The 2016 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by third-year head coach James Franklin and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were a member of the Big Ten East Division of the Big Ten Conference. They lost to Pitt and Michigan in early September but then had a winning streak that included signature victories over Ohio State and Wisconsin en route to a Big Ten championship. Despite their Big Ten title, the Nittany Lions just missed a playoff berth. They represented the Big Ten in the 2017 Rose Bowl, losing to USC on a last-second game winning field goal.
Schedule Penn State announced its 2016 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2016 schedule consisted of seven home and five away games in the regular season. The Nittany Lions hosted Big Ten foes Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Ohio State, and traveled to Indiana, Michigan, Purdue, and Rutgers.
The team hosted two of the three non-conference games against the Kent State Golden Flashes from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Pittsburgh Panthers from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and the Temple Owls from the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
Rankings
Game summaries
Kent State
Pittsburgh
Temple
No. 4 Michigan
Minnesota
Maryland
No. 2 Ohio State
Purdue
Iowa
Indiana
Rutgers
Michigan State
No. 6 Wisconsin—Big Ten Championship Game
No. 9 USC—Rose Bowl
Personnel Coaching staff Position Name Alma materHead coach James FranklinEast Stroudsburg (1994)Defensive coordinator/linebackersBrent PryBuffalo (1993)Offensive coordinator/ quarterbacksJoe MoorheadFordham University (1995) Safeties/co-defensive coordinatorTim Banks Central Michigan University (1994)Running backs/special teams coordinatorCharles HuffHampton (2005)Tight ends/passing game coordinatorRicky RahneCornell (2002)Wide Receivers/offensive recruiting coordinatorJosh GattisWake Forest (2006)Cornerbacks/defensive recruiting coordinatorTerry SmithPenn State (1991) Offensive line Matt Limegrover University of Chicago (1990) Defensive line/run game coordinatorSean SpencerClarion (1995) Strength and conditioning Dwight Galt Maryland (1981) Graduate assistant Joe Brady IV College of William & Mary (2013) Graduate assistant Tommy Galt Maryland (2009) Graduate assistant Andrew Jackson LIU Post (2011) Graduate assistant Ryan Smith College of William & Mary (2014)
Roster
Awards and honors Players
Awards Marcus Allen Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week October 3, 2016 Saquon Barkley Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week October 10, 2016 Brandon Smith Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week October 10, 2016 Brandon Bell Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week October 24, 2016 Marcus Allen Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week October 24, 2016 Grant Haley Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week October 24, 2016 Saquon Barkley Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week October 31, 2016 Connor McGovern Big Ten Freshman of the Week November 7, 2016 Tyler Davis Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week November 21, 2016 Trace McSorley Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week November 29, 2016 Saquon Barkley Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year November 30, 2016 Saquon Barkley Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year November 29, 2016 Saquon Barkley Chicago Tribune Silver Football December 7, 2016
All-Big Ten Grant Haley First Team (Coaches & Media) Tyler Davis First Team (Coaches)Second Team (Media) Saquon Barkley Second Team (Coaches & Media) Trace McSorley Second Team (Coaches & Media) Garrett Sickels Second Team (Coaches)Third Team (Media) Evan Schwan Third Team (Coaches & Media) Jason Cabinda Third Team (Coaches)Honorable Mention (Media) Marcus Allen Third Team (Coaches)Honorable Mention (Media) Chris Godwin Third Team (Media)Honorable Mention (Coaches) Mike Gesicki Second Team (Media)Honorable Mention (Coaches) Brandon Bell Honorable Mention (Coaches & Media) Brian Gaia Honorable Mention (Coaches & Media) Blake Gillikin Honorable Mention (Coaches & Media) Parker Cothren Honorable Mention (Coaches) John Reid Honorable Mention (Coaches & Media)
Coaches Awards James Franklin Dave McClain Coach of the Year (media vote) November 22, 2016 James FranklinSporting News College Football Coach of the YearDecember 7, 2016
References