The 2013 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bill O'Brien and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were a member of the Big Ten Conference and its Leaders Division. Penn State was ineligible to play in a bowl game for the 2013 season, the second season of a four-year ban, due to NCAA sanctions imposed in the wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.
Before the season, Penn State had an open competition to win the starting quarterback position; true freshman Christian Hackenberg started all 12 games for the Nittany Lions. Hackenberg headlined their recruiting class, which also featured tight end Adam Breneman. John Butler was named Penn State's new defensive coordinator upon the departure of Ted Roof. Most predicted Penn State would have a similar season to that of the 2012 team, which won eight games and lost four, but there was uncertainty, as injuries could decimate the team, which was already thin at many positions including offensive line and linebacker, while surprise performances from key players could lift them to success.
Penn State opened the season with two non-conference wins, but lost to the UCF Knights, who ultimately went on to a BCS bowl, the Fiesta, in their third game. Entering conference play, the Nittany Lions were 3–1, and in their first conference game they lost to Indiana before defeating Michigan in a quadruple-overtime thriller. They alternated losses and wins for the remainder of the season, losing to Ohio State, Minnesota, and Nebraska, and defeating Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin.
Despite the team never being ranked, several players earned national and conference recognition, headlined by wide receiver Allen Robinson, who was named the Big Ten Conference Receiver of the Year and earned first team all-conference and All-American honors before subsequently announcing he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL draft. Senior John Urschel, an offensive guard, won the William V. Campbell Trophy—sometimes referred to as the "academic Heisman". Hackenberg was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Additionally, backup quarterback Tyler Ferguson, who lost the preseason quarterback competition to Hackenberg, announced his intent to transfer. Soon after the season, two coaches—Ron Vanderlinden and Charlie Fisher—left Penn State for undisclosed reasons, though there was speculation that O'Brien forced them out. A few weeks later, O'Brien accepted the head coaching position with the Houston Texans, leaving the Nittany Lions after two seasons. Early in 2014, the Nittany Lions hired James Franklin to replace O'Brien as head coach for the 2014 season.
Recruiting
Despite NCAA sanctions including limited scholarships and a bowl ban, Penn State retained their top recruit: quarterback Christian Hackenberg. They finished with the 24th ranked recruiting class according to ESPN, who cited retention of top prospects Hackenberg and tight end Adam Breneman, as well as adding depth in the secondary, overall giving them a "B" rating. Linebacker recruit Zayd Issah never enrolled at Penn State after several instances of legal trouble. Entering camp, Hackenberg and Ferguson vied for the starting quarterback position; ultimately, Hackenberg won the job, and Ferguson served as the backup.
Preseason buildup Coming off an 8–4 season during which, according to USA Today Paul Myerberg, "Attrition robbed Penn State of everything but the kitchen sink, or so we heard, so it was quite surprising when the sink, a few walk-ons, a mathematician, a local kid and a rookie coach went 8–2 after a sluggish start, pushing back against storm clouds and bringing PSU back from the abyss of life post-NCAA sanctions." Many college football analysts expected the Nittany Lions to perform similarly in 2013, although almost all season outlooks noted that the team could take a major step back from 2012 if they were hampered by injuries, or could surprise everyone and win more games than they did in 2012.
A solid backfield anchored by Zach Zwinak, a trio of established tight ends plus a promising newcomer, and a veteran offensive line highlighted the projected success offensively, while a new coordinator (John Butler), a "borderline All-American" linebacker (Glenn Carson), and much potential both on the defensive line and in the secondary, the latter of which was "dramatically improved", highlighted projected progress defensively. Also, a quarterback competition between Christian Hackenberg and Tyler Ferguson brewed, which provided intrigue entering the season. For Penn State to achieve success, they needed to avoid injuries that would hinder their already depleted depth due to NCAA sanctions. SBNation.com asserted, "If either Hackenberg or Ferguson gets hurt, and the other one stinks ... if either Zach Zwinak or Bill Belton (who missed four games last year) gets hurt ... if basically any linemen get hurt (and linemen often get hurt) ... this house of cards comes tumbling down." ESPN.com reporter Josh Moyer wrote, "In short, like last year, PSU is a bit of a wild card. If it receives strong efforts from its quarterback and the front seven, it should surpass last year's record. If it doesn't, it might be fortunate to get to seven wins."
