2020 Penn State
4–5 (4–5 Big Ten), coached by James Franklin. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Illinois 56–21Dec 19
By 35 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Indiana 35–36Oct 24
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24 | at Indiana | L 35–36 | 63% |
| Oct 31 | vs 3Ohio State | L 25–38 | 45% |
| Nov 7 | vs Maryland | L 19–35 | 84% |
| Nov 14 | at Nebraska | L 23–30 | 60% |
| Nov 21 | vs Iowa | L 21–41 | 43% |
| Nov 28 | at Michigan | W 27–17 | 36% |
| Dec 5 | at Rutgers | W 23–7 | 68% |
| Dec 12 | vs Michigan State | W 39–24 | 71% |
| Dec 19 | vs Illinois | W 56–21 | 79% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Illinois 56–21; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 64th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 7
- Wk 5: 10
- Wk 6: 9
- Wk 7: 9
- Wk 8: 8
- Wk 9: 18
- Record
- 4–5
- Conference
- 4–5 6th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 7
- Points
- 268–249
- Coach
- James Franklin
- Elo
- 1617 −61 this season
- SP+ rating
- 13.9 No. 16 of 130; offense No. 21, defense No. 23
- SRS
- 5.3 No. 24 of 77 in FBS
- Returning
- 79% of last season’s EPA, No. 30 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 15 roster talent No. 11 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Kirk Ciarrocca and Tyler Bowen
- Defensive coordinators
- Brent Pry and Tim Banks
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.10 | 44% | 1.22 | 70th of 127 |
| Defense | 0.04 | 39% | 1.28 | 34th of 127 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.09 off 0.06 def | 44% off 40% def | — | 79th off 36th 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 | 3.5 | own 28 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 31 | 17% caused |
CORE rating 5.5, 45th of 127 (offense -1.6, defense -7.0).
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 yards | Sean Clifford QB | 1,877 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Sean Clifford QB | 16 TD |
| Rushing yards | Keyvone Lee RB | 438 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Keyvone Lee RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Jahan Dotson WR | 884 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Jahan Dotson WR | 8 TD |
| Tackles | Jesse Luketa LB | 59 tkl |
| Sacks | Shaka Toney DE | 5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Brandon Smith LB | 1 INT |
Top recruits in the 2020 class
| Curtis Jacobs OLB | ★★★★ | No. 36 |
| Theo Johnson TE | ★★★★ | No. 72 |
| Enzo Jennings S | ★★★★ | No. 135 |
| Caziah Holmes APB | ★★★★ | No. 192 |
| Cole Brevard DT | ★★★★ | No. 206 |
| KeAndre Lambert-Smith WR | ★★★★ | No. 210 |
| Coziah Izzard DT | ★★★★ | No. 241 |
| Parker Washington WR | ★★★★ | No. 262 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2020 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.885 |
| Running backs | 2 | 4.0 | 0.915 |
| Receivers | 6 | 3.7 | 0.908 |
| Offensive line | 5 | 3.4 | 0.880 |
| Defensive line | 7 | 3.4 | 0.891 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.5 | 0.930 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 4.0 | 0.915 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 2.0 | 0.790 |
| Whole class | 26 | 3.5 | 0.895 |
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 2021
The 2021 draft| Rd 1 | Micah Parsons ILB | Dallas Cowboys |
| Rd 1 | Odafe Oweh OLB | Baltimore Ravens |
| Rd 2 | Pat Freiermuth TE | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Rd 7 | Shaka Toney DE | Washington Football Team |
| Rd 7 | Michal Menet C | Arizona Cardinals |
| Rd 7 | Will Fries OT | Indianapolis Colts |
Roster 122
The 2020 roster122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster
All-Big Ten
3 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
Pat FreiermuthTECoaches-1; Media-2- Shaka ToneyDLCoaches-1; Media-1
- Odafe OwehDLCoaches-1; Media-2
Second team
- Mike MirandaOGCoaches-2; Media-2
- Will FriesOTCoaches-2
From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2020 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 5–0 | 7–1 | 2 |
 Northwestern | 6–1 | 7–2 | 10 |
| Indiana | 6–1 | 6–2 | 12 |
| Iowa | 6–2 | 6–2 | 16 |
 Wisconsin | 3–3 | 4–3 | |
| Penn State | 4–5 | 4–5 | |
 Minnesota | 3–4 | 3–4 | |
| Maryland | 2–3 | 2–3 | |
| Nebraska | 3–5 | 3–5 | |
| Rutgers | 3–6 | 3–6 | |
| Michigan | 2–4 | 2–4 | |
 Purdue | 2–4 | 2–4 | |
| Michigan State | 2–5 | 2–5 | |
| Illinois | 2–6 | 2–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.