2021 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

2021 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Outback Bowl, L 10–24 vs. Arkansas
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record7–6 (4–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Yurcich (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorBrent Pry (