchdown. Penn State rallied, however, and even had a chance to win after scoring two touchdowns and narrowing the deficit to 17–14. Had Penn State won the game, they would have been two regular-season wins away from a likely Big Ten championship appearance. (They went on to beat Ohio State and to lose to Wisconsin.) However, a last gasp play from near mid-field ended hopes of a comeback. This game was marked with much emotion with a blue-out (in contrast to the normal white-out) at Beaver Stadium in support of the alleged victims of Sandusky's crimes. Nebraska and Penn State gathered for a prayer at midfield for the victims and the fans showed the support for their team with a standing ovation at the end of the game despite the loss.

November 19 at Ohio State

Penn State defeated Ohio State 20–14. Stephon Green ran for two touchdowns and Anthony Fera kicked two field goals for the Nittany Lions. It was Penn State's first and only win with Tom Bradley as coach. All of the scoring in the game was contained to the first half. Penn State had success running the

Wildcat formation Wildcat formation describes a formation for the offense in football in which the ball is snapped not to the quarterback but directly to a player of another position lined up at the quarterback position. (In most systems, this is a running back, b ...

with Curtis Drake and Bill Belton taking snaps while quarterback

lined up in the slot. This victory took the show down for the Leaders Division championship to their final regular season game at Wisconsin. Penn State won the game despite being a seven-point

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

according to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

s. It was the first time since 2001 against Northwestern that the Nittany Lions were victorious despite being so heavily favored to lose.

November 26 at Wisconsin

The winner of this matchup was guaranteed to represent the Leaders division in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Penn State lost to Wisconsin 7–45 to close out the regular season. The Nittany Lions took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Matt McGloin to Curtis Drake. Penn State turned the ball over four times, three fumbles and one interception. The Badgers, led by quarterback

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

and tailback

Montee Ball Montee Ball Jr. (born December 5, 1990) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was twice recognized as the be ...

, were able to convert all four turnovers into scores.

January 2 vs. Houston (
2012 TicketCity Bowl The 2012 TicketCity Bowl, the second edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on January 2, 2012, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, as one of the 2011–12 NCAA football bowl games. The game, which wa ...
)

Penn State lost to Houston 14–30 in the TicketCity Bowl at the

Cotton Bowl Stadium The Cotton Bowl is an outdoor stadium in Dallas, Texas, United States. Opened in 1930 as Fair Park Stadium, it is on the site of the State Fair of Texas, known as Fair Park. The Cotton Bowl was the longtime home of the annual college football po ...

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

to end the season. Houston quarterback,

Case Keenum Casey Austin Keenum (born February 17, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Houston, where he became the NCAA's all-time leader in total passing ya ...

, was the game MVP completing 45 of 69 passes for 532 yards and three touchdowns. Rob Bolden started at quarterback in place of the injured Matt McGloin for Penn State. Bolden, the offense, and the defense struggled throughout the game.

Awards

Penn State's football players were recognized for outstanding academic performance by the New America Foundation's Academic Bowl Championship Series. The team was ranked number one out of the top 25 ranked BCS teams. The criteria in the rankings include the graduation rate of the team as compared to the rest of university, the difference between the graduation rate of African-American players and the rest of the squad as well as the same statistics for the rest of the students at Penn State, and the graduation rate differences between African American players and students. This marked the second time that the football team at Penn State was ranked number one. Chris White was awarded the

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro All-Pro is an ho ...

for the nations best Punter. The

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

team earned the same honor.

Watchlists

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza. It has be ...

Watch List *:

Candidate * Michael Mauti *:

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athl ...

Watch List *:

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

Watch List *

Fred Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was crea ...

Watch List *

Nate Stupar Stephen Nathan Stupar (born March 14, 1988) is a former American football linebacker. Stupar was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football for Penn State. College career A native o ...

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

candidate *

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ameri ...

