The 2017 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach James Franklin and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were a member of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference.
Penn State entered the season as defending Big Ten champions, and were ranked sixth in the preseason AP Poll. The team won its first seven games by an average margin of victory of 30 points, including a 42–13 rout of No. 19 Michigan, and rose to second in the AP Poll. In a highly anticipated road match-up against No. 6 Ohio State, Penn State lost by a score of 38–39. The following week, the team fell again on the road to Michigan State. These would prove to be Penn State's only losses, as they finished the regular season tied for second in the East Division with a conference record of 7–2. They were invited to the 2017 Fiesta Bowl, where they defeated Washington, and finished the season at 11–2 and ranked eighth in the final polls.
The team was led on offense by running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley. Barkley led the conference with 18 rushing touchdowns to go along with 1,271 rushing yards, and was named a consensus first-team All-American as an all-purpose back. McSorley's 3,571 passing yards and 284 pass completions also led the conference. On defense, safety Marcus Allen was named first-team all-conference by the coaches.
Background
2017 NFL draft
Nittany Lions who were picked in the 2017 NFL Draft or signed undrafted free agent contracts: Round Pick Player Position Team 3 84 Chris Godwin WR Tampa Bay Buccaneers UFA Malik Golden S Pittsburgh Steelers UFA Garrett Sickels DE Indianapolis Colts UFA Brandon Bell LB Cincinnati Bengals UFA Evan Schwan DE New York Giants
Returning starters
Offense
Player Class Position Trace McSorley 9 Junior QB Saquon Barkley 26 Junior RB DaeSean Hamilton 3 Senior WR Saeed Blacknall Senior WR DeAndre Thompkins Junior WR Mike Gesicki Senior TE Ryan Bates Sophomore OL Connor McGovern Sophomore OL Brendan Mahon Senior OL
Defense Player Class Position Kevin Givens Sophomore DL Jason Cabinda Senior LB Manny Bowen Junior LB Marcus Allen Senior S Grant Haley Senior CB Christian Campbell Senior CB
Special teams Player Class Position Tyler Davis Senior K/PReference:
Recruits Penn State's recruiting class consisted of 21 recruits, including four that enrolled early. Penn State's recruiting class was ranked No. 15 by Scout, No. 10 by Rivals, and No. 17 by ESPN. BackBCenterCCornerbackCBDefensive backDBDefensive endDEDefensive linemanDLDefensive tackleDTEndEFullbackFBGuardGHalfbackHBKickerKKickoff returnerKROffensive tackleOTOffensive linemanOLLinebackerLBLong snapperLSPunterPPunt returnerPRQuarterbackQBRunning backRBSafetySTight endTEWide receiverWR
Personnel
Roster
Coaching staff Position Name Alma materHead coach James FranklinEast Stroudsburg (1994)Defensive coordinator/linebackers/associate head coachBrent 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 Sean Cascarano University of Virginia (2013) Graduate assistant Mark Dupuis University of Connecticut (2011) Graduate assistant Matt Fleischacker Penn State (2016) Graduate assistant Kevin Smith Urbana University (2014)
Schedule Spring game Date Time Spring Game Site TV Result Attendance April 22 3:00p.m. Blue vs. White Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA BTN Blue 26–0
Season During the 2017 Nittany Lions season, Penn State met with non-conference opponents Akron, Pittsburgh and Georgia State (first ever meeting) and faced Big Ten conference opponents Iowa, Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland. They also received an invitation to participate in the Fiesta Bowl against Washington. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home, 5 away, and 1 neutral-site games.
Penn State started the season 7–0, which included a stunning buzzer-beater victory at Iowa, and a home blowout over No. 19 Michigan. The team's first loss was at No. 6 Ohio State, where a furious comeback rally was not enough to suppress the Buckeyes. The next week, Penn State was upset at No. 24 Michigan State on a game-winning field goal. Penn State bounced back, however, with a 4-game winning streak, including a Fiesta Bowl win over No. 11 Washington.
Rankings
Game summaries
Akron
Pittsburgh
Georgia State
at Iowa
Indiana
at Northwestern
#19 Michigan
at #6 Ohio State
at #24 Michigan State
Rutgers
Nebraska
at Maryland
#12 Washington (Fiesta Bowl)
Awards and honors
Pre-season watch lists Saquon Barkley Maxwell Award Doak Walker AwardTrace McSorley Maxwell Award Davey O'Brien Award Johnny Unitas Award Wuerffel TrophyMarcus Allen Chuck Bednarik Award Bronco Nagurski Award Lott Trophy Jim Thorpe AwardJason Cabinda Chuck Bednarik Award Bronco Nagurski Award Mike Gesicki John Mackey Award Tyler Davis Lou Groza Award Blake Gillikin Ray Guy Award Brandon Smith American Football Coaches Association Good Works team
In-season Weekly Awards Saquon Barkley Co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week September 4, 2017 DeAndre Thompkins Co-Special Teams Player of the Week September 4, 2017 Marcus Allen Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week September 10, 2017 Saquon Barkley Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week September 24, 2017 DaeSean Hamilton Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week October 1, 2017 Saquon Barkley Big Ten Special Teams Player of the week October 1, 2017 Saquon Barkley Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week October 22, 2017 Jason Cabinda Big Ten Defensive Player of the week October 22, 2017 Trace McSorley Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week October 22, 2017
Players in the 2018 NFL draft
Saquon Barkley RB 1 2 New York Giants Mike Gesicki TE 2 42 Miami Dolphins Troy Apke S 4 109 Washington Redskins DaeSean Hamilton WR 4 113 Denver Broncos Marcus Allen S 5 148 Pittsburgh Steelers Christian Campbell CB 6 182 Arizona Cardinals
References