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2023 Penn State

10–⁠3 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by James Franklin, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 2023, game by game: won vs. West Virginia 38–15; won vs. Delaware 63–7; won at Illinois 30–13; won vs. No. 24 Iowa 31–0; won at Northwestern 41–13; won vs. Massachusetts 63–0; lost at No. 3 Ohio State 12–20; won vs. Indiana 33–24; won at Maryland 51–15; lost vs. No. 2 Michigan 15–24; won vs. Rutgers 27–6; won vs. Michigan State 42–0; lost vs. No. 11 Ole Miss 25–38+63−13Won 38–15 vs. West Virginia+23West VirginiaWon 63–7 vs. Delaware+56DelawareWon 30–13 at Illinois+17IllinoisWon 31–0 vs. No. 24 Iowa+31No. 24 IowaWon 41–13 at Northwestern+28NorthwesternWon 63–0 vs. Massachusetts+63MassachusettsLost 12–20 at No. 3 Ohio State-8No. 3 Ohio StateWon 33–24 vs. Indiana+9IndianaWon 51–15 at Maryland+36MarylandLost 15–24 vs. No. 2 Michigan-9No. 2 MichiganWon 27–6 vs. Rutgers+21RutgersWon 42–0 vs. Michigan State+42Michigan StateLost 25–38 vs. No. 11 Ole Miss-13No. 11 Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsWest VirginiaW 38–⁠1578%
Sep 9vsDelawareW 63–⁠787%
Sep 16atIllinoisW 30–⁠1364%
Sep 23vs24IowaW 31–⁠066%
Sep 30atNorthwesternW 41–⁠1382%
Oct 14vsMassachusettsW 63–⁠096%
Oct 21at3Ohio StateL 12–⁠2037%
Oct 28vsIndianaW 33–⁠2490%
Nov 4atMarylandW 51–⁠1565%
Nov 11vs2MichiganL 15–⁠2450%
Nov 18vsRutgersW 27–⁠684%
Nov 24vsMichigan StateW 42–⁠082%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs11Ole MissPeach BowlL 25–⁠3860%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 38–⁠25 in the Peach Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Consensus All-AmericanOlu Fashanu, OL

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 6
Points
471–⁠175
Coach
James Franklin
Elo
1710 +55 this season
SP+ rating
23.5 No. 5 of 133; offense No. 29, defense No. 4, special teams No. 26
SRS
21.1 No. 6 of 133 in FBS
Returning
43% of last season’s EPA, No. 83 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 14 roster talent No. 13 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Mike Yurcich, Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle
Defensive coordinators
Manny Diaz and Anthony Poindexter
Captains
Dominic DeLuca, Keaton Ellis, Olu Fashanu, Adisa Isaac, Theo Johnson and Malick Meiga
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense23rd of 133
  • Defense3rd of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted16th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2045%1.1423rd of 133
Defense-0.0834%1.173rd of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
-0.07 def		46% off
33% def		—16th off
2nd 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
Offense4.9own 3311% allowed
Defense2.9own 2823% caused

CORE rating 20.9, 9th of 133 (offense 5.7, defense -15.2).

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 yardsDrew Allar QB2,631 yds
Passing touchdownsDrew Allar QB25 TD
Rushing yardsKaytron Allen RB902 yds
Rushing touchdownsNicholas Singleton RB8 TD
Receiving yardsKeandre Lambert WR673 yds
Receiving touchdownsTheo Johnson TE7 TD
TacklesKevin Winston Jr. S60 tkl
SacksAdisa Isaac DE7.5 sacks
InterceptionsDaequan Hardy CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

J’ven Williams OT★★★★No. 41
Alex Birchmeier OL★★★★No. 53
Tony Rojas LB★★★★No. 87
King Mack S★★★★No. 88
Andrew Rappleyea TE★★★★No. 128
DaKaari Nelson S★★★★No. 171
Elliot Washington II S★★★★No. 172
Jameial Lyons DE★★★★No. 257

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.874
Running backs14.00.892
Receivers34.00.915
Offensive line44.00.941
Defensive line53.60.893
Linebackers24.00.935
Defensive backs53.80.918
Athletes and specialists23.50.880
Whole class233.80.911

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 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 1Olu Fashanu OTNew York Jets
Rd 1Chop Robinson DEMiami Dolphins
Rd 3Caedan Wallace OTNew England Patriots
Rd 3Adisa Isaac LBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Theo Johnson TENew York Giants
Rd 5Hunter Nourzad CKansas City Chiefs
Rd 6Daequan Hardy CBBuffalo Bills
Rd 7Kalen King CBGreen Bay Packers

Roster 125

The 2023 roster

125 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2023 portal
Dante Cephas WR★★★★from Kent State
Malik McClain WR★★★from Florida State
Treyson Potts RB★★★from Minnesota
Alonzo Ford DL★★★from Old Dominion
Riley Thompson P★★★from Florida Atlantic
Audavion Collins CB★★★from Mississippi State

Transfers out 14

Keyvone Lee RB★★★to Mississippi State
Storm Duck CB★★★to Louisville
Christian Veilleux QB★★★to Pittsburgh
Devyn Ford RB★★★to Notre Dame
Fatorma Mulbah DL★★★to West Virginia
Rodney McGraw DE★★★to Louisville
Jimmy Christ OT★★★to Virginia
Caziah Holmes RB★★★★to Florida State
Davon Townley Jr. DL★★★★returned to Penn State
Jaden Dottin WR★★★★no new school on file
Jamari Buddin LB★★★★no new school on file
Marquis Wilson CB★★★★to Purdue

And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2023 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan9–⁠015–⁠01
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠210
Penn State7–⁠210–⁠313
Iowa7–⁠210–⁠424
Northwestern5–⁠48–⁠5
Wisconsin5–⁠47–⁠6
Maryland4–⁠58–⁠5
Rutgers3–⁠67–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠66–⁠7
Illinois3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠65–⁠7
Purdue3–⁠64–⁠8
Michigan State2–⁠74–⁠8
Indiana1–⁠83–⁠9

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