The 2024 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
in the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
during the
2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 155th season of college football in the United States, the 119th season organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the 49th of the highest level of competition, the ...
. The Nittany Lions were led by head coach
James Franklin in his 11th year leading the program.
Their home stadium is
Beaver Stadium
Beaver Stadium is a college football stadium on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in Penn State University Park. It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions football of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of th ...
in
College Township, Pennsylvania
College Township is a township in Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania metropolitan statistical area. The population was 10,762 at the 2020 census, which was a 13% increase from the 2010 census. College ...
, with a mailing address of
University Park, Pennsylvania
Penn State University Park, also referred to as University Park, is the main campus of Pennsylvania State University, located in both State College and College Township, both in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post off ...
. The Penn State Nittany Lions football team drew an average home attendance of 108,379 in 2024.
Following a 44–7 win against
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and a
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
win over
Ohio State
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
in the final week of the regular season, the Nittany Lions clinched their first
Big Ten Championship appearance since
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, which they lost to the
Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...
. However, Penn State still clinched its first ever appearance in the
College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...
, in which they defeated No. 11 seed
SMU 38–10 in the first round at home, then the No. 3 seed
Boise State
Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...
31–14 in the
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971.
From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...
. They then faced No. 7 seed
Notre Dame in the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...
for a spot in the
CFP National Championship
The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season. ...
, but fell 27–24. The team concluded with a record of 13–3, making this Penn State's first ever 13-win season.
Penn State ranked No. 5 in the final rankings of both major polls, the program first top-five finish since the
2005 season.
Offseason
Transfers
Outgoing
Incoming
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries
at West Virginia
vs Bowling Green
vs Kent State
vs No. 19 Illinois
vs UCLA
at USC
at Wisconsin
vs No. 4 Ohio State
vs Washington
at Purdue
at Minnesota
vs Maryland
vs No. 1 Oregon (Big Ten Championship Game)
vs No. 10 SMU (CFP First round)
vs No. 9 Boise State (Fiesta Bowl / CFP Quarterfinal)
vs No. 5 Notre Dame (Orange Bowl / CFP Semifinal)
Roster
References
{{Penn State Nittany Lions football navbox
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
Penn State Nittany Lions football seasons
Fiesta Bowl champion seasons
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. Penn State Nittany Lions, The Nittany Lions compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivisi ...