2017 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

2017 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 35–28 vs. Washington
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 8
APNo. 8
Record11–2 (7–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorBrent Pry (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorTim Banks (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
CaptainTrace McSorley
Jason Cabinda
Nick Scott
Marcus Allen
Tyler Davis
Grant Haley
DaeSean Hamilton
Saquon Barkley
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 5 Ohio State xy$   8 1     12 2  
No. 15 Michigan State   7 2     10 3  
No. 8 Penn State   7 2     11 2  
Michigan   5 4     8 5  
Rutgers   3 6     4 8  
Indiana   2 7     5 7  
Maryland   2 7     4 8  
West Division
No. 7 Wisconsin xy   9 0     13 1  
No. 17 Northwestern   7 2     10 3  
Iowa   4 5     8 5  
Purdue   4 5     7 6  
Nebraska   3 6     4 8  
Minnesota   2 7     5 7  
Illinois   0 9     2 10  
Championship: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2017 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach James Franklin and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were a member of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference.

Penn State entered the season as defending Big Ten champions, and were ranked sixth in the preseason AP Poll. The team won its first seven games by an average margin of victory of 30 points, including a 42–13 rout of No. 19 Michigan, and rose to second in the AP Poll. In a highly anticipated road match-up against No. 6 Ohio State, Penn State lost by a score of 38–39. The following week, the team fell again on the road to Michigan State. These would prove to be Penn State's only losses, as they finished the regular season tied for second in the East Division with a conference record of 7–2. They were invited to the 2017 Fiesta Bowl, where they defeated Washington, and finished the season at 11–2 and ranked eighth in the final polls.

The team was led on offense by running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley. Barkley led the conference with 18 rushing touchdowns to go along with 1,271 rushing yards, and was named a consensus first-team All-American as an all-purpose back. McSorley's 3,571 passing yards and 284 pass completions also led the conference.[1] On defense, safety Marcus Allen was named first-team all-conference by the coaches.

  1. ^ "2017 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2019.