2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionLeaders Division
Record8–4 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSpread option
Defensive coordinatorTed Roof (1st season)
Base defense4–3
CaptainGame Captains
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 2011
2013 →
2012 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Legends Division
No. 25 Nebraska xy   7 – 1     10 – 4  
No. 24 Michigan   6 – 2     8 – 5  
No. 17 Northwestern   5 – 3     10 – 3  
Michigan State   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Iowa   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Minnesota   2 – 6     6 – 7  
Leaders Division
No. 3 Ohio State* x   8 – 0     12 – 0  
Penn State*   6 – 2     8 – 4  
Wisconsin y$   4 – 4     8 – 6  
Purdue   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Indiana   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Illinois   0 – 8     2 – 10  
Championship: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 31
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bill O'Brien in his first season and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, US. It was a member of the Big Ten Conference and played in the Leaders Division. Penn State was ineligible to play in a bowl game for the 2012 season due to sanctions imposed in wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.

O'Brien was hired as Penn State's 15th head football coach, replacing Hall of Fame coach, Joe Paterno.[1] He was introduced as the head coach at a press conference on January 7, 2012.[2] The team added player names to the back of their jerseys to recognize the players who stayed with the program despite adversity, and also wore a blue ribbon to support child abuse victims.[3]

After losing their first two games, the Nittany Lions finished their season winning eight of their final 10 to finish with a record of eight wins and four losses (8–4).

  1. ^ "Penn State hires Bill O'Brien as coach". ESPN.com. January 6, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  2. ^ "Penn State Selects Bill O'Brien To Lead Football Program". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. January 7, 2012. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  3. ^ Juliano, Joe (August 7, 2012). "Penn State to Add Names to Back of Football Jerseys". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 17, 2012.