The 2022 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by ninth-year head coach James Franklin. The Nittany Lions entered the season unranked for the first time since 2016. Prior to the season, the team recruited the former number one quarterback Drew Allar, and the number one running back Nicholas Singleton.
The Nittany Lions sought to improve from their previous disappointing season, where after starting 5–0, went on to lose six out of their last eight games, culminating in a loss to Arkansas in the Outback Bowl. Despite losing impact players such as Jahan Dotson, Arnold Ebiketie, and Jaquan Brisker to the NFL Draft, the Nittany Lions rebounded going 10–2, only losing to top 4 ranked Michigan and Ohio State, securing them a place in the Rose Bowl, where they would beat Utah to win their first Rose Bowl since 1995, ending the season 11–2. This marked Coach James Franklin's third New Years Six win with the Nittany Lions, and his first Rose Bowl win.
Offseason
Players drafted into the NFL
116Jahan DotsonWRWashington Commanders238Arnold EbiketieOLBAtlanta Falcons248Jaquan BriskerSChicago Bears4120Brandon SmithLBCarolina Panthers4130Jordan StoutPBaltimore Ravens6221Tariq Castro-FieldsCBSan Francisco 49ers7249Rasheed WalkerOTGreen Bay Packers7256Jesse LuketaLBArizona Cardinals
Transfers
Outgoing Tyler RudolphSUMass Enzo JenningsSUnknownDes HolmesOLArizona StateTa'Quan RobersonQBUConnNorval BlackWRSaint FrancisJoseph Appiah DarkwaDLTempleJustin WellerWRLong IslandNoah CainRBLSUA.J. LyttonCBUnknownCole BrevardDTPurdue
Incoming Hunter NourzadOLCornell Chop RobinsonDLMaryland Mitchell TinsleyWRWestern Kentucky
Transfer References:
Recruiting
Going into the 2022 season, the Nittany Lions have the #6 overall recruiting class in the country, and the #2 overall in the Big Ten.
Recruiting Reference
Preseason
Preseason Big Ten poll Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. For the 2022 poll, Penn State was projected to finish third in the East Division. Media poll (East Division) 1 Ohio State 252 (36) 2 Michigan 203 3 Penn State 169 4 Michigan State 162 5 Maryland 104 6 Rutgers 60 7 Indiana 58
Personnel
Coaching staff +Penn State football current coaching staffJames Franklin Head CoachEast Stroudsburg University (1995) 9thManny Diaz Defensive coordinator/linebackers Florida State (1995) 1stMike Yurcich Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach California University of Pennsylvania (1999) 2ndStacy CollinsSpecial teams coordinator/outside linebackers/Nickels Western Oregon University (1998) 1stTerry Smith Assistant head coach/defensive recruiting coordinator/cornerbacks Penn State University (1991) 9th Ty Howle Tight ends coach Penn State University (2013) 3rdAnthony Poindexter Co-defensive coordinator/safeties University of Virginia (1999) 2nd John Scott Run game coordinator/defensive line Western Carolina University (2000) 3rdJa'Juan Seider Co-offensive coordinator/running backs West Virginia University (2000) 5thTaylor Stubblefield Offensive recruiting coordinator/wide receivers Purdue University (2004) 3rdPhil Trautwein Offensive line University of Florida (2007) 3rdDavid Parker Graduate Assistant University of Arkansas (2015) 1stDeion Barnes Graduate Assistant Penn State University (2014) 2nd
Schedule
Game summaries
At Purdue
To open the season, the Nittany Lions went on the road to West Layfette to play the Purdue Boilermakers. In recent years, Purdue has been known as "The Spoilermakers," defeating high ranked opponents including #2 Ohio State, #2 Iowa, and #3 Michigan State, costing all of them potential spots in the College Football Playoff. This game was also Purdue's "Blackout" game, similar to Penn State's "Whiteout" game, further increasing the hostility of the already tough environment. Due to these factors sport analysts thought the game would be close, with most saying Penn State would win narrowly, while some thought Purdue would upset them narrowly.
The Nittany Lions started the game slow, allowing only a field goal in the first quarter. Penn State was able to get on the board after quarterback Sean Clifford threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Tinsley early in the second. Purdue answered with a touchdown of their own, making the score 10–7. In the last minutes of the quarter, the Nittany Lions scored another touchdown via a 2-yard rush by Clifford, then recovered a fumble by Purdue allowing Clifford to throw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Brenton Strange before halftime, making the score 21–10 at the end of the first half.
Purdue received the ball at the beginning of the third quarter, scoring another touchdown via a 2-yard run from running back King Doerue. Upon receiving the ball, backup quarterback Drew Allar, the former number 1 rated quarterback of his high school class, made his debut for the Nittany Lions after Clifford experienced leg cramps as a result of a tackle made in the last minutes of the second quarter. Clifford was able to return to the game on the following drive. Purdue was able to throw a 7-yard pass to Charlie Jones for a touchdown, giving Purdue a 24–21 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Nittany Lions quickly responded with a 29-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith, giving them a 28–24 lead. The Boilermakers were forced to punt, then Clifford threw an interception to Chris Jefferson, who returned it for a 72-yard defensive touchdown, giving Purdue a 31–28 lead. The Nittany Lions were given one final chance to win the game, having 2:22 left in the fourth, and 2 timeouts, Sean Clifford was able to march them down the field and throw a 10-yard touchdown to Keyvone Lee, ending the game at 35–31.
Despite throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown, Sean Clifford was named Big Ten co-offensive player of the week, after he completed 20-of-37 passes for 282 yards and a career-high-tying four touchdowns.
Ohio
At Auburn
Central Michigan
Northwestern
At No. 5 Michigan
Minnesota
No. 2 Ohio State
At Indiana
Maryland
At Rutgers
Michigan State
Vs. No. 8 Utah (Rose Bowl)
Roster
Notes Running back Devyn Ford appeared in the Penn State's first four games, before Franklin announced Ford would be leaving the team. Ford later transferred to Notre Dame after the season. Rankings
Players drafted into the NFL
2 32 Joey Porter Jr. CB Pittsburgh Steelers 2 61 Brenton Strange TE Jacksonville Jaguars 2 62 Juice Scruggs C Houston Texans 3 87 Ji'Ayir Brown S San Francisco 49ers 5 149 Sean Clifford QB Green Bay Packers 6 185 Parker Washington WR Jacksonville Jaguars
References