CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2012 Penn State

8–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Bill O’Brien.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 2012, game by game: lost vs. Ohio 14–24; lost at Virginia 16–17; won vs. Navy 34–7; won vs. Temple 24–13; won at Illinois 35–7; won vs. No. 24 Northwestern 39–28; won at Iowa 38–14; lost vs. No. 9 Ohio State 23–35; won at Purdue 34–9; lost at No. 18 Nebraska 23–32; won vs. Indiana 45–22; won vs. Wisconsin 24–21+28−12Lost 14–24 vs. Ohio-10OhioLost 16–17 at Virginia-1VirginiaWon 34–7 vs. Navy+27NavyWon 24–13 vs. Temple+11TempleWon 35–7 at Illinois+28IllinoisWon 39–28 vs. No. 24 Northwestern+11No. 24 NorthwesternWon 38–14 at Iowa+24IowaLost 23–35 vs. No. 9 Ohio State-12No. 9 Ohio StateWon 34–9 at Purdue+25PurdueLost 23–32 at No. 18 Nebraska-9No. 18 NebraskaWon 45–22 vs. Indiana+23IndianaWon 24–21 vs. Wisconsin+3Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsOhioL 14–⁠2462%
Sep 8atVirginiaL 16–⁠1747%
Sep 15vsNavyW 34–⁠764%
Sep 22vsTempleW 24–⁠1361%
Sep 29atIllinoisW 35–⁠758%
Oct 6vs24NorthwesternW 39–⁠2864%
Oct 20atIowaW 38–⁠1447%
Oct 27vs9Ohio StateL 23–⁠3555%
Nov 3atPurdueW 34–⁠967%
Nov 10at18NebraskaL 23–⁠3240%
Nov 17vsIndianaW 45–⁠2283%
Nov 24vsWisconsinW 24–⁠2154%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wisconsin 24–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

Burlsworth TrophyMatt McGloin, QB

Paul “Bear” Bryant AwardBill O’Brien, coach

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
349–⁠229
Coach
Bill O’Brien
Elo
1651 +80 this season
SP+ rating
14.1 No. 27 of 124; offense No. 40, defense No. 16, special teams No. 110
SRS
8.6 No. 30 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 47
Defensive coordinator
Ted Roof
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense47th of 124
  • Defense28th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted53rd of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted31st of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0842%0.9547th of 124
Defense0.0138%0.9528th of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.03 def		41% off
39% def		—53rd off
31st 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 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 321% allowed
Defense0.0own 292% 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 2012 class

Geno Lewis WR★★★★No. 153
Jamil Pollard DT★★★★No. 324
Brent Wilkerson SDE★★★★No. 368
Akeel Lynch RB★★★No. 390
Brian Gaia OG★★★No. 427

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.836
Running backs13.00.889
Receivers43.30.860
Offensive line23.00.870
Defensive line63.30.846
Linebackers13.00.879
Defensive backs33.00.828
Athletes and specialists13.00.835
Whole class193.20.852

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 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 3Jordan Hill DTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 4Gerald Hodges OLBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 6Justin Brown WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7Michael Mauti ILBMinnesota Vikings

Roster 116

The 2012 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2012 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠03
Nebraska7–⁠110–⁠425
Penn State6–⁠28–⁠4
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠524
Northwestern5–⁠310–⁠317
Wisconsin4–⁠48–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠56–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠66–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠64–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.