The 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Preseason Prior to the end of the previous season, linebacker Sean Lee announced his plans to return for his senior season. However, Lee tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice and was sidelined for the entire season. Lee used his available redshirt and returned for the 2009 season.
In January, junior cornerback Justin King announced that he was going to declare for the 2008 NFL draft, skipping his final year of eligibility. King had graduated the previous semester with a degree in liberal arts with an emphasis in sports management. According to King's stepfather and high school coach, "He wanted to get an education and a degree from Penn State, which he did. He wanted to help turn Penn State around, and he did that, too."
Despite the injury, Lee was named one of the team's captains for 2008. Also elected captains by their teammates were center A. Q. Shipley, receiver Derrick Williams, safety Anthony Scirrotto and defensive end Josh Gaines. All five are seniors.
Recruiting class The Nittany Lions received 14 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 6, 2008.
Spring practice A record crowd of 73,000 fans attended the annual Blue-White scrimmage at Beaver Stadium on April 19, surpassing the previous year's record of 71,000. The Blue squad won 27–14. Redshirt freshman running back Stephfon Green opened up the scoring for White, taking his first handoff 57 yards for a touchdown. Green finished the game with 87 yards on 12 carries, a 7.2 yard per carry average. Tight end Andrew Szczerba was the game's leading receiver, catching five passes for 65 yards in the first half.
In the quarterback competition, both Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin rotated between the first, second and third teams. Overall, Clark finished 9 of 16 for 106 yards and two scores, including a 33-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Williams. Devlin was 12 of 18 for 122 yards and a 22-yard touchdown pass to backup receiver Graham Zug.
On defense, sophomore Aaron Maybin tied for a game-high six tackles, including 3.5 sacks for the White team. Sophomore Ollie Ogbu led the Blue with six tackles and two sacks. Redshirt freshman linebacker Nate Stupar also had six tackles. Sophomore linebacker Chris Colasanti had four stops and forced and recovered a fumble.
Suspensions Five players were suspended prior to spring drills for their involvement in an October 7 fight at the HUB-Robeson Center during the previous season, including defensive tackle Chris Baker, linebacker NaVorro Bowman, defensive back Knowledge Timmons, defensive tackle Phil Taylor, and receiver Chris Bell. Tight end Andrew Quarless became the sixth player suspended after a DUI incident in March. Bell was later kicked off the team after brandishing a knife at a teammate.
Following spring practice, Baker, Bowman, Quarless, Timmons and Taylor were allowed to rejoin and work out with the team. Baker was sentenced to two years probation.
ESPN's Outside the Lines aired a story on the legal troubles of the Penn State football team on July 27, 2008. The story detailed the increased number of PSU football players that have been arrested during the past few years. Among the statistics presented in the story was that 46 different players since 2002 have been charged with a combined 163 counts that have resulted in 27 players pleading guilty to 45 crimes. Three days after the story aired, Paterno dismissed Baker and Taylor, apparently after another off-campus incident.
Pre-season awards
Jeremy Boone First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten First-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Deon Butler Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Maurice Evans First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-American Sports Illustrated pre-season All-American First-team College Football News pre-season All-American First-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Josh Gaines Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Kevin Kelly Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Rich Ohrnberger First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Lydell Sargeant Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Anthony Scirrotto Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten A. Q. Shipley First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten First-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten A. J. Wallace First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten (kick returner) Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten (cornerback) First-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Derrick Williams Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Stefen Wisniewski First-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten
Schedule
Roster
Coaching staff Joe Paterno – Head Coach Dick Anderson – Offensive Line (Guards and Centers) Tom Bradley – Defensive Coordinator and Cornerbacks Kermit Buggs – Safeties Galen Hall – Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs Larry Johnson, Sr. – Defensive Line Bill Kenney – Offensive Tackles and Tight Ends Mike McQueary – Wide Receivers and Recruiting Coordinator Jay Paterno – Quarterbacks Ron Vanderlinden – Linebackers John Thomas – Strength and Conditioning
Game summaries
August 30: Coastal Carolina
Sophomore tailback Evan Royster ran for three touchdowns and 64 yards on eight carries, and redshirt freshman Stephfon Green gained 89 yards on ten carries including two scores to help the Nittany Lions defeat the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina 66–10. Penn State has won seven straight season openers. After Trent Usher provided the Chanticleers' lone touchdown on a 33-yard reception to cut Penn State's lead to 14–7 early in the second quarter, Derrick Williams scored on an 89-yard kickoff return en route to a 38–7 halftime lead.
Many reserves saw action in the second half, including Chaz Powell's 55-yard touchdown run, and freshman Brandon Beachum's 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Nittany Lions' final touchdown. After Darryl Clark and Pat Devlin split quarterback duties in the first three quarters, Penn State subbed in Paul Cianciolo for the 4th. Coastal Carolina kicked a field goal as time expired for the final score.
