CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2019 Penn State

11–⁠2 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by James Franklin, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 2019, game by game: won vs. Idaho 79–7; won vs. Buffalo 45–13; won vs. Pittsburgh 17–10; won at Maryland 59–0; won vs. Purdue 35–7; won at No. 17 Iowa 17–12; won vs. No. 16 Michigan 28–21; won at Michigan State 28–7; lost at No. 13 Minnesota 26–31; won vs. No. 24 Indiana 34–27; lost at No. 2 Ohio State 17–28; won vs. Rutgers 27–6; won vs. No. 15 Memphis 53–39+72−11Won 79–7 vs. Idaho+72IdahoWon 45–13 vs. Buffalo+32BuffaloWon 17–10 vs. Pittsburgh+7PittsburghWon 59–0 at Maryland+59MarylandWon 35–7 vs. Purdue+28PurdueWon 17–12 at No. 17 Iowa+5No. 17 IowaWon 28–21 vs. No. 16 Michigan+7No. 16 MichiganWon 28–7 at Michigan State+21Michigan StateLost 26–31 at No. 13 Minnesota-5No. 13 MinnesotaWon 34–27 vs. No. 24 Indiana+7No. 24 IndianaLost 17–28 at No. 2 Ohio State-11No. 2 Ohio StateWon 27–6 vs. Rutgers+21RutgersWon 53–39 vs. No. 15 Memphis+14No. 15 Memphis
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsIdahoW 79–⁠790%
Sep 7vsBuffaloW 45–⁠1372%
Sep 14vsPittsburghW 17–⁠1073%
Sep 27atMarylandW 59–⁠064%
Oct 5vsPurdueW 35–⁠783%
Oct 12at17IowaW 17–⁠1252%
Oct 19vs16MichiganW 28–⁠2166%
Oct 26atMichigan StateW 28–⁠764%
Nov 9at13MinnesotaL 26–⁠3157%
Nov 16vs24IndianaW 34–⁠2779%
Nov 23at2Ohio StateL 17–⁠2831%
Nov 30vsRutgersW 27–⁠695%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs15MemphisCotton BowlW 53–⁠3951%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Memphis 53–⁠39 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Consensus All-AmericanMicah Parsons, LB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 5
Points
465–⁠208
Coach
James Franklin
Elo
1766 +128 this season
SP+ rating
24.3 No. 6 of 130; offense No. 13, defense No. 10, special teams No. 2
SRS
19.6 No. 5 of 130 in FBS
Returning
40% of last season’s EPA, No. 105 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 12 roster talent No. 10 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Ricky Rahne
Defensive coordinators
Brent Pry and Tim Banks
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense25th of 130
  • Defense26th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted17th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted21st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1843%1.3325th of 130
Defense0.0238%1.2926th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.02 def		45% off
36% def		—17th off
21st 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
Offense4.3own 3220% allowed
Defense2.7own 2522% caused

CORE rating 12.4, 19th of 130 (offense 5.1, defense -7.3).

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 yardsSean Clifford QB2,654 yds
Passing touchdownsSean Clifford QB23 TD
Rushing yardsJourney Brown RB890 yds
Rushing touchdownsJourney Brown RB12 TD
Receiving yardsK.J. Hamler WR904 yds
Receiving touchdownsK.J. Hamler WR8 TD
TacklesMicah Parsons LB109 tkl
SacksYetur Gross-Matos DE9.5 sacks
InterceptionsJaquan Brisker S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Brandon Smith ILB★★★★★No. 18
Devyn Ford RB★★★★No. 79
Caedan Wallace OG★★★★No. 81
Adisa Isaac WDE★★★★No. 92
Noah Cain RB★★★★No. 98
John Dunmore WR★★★★No. 120
Lance Dixon OLB★★★★No. 167
Tyler Rudolph S★★★★No. 256

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.897
Running backs24.00.961
Receivers33.70.908
Offensive line24.00.935
Defensive line53.60.901
Linebackers33.70.884
Defensive backs53.80.889
Whole class223.80.905

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 2Yetur Gross-Matos DECarolina Panthers
Rd 2K.J. Hamler WRDenver Broncos
Rd 4John Reid CBHouston Texans
Rd 6Cam Brown OLBNew York Giants
Rd 6Robert Windsor DTIndianapolis Colts

Roster 120

The 2019 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2019 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2019 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State9–⁠013–⁠13
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠29
Minnesota7–⁠211–⁠210
Wisconsin7–⁠210–⁠411
Iowa6–⁠310–⁠315
Michigan6–⁠39–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠65–⁠7
Purdue3–⁠64–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠83–⁠9
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Rutgers0–⁠92–⁠10

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