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2017 Penn State

11–⁠2 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by James Franklin, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 2017, game by game: won vs. Akron 52–0; won vs. Pittsburgh 33–14; won vs. Georgia State 56–0; won at Iowa 21–19; won vs. Indiana 45–14; won at Northwestern 31–7; won vs. No. 19 Michigan 42–13; lost at No. 6 Ohio State 38–39; lost at No. 24 Michigan State 24–27; won vs. Rutgers 35–6; won vs. Nebraska 56–44; won at Maryland 66–3; won vs. No. 12 Washington 35–28+63−3Won 52–0 vs. Akron+52AkronWon 33–14 vs. Pittsburgh+19PittsburghWon 56–0 vs. Georgia State+56Georgia StateWon 21–19 at Iowa+2IowaWon 45–14 vs. Indiana+31IndianaWon 31–7 at Northwestern+24NorthwesternWon 42–13 vs. No. 19 Michigan+29No. 19 MichiganLost 38–39 at No. 6 Ohio State-1No. 6 Ohio StateLost 24–27 at No. 24 Michigan State-3No. 24 Michigan StateWon 35–6 vs. Rutgers+29RutgersWon 56–44 vs. Nebraska+12NebraskaWon 66–3 at Maryland+63MarylandWon 35–28 vs. No. 12 Washington+7No. 12 Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsAkronW 52–⁠081%
Sep 9vsPittsburghW 33–⁠1469%
Sep 16vsGeorgia StateW 56–⁠089%
Sep 23atIowaW 21–⁠1951%
Sep 30vsIndianaW 45–⁠1477%
Oct 7atNorthwesternW 31–⁠763%
Oct 21vs19MichiganW 42–⁠1361%
Oct 28at6Ohio StateL 38–⁠3941%
Nov 4at24Michigan StateL 24–⁠2764%
Nov 11vsRutgersW 35–⁠689%
Nov 18vsNebraskaW 56–⁠4485%
Nov 25atMarylandW 66–⁠382%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs12WashingtonFiesta BowlW 35–⁠2851%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington 35–⁠28 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. Wk 9: 2
  10. Wk 10: 7
  11. Wk 11: 16
  12. Wk 12: 13
  13. Wk 13: 12
  14. Wk 14: 9
  15. Wk 15: 9
  16. Final: 8

Heisman voteSaquon Barkley, fourth

Paul Hornung AwardSaquon Barkley, RB/RS

Consensus All-AmericanSaquon Barkley, RB/RS

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 2
Points
534–⁠214
Coach
James Franklin
Elo
1768 +137 this season
SP+ rating
26.0 No. 6 of 128; offense No. 5, defense No. 10, special teams No. 86
SRS
23.9 No. 3 of 130 in FBS
Returning
85% of last season’s EPA, No. 14 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 15 roster talent No. 19 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joe Moorhead
Defensive coordinators
Brent Pry and Tim Banks
Captains
Trace McSorley, Jason Cabinda, Nick Scott, Marcus Allen, Tyler Davis, Grant Haley, DaeSean Hamilton and Saquon Barkley
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense9th of 130
  • Defense20th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted5th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted27th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2348%1.369th of 130
Defense-0.0336%1.1620th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.24 off
0.01 def		49% off
37% def		—5th off
27th 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
Offense4.0own 3715% allowed
Defense2.5own 2919% caused

CORE rating 18.0, 10th of 130 (offense 9.3, defense -8.8).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsTrace McSorley QB3,570 yds
Passing touchdownsTrace McSorley QB28 TD
Rushing yardsSaquon Barkley RB1,271 yds
Rushing touchdownsSaquon Barkley RB18 TD
Receiving yardsDaeSean Hamilton WR857 yds
Receiving touchdownsDaeSean Hamilton WR9 TD
TacklesJason Cabinda LB88 tkl
SacksShareef Miller DE5 sacks
InterceptionsAmani Oruwariye CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Lamont Wade CB★★★★No. 43
C.J. Thorpe OG★★★★No. 89
Yetur Gross-Matos SDE★★★★No. 197
Sean Clifford PRO★★★★No. 196
Fred Hansard DT★★★★No. 210
Ellis Brooks ILB★★★★No. 265
Jonathan Sutherland S★★★★No. 274
Tariq Castro-Fields CB★★★★No. 288

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.922
Running backs13.00.850
Receivers43.00.849
Offensive line43.30.887
Defensive line43.80.902
Linebackers23.50.890
Defensive backs53.80.904
Athletes and specialists13.00.851
Whole class223.50.885

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Saquon Barkley RBNew York Giants
Rd 2Mike Gesicki TEMiami Dolphins
Rd 4Troy Apke SWashington Redskins
Rd 4DaeSean Hamilton WRDenver Broncos
Rd 5Marcus Allen SPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 6Chris Campbell CBArizona Cardinals

Roster 107

The 2017 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin9–⁠013–⁠17
Ohio State8–⁠112–⁠25
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠28
Northwestern7–⁠210–⁠317
Michigan State7–⁠210–⁠315
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠64–⁠8
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Minnesota2–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠92–⁠10

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