Defensively for Penn State, Tyrell Sales led the defense with seven tackles, while Aaron Maybin had two sacks. Bani Gbadyu snagged his first career interception. Twenty-eight Nittany Lions recorded at least one tackle.
The win tied Joe Paterno with Florida State's Bobby Bowden atop the career wins list among major college coaches with his 373rd win.
September 6: Oregon State
In the week leading up to the game, a campus police search turned up a small amount of marijuana in an on-campus apartment home to defensive end Maurice Evans, defensive tackle Abe Koroma, tight end Andrew Quarless and cornerback A. J. Wallace. Coach Paterno later announced that Evans, Koroma and Quarless would not play against Oregon State. Wallace was allowed to return to practice, according to Paterno, "Wallace was not part of that." In an unrelated incident, cornerback Willie Harriott was dismissed from the team.
Despite the off-field distractions, the Nittany Lions rolled to a 35–7 halftime lead en route to a 45–14 win in their first ever meeting with the Beavers. Sophomore tailback Evan Royster ran for a career-high 141 yards on seventeen carries and three touchdowns. Daryll Clark's 276 total yards of offense (215 yards passing, 61 yards rushing) helped Penn State total 454 yards of offense.
Linebackers Tyrell Sales and NaVorro Bowman both recorded ten tackles each, both career-highs. Linebacker Josh Hull and safety Mark Rubin both made their first career interceptions. Junior defensive end Jerome Hayes, making his first career start in place of the suspended Evans, was lost for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Hayes missed the latter half of the 2007 season with a torn ACL in his right knee.
For his performance, Royster was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
September 13: Syracuse
The Nittany Lions defeated their old rivals 55–13 in their first meeting since the series was last played in 1990. Each of Penn State's three quarterbacks threw touchdown passes. Daryll Clark finished 10 of 21 for 163 yards and two touchdowns, Pat Devlin was 8 of 13 for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and Paul Cianciolo was 2 of 4 for 51 yards and a score. Receivers Jordan Norwood and Deon Butler both had over 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns apiece. Kevin Kelly kicked a 52-yard field goal just before halftime, the second-longest of his career, and backup kicker Collin Wagner kicked a 43-yard field goal late in the third quarter, his first career field goal.
The Nittany Lion defense held the Orange offense without a first down until early in the second quarter.
September 20: Temple
After a scoreless first quarter, the Nittany Lions scored three touchdowns in the first six minutes of the second quarter en route to a 31–0 halftime lead. The Penn State defense held the Owls to only 138 yards of total offense, including only 16 yards on the ground. In contrast, the Nittany Lions totaled 546 of offense, highlighted by Stephfon Green's 132 rushing yards including a 69-yard touchdown.
Sophomore linebacker NaVorro Bowman, in his first start, recorded eleven tackles, including five tackles for loss and three sacks, a forced fumble and an interception. Bowman was named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
The win, combined with Florida State's loss to Wake Forest, gave Paterno sole possession of the career record for most wins by a Division I FBS coach.
September 27: Illinois
The Nittany Lions defeated the Fighting Illini 38–24 in a nationally televised, prime time, "White Out" game, earning their first win over a ranked opponent this season and their first victory over a ranked opponent in a conference opener since joining the Big Ten. Illinois jumped out to a 14–7 lead, becoming the first team to take a lead on the Nittany Lions and the first to score points against them in the first quarter this season. However, the Nittany Lions responded with two touchdowns en route to a 21–14 halftime lead. The Illini wouldn't score again until kicking a field goal on the final play of the third quarter after recovering a Stephfon Green fumble, but Derrick Williams returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Penn State was 4 of 4 in the red zone and was penalized only once for 10 yards.
The Illini's 24 points were the most allowed by Penn State this season as were their 189 total rushing yards.
Derrick Williams is the first player under Paterno to score a rushing, receiving, and a kick return touchdown in the same game. His career-high 241 all-purpose yards (33 rushing, 75 receiving and 133 on kick returns) are the most by a Nittany Lion since Larry Johnson gained 289 yards versus Michigan State in 2002. Williams was selected the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week.
October 4: Purdue
Penn State defeated the Boilermakers 20–6 in their last matchup against Purdue coach Joe Tiller, who is retiring after this season. The Nittany Lions outgained Purdue 422 to 241 in total offense.
Daryll Clark completed 18 of 26 passes for 226 yards and a ran for a touchdown—a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-goal in the second quarter for the first points of the game. Running back Evan Royster ran for 141 yards and a touchdown and also caught four passes for 53 yards.