2020 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2020 Penn State Nittany Lions football team will represent the Pennsylvania State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team will be led by seventh-year head coach, James Franklin.
| 2020 Penn State Nittany Lions football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| East Division | |
| Head coach | James Franklin (7th season) |
| Offensive coordinator | Kirk Ciarrocca (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Defensive coordinator | Brent Pry (5th as DC; 7th overall season) |
| Co-defensive coordinator | Tim Banks (5th season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 106,572) |
| 2020 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: December 5, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
The Nittany Lions finished the 2019 season 11–2, and had a conference record of 7–2. They received an invitation to the 2019 Cotton Bowl Classic where they defeated the #17 2019 Memphis Tigers 53–39. Penn State finished the 2019 season ranked #9 in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll.
Offseason
Staff changes
2020 NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 38 | Yetur Gross-Matos | Carolina Panthers |
| 2 | 46 | K. J. Hamler | Denver Broncos |
| 4 | 141 | John Reid | Houston Texans |
| 6 | 183 | Cam Brown | New York Giants |
| 6 | 193 | Robert Windsor | Indianapolis Colts |
| Undrafted | Steven Gonzalez | Arizona Cardinals | |
| Nick Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders | ||
| Garrett Taylor | Buffalo Bills | ||
| Jan Johnson | Houston Texans | ||
| Blake Gillikin | New Orleans Saints | ||
| Dan Chisena | Minnesota Vikings | ||
Recruiting
The Nittany Lions signed 27 recruits during the 2020 signing cycle, securing the 15th ranked recruiting class in the country. This was Penn State's fourth consecutive top 15 recruiting class. 11 of the 27 signings in the 2020 class enrolled early.
Transfers
Returning starters
| Player | Year | Position | 2019 Games
Started |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Clifford | Senior | QB | 13 |
| Journey Brown | Senior | RB | 13 |
| Rasheed Walker | Junior | OL | 13 |
| Mike Miranda | Senior | OL | 8 |
| Michal Menet | 5th-Sr | OL | 13 |
| C.J. Thorpe | Senior | OL | 5 |
| Will Fries | Graduate student | OL | 13 |
| Pat Freiermuth | Junior | TE | 13 |
Preseason
Preseason Big Ten poll
Preseason All Big Ten
Award watchlists
Personnel
Coaching staff
| Name | Position | Alma Mater | Years at Penn State |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Franklin | Head Coach | East Stroudsburg University (1995) | 7th |
| Brent Pry | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers | University at Buffalo (1993) | 7th |
| Kirk Ciarrocca | Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach | Temple University (1990) | 1st |
| Tim Banks | Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties | Central Michigan University (1995) | 5th |
| Tyler Bowen | Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends | University of Maryland (2010) | 3rd |
| Phil Trautwein | Offensive Line | University of Florida (2007) | 1st |
| John Scott | Defensive Line | Western Carolina University (2000) | 1st |
| Taylor Stubblefield | Wide Receivers | Purdue University (2004) | 1st |
| Ja'Juan Seider | Run Game Coordinator/Running Backs | West Virginia University (2000) | 3rd |
| Terry Smith | Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Recruiting Coordinator/Cornerbacks | Penn State University (1991) | 7th |
| Joe Lorig | Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebacker | Western Oregon University (1995) | 2nd |
| Dwight Galt III | Assistant AD, Performance Enhancement | University of Maryland (1981) | 7th |
| V'Angelo Bentley | Graduate Assistant | University of Illinois (2015) | 2nd |
| Jeff Carpenter | Graduate Assistant | Penn State University (2015) | 1st |
| Deion Barnes | Graduate Assistant | Penn State University (2014) | 1st |
| Wendy Laurent | Graduate Assistant | Penn State University (2016) | 1st |
Rosters
Depth Chart
Schedule
Spring game
| Date | Time | Network | Spring Game | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 18 | 1:30pm | FS1 | Blue vs. White | Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA | Canceled | |
Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Penn State, like other institutions, switched to distance-learning during the spring semester and canceled all sporting events.
Regular season
The Nittany Lions are a member of the Big Ten East Division, and will play all of the division's other six members. Cross-divisional opponents include the Iowa Hawkeyes, Northwestern Wildcats, and Nebraska cornhuskers. Three out-of-conference opponents are scheduled: a road game at Virginia Tech, and home games versus Kent State and San Jose State.[2]
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | Kent State* | ||
| September 12 | at Virginia Tech* |
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| September 19 | San Jose State* |
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| September 26 | Northwestern |
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| October 3 | at Michigan |
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| October 17 | Iowa |
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| October 24 | Ohio State | ||
| October 31 | at Indiana |
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| November 7 | at Nebraska |
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| November 14 | Michigan State |
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| November 21 | Maryland |
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| November 28 | at Rutgers | ||
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- Schedule Source:[3]
Game summaries
Statistics
Scores by quarter (non-conference opponents)
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Scores by quarter (Big Ten opponents)
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Scores by quarter (All opponents)
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Rankings
References
- "Football Coaching Staff". GoPSUsports.com. Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- https://fbschedules.com/ncaa-2020/team/penn-state
- https://gopsusports.com/sports/football/schedule/2020