Schedule
Personnel
Coaching staff Name Position Season atPenn State Season in current role Alma mater Bill O'Brien Head Coach 2nd 2nd Brown (1992) John Butler Defensive coordinator/Cornerbacks 2nd 1st Catholic University (1994) Charlie Fisher Quarterbacks 2nd 2nd Springfield College (1981) Stan Hixon Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers 2nd 2nd Iowa State (1979) Larry Johnson Defensive Line 18th 14th Elizabeth City State (1973) Charles London Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator 2nd 2nd Duke (1996) Mac McWhorter Offensive Line 2nd 2nd Georgia (1974) Anthony Midget Safeties 1st 1st Virginia Tech (2000) John Strollo Tight Ends 2nd 2nd Boston College (1976) Ron Vanderlinden Linebackers 13th 13th Albion (1977)Reference:
Craig Fitzgerald – Strength and Conditioning Brian Bell – Assistant Strength and Conditioning
Graduate assistants Offense – Bartley Webb, Steven Williams Defense – Tim Kelly, Will Lawing
Position key BackBCenterCCornerbackCBDefensive backDBDefensive endDEDefensive linemanDLDefensive tackleDTEndEFullbackFBGuardGHalfbackHBKickerKKickoff returnerKROffensive tackleOTOffensive linemanOLLinebackerLBLong snapperLSPunterPPunt returnerPRQuarterbackQBRunning backRBSafetySTight endTEWide receiverWR
Roster
Depth chart
Game summaries
August 31 vs. Syracuse
Note: Though the game was held at a neutral site, Penn State wore white uniforms and was considered the away team.
Prior to the game, Penn State coach Bill O'Brien hoped to keep his choice between Tyler Ferguson and Christian Hackenberg as starting quarterback a secret until the first snap. However, the night before the game, media reports began to surface that Hackenberg was going to be the starter. Hackenberg did start for the Nittany Lions, while Oklahoma transfer Drew Allen started for Syracuse, who had a quarterback competition as well. After Hackenberg played the first two drives for Penn State, Ferguson came in and promptly fumbled the football for a turnover and did not return. Allen Robinson, the Big Ten's leading receiver in 2012, did not start for what O'Brien said was, "between me and Allen", but he did play in the second half.
After a scoreless first quarter, the second quarter featured three turnovers, and at half time, Penn State led 6–3 with two field goals from senior kicker Sam Ficken. On Penn State's first drive in the second half, Allen Robinson returned and caught a screen pass, which he ran for 25 yards, and then a 51-yard touchdown pass to make the score 13–3. On the ensuing drive, however, Syracuse came right back and scored a touchdown via a Jerome Smith 10-yard run. Early in the fourth quarter, Ficken made his third field goal of the day, a career-long 46 yards. Later in the quarter, Hackenberg threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Eugene Lewis to make the score 23–10. When only down by 6 points, Syracuse got the ball around their own 45-yard line with a little over two minutes left, but turned the ball over via an interception with under two minutes to play.
Hackenberg was named the Big Ten freshman of the week after totaling 278 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, and Ficken was named Big Ten special teams player of the week, redeeming himself from the 2012 season, after kicking three field goals including a career-long 46-yard kick. Seniors DaQuan Jones and Stephen Obeng-Agyapong led the team defensively with nine tackles, including three for a loss, and a sack at defensive tackle, and eight tackles, a sack, a forced fumble that he recovered, and an interception at safety and linebacker respectively. After it was announced that Penn State lost senior tight end Matt Lehman for the season with a knee injury during the game, O'Brien announced that Obeng-Agyapong might practice with the tight ends to help replace him.
+Offense Position Player Class LT Donovan Smith SO LG Miles Dieffenbach JR C Ty Howle SR RG John Urschel SR RT Garry Gilliam JR TE Jesse James SO QB Christian Hackenberg FR RB Zach Zwinak JR TE Kyle Carter SO TE Matt Lehman SR WR Brandon Felder SRReference:
+Defense Position Player Class DE C. J. Olaniyan JR DT DaQuan Jones SR DT Kyle Baublitz JR DE Deion Barnes SO OLB Mike Hull JR MLB Glenn Carson SR OLB Nyeem Wartman FR CB Trevor Williams (American football) SO S Malcolm Willis SR S Adrian Amos JR CB Jordan Lucas SOReference:
+Special teams Position Player Class K Sam Ficken JR P Alex Butterworth SRReference:
September 7 vs. Eastern Michigan
Prior to the game, Penn State was predicted to have the advantage on both sides of the ball at every position, and as such, was expected to win handily. Coming into the game, Penn State had sustained injuries two of their top tight ends, Matt Lehman and Kyle Carter. Lehman suffered a knee injury against Syracuse and was out for the season, while Carter was "day-to-day" with an arm injury, but played in the game. The Lions wanted to focus on improving their running game, which was lackluster against Syracuse; Eastern Michigan allowed 202 rushing yards on 5.8 yards per carry in week one. Defensively, linebacker depth was an issue for the Lions. Safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong was expected to step up and take snaps at linebacker, in addition to speculation he could end up on offense. At half time, the Nittany Lions honored the 1973 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and retired the number of Penn State's only Heisman Trophy winner, number 22 John Cappelletti.