Finalist *:

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

Finalist

Players

* Drew Astorino *:Honorable-mention All-

*:Ridge Riley Award (senior) for "sportsmanship, scholarship, leadership and friendship" *:Academic All-Big Ten * Quinn Barham *:Honorable-mention All-

*:Richard Maginnis Memorial Award (outstanding offensive lineman) *:Academic All-Big Ten *Bardley Bars *:Academic All-Big Ten * Brandon Beachum *:Academic All-Big Ten * Glen Carson (American football) *:Academic All-Big Ten * Jack Crawford *:Second-team All-Big Ten (coaches) *:Quarterback Club Special Award *Mike Farrell *:Academic All-Big Ten *

Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 3) *:

Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 17) *:

Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 21) *:Second-team All-

(media) * Jordan Hill *:Honorable-mention All-

Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 24) *:

Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 31) *:All-Big Ten (coaches) *:Second-team All-Big Ten (media) * Ty Howie *:Academic All-Big Ten *Mike Hull *:Academic All-Big Ten *Evan Lewis *:Academic All-Big Ten *

*:Honorable-mention All-

*J.D. Mason *:Academic All-Big Ten *

Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 26) *Shane McGregor *: Jim Murray Memorial Foundation Scholar *

*:Honorable-mention All-

*:Quarterback Club Special Award * Chima Okoli *:Honorable-mention All-

*:Academic All-Big Ten *Ken Pollock *:Academic All-Big Ten * Chaz Powell *:

Co-Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 5) *:Honorable-mention All-

*:John Bruno, Jr. Memorial Award (outstanding member of special teams) *

*:Second-team All-Big Ten (consensus) *Jon Rohrbaugh *:Outstanding Walk-on Award (walk-on player who exemplifies total commitment, loyalty, hard work and courage) *:Academic All-Big Ten *Ryan Scherer *:The Nittany Lion Club Academic Achievement Award (senior with highest GPA) *:Academic All-Big Ten * Matt Stankiewitch *:Academic All-Big Ten *

*:Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year *:Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year *:All-Big Ten (consensus) *:Penn State team MVP *:

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

All-American *:AT&T/ESPN All-American *:

CBSSports.com CBSSports.com (formerly CBS SportsLine.com and SportsLine USA) is an American sports news website operated by Paramount Streaming, itself a division of Paramount Global. It is the website for CBS's CBS Sports division that features news, high ...

All-American *:Football Writers Association of America All-American *:Foxsportsnet.com All-American *:Pro Football Weekly All-American *:SI.com All-American *:Walter Camp Football Foundation All-American *:Yahoo! Sports All-American *

*:Honorable-mention All-

*:Quarterback Club Special Award *:Academic All-Big Ten *Joe Suhey *:Academic All-Big Ten * Nick Sukay *:Second-team All-Big Ten (consensus) *:

2012 East–West Shrine Game The 2012 East–West Shrine Game was the 87th staging of the all-star college football exhibition game featuring NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision players and a few select invitees from Canadian university football. The game featured ove ...

defensive MVP *

Andrew Szczerba Andrew Joseph Szczerba (born July 16, 1988) is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent. He was a member of the Penn State Nittany Lions college football team for five seasons, but only played in three due to injury. After a ...

*:Robert B. Mitinger, Jr. Award (senior who exhibits courage, character and social responsibility) *:Quarterback Club Special Award * Johnnie Troutman *:Honorable-mention All-

*:Richard Maginnis Memorial Award (outstanding offensive lineman) *John Urschel *:Capital One Academic All-District *:Academic All-Big Ten *James Van Fleet *:Academic All-Big Ten

Post-season

Seven players were invited to the 2012

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

, held February 22 to 28 at

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium wa ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

: Jack Crawford,

, Chaz Powell,

, Johnnie Troutman.

All-star games

References

{{Penn State Nittany Lions football navbox Penn State Penn State Nittany Lions football seasons

Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 a ...

Pre-season

Pre-season awards

Rankings

Schedule

Coaching staff

Roster

Game summaries

September 3 vs. Indiana State

September 10 vs. Alabama

September 17 at Temple

September 24 vs. Eastern Michigan

October 1 at Indiana

October 8 vs. Iowa

October 15 vs. Purdue

October 22 at Northwestern

October 29 vs. Illinois

November 12 vs. Nebraska

November 19 at Ohio State

November 26 at Wisconsin

January 2 vs. Houston (2012 TicketCity Bowl The 2012 TicketCity Bowl, the second edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on January 2, 2012, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, as one of the 2011–12 NCAA football bowl games. The game, which wa ...)

Awards

Watchlists

Players

Post-season

All-star games

References

January 2 vs. Houston (
2012 TicketCity Bowl The 2012 TicketCity Bowl, the second edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on January 2, 2012, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, as one of the 2011–12 NCAA football bowl games. The game, which wa ...
)