2010 Penn State
7–6 (4–4 Big Ten), coached by Joe Paterno. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Youngstown State 44–14Sep 4
By 30 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs Youngstown State | W 44–14 | 91% |
| Sep 11 | at 1Alabama | L 3–24 | 31% |
| Sep 18 | vs Kent State | W 24–0 | 83% |
| Sep 25 | vs Temple | W 22–13 | 69% |
| Oct 2 | at 17Iowa | L 3–24 | 46% |
| Oct 9 | vs Illinois | L 13–33 | 78% |
| Oct 23 | at Minnesota | W 33–21 | 67% |
| Oct 30 | vs Michigan | W 41–31 | 68% |
| Nov 6 | vs Northwestern | W 35–21 | 66% |
| Nov 13 | at 8Ohio State | L 14–38 | 29% |
| Nov 20 | vs Indiana | W 41–24 | 78% |
| Nov 27 | vs 11Michigan State | L 22–28 | 54% |
| Jan 1Bowls & playoff | vs FloridaOutback Bowl | L 24–37 | 42% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Florida 37–24 in the Outback Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 76th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 19
- Wk 2: 18
- Wk 3: 22
- Wk 4: 23
- Wk 5: 22
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 4–4 tied for 4th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 18
- Points
- 319–308
- Coach
- Joe Paterno
- Elo
- 1588 −72 this season
- SP+ rating
- 6.6 No. 49 of 120; offense No. 58, defense No. 47, special teams No. 30
- SRS
- 1.8 No. 53 of 120 in FBS
- Recruiting class
- No. 13
- Offensive coordinator
- Galen Hall
- Defensive coordinator
- Tom Bradley
- Captains
- Brett Brackett and Ollie Ogbu
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.04 | 41% | 0.94 | 61st of 120 |
| Defense | 0.05 | 43% | 0.86 | 65th of 120 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.04 off 0.04 def | 41% off 42% def | — | 63rd off 63rd def |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.3 | own 31 | 3% allowed |
| Defense | -0.1 | own 27 | 2% caused |
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders are hidden for this season: our source’s player stats for Penn State are missing players (they add up to less than 85% of the team’s passing or rushing yards).
Top recruits in the 2010 class
| Khairi Fortt OLB | ★★★★ | No. 69 |
| Silas Redd RB | ★★★★ | No. 86 |
| Rob Bolden DUAL | ★★★★ | No. 93 |
| Miles Dieffenbach OC | ★★★★ | No. 132 |
| Paul Jones PRO | ★★★★ | No. 145 |
| Dakota Royer WDE | ★★★★ | No. 176 |
| C.J. Olaniyan WDE | ★★★★ | No. 183 |
| Mike Hull OLB | ★★★★ | No. 199 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2010 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 4.0 | 0.946 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.5 | 0.923 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.7 | 0.899 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.7 | 0.894 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 4.0 | 0.914 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.7 | 0.906 |
| Whole class | 17 | 3.8 | 0.912 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2011
The 2011 draft| Rd 2 | Stefen Wisniewski C | Oakland Raiders |
| Rd 6 | Evan Royster RB | Washington Redskins |
Roster 118
The 2010 roster118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2010 line; 35 have a stat line. See the roster
All-Big Ten
1 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
Stefen WisniewskiOGCoaches-1; Media-2
Second team
Evan RoysterRBCoaches-2- Ollie OgbuDLCoaches-2
From Wikipedia’s 2010 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2010 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 7–1 | 12–1 | 5 |
 Wisconsin | 7–1 | 11–2 | 7 |
| Michigan State | 7–1 | 11–2 | 14 |
| Iowa | 4–4 | 8–5 | |
| Penn State | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Illinois | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Michigan | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
| Northwestern | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
 Purdue | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
| Minnesota | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| Indiana | 1–7 | 5–7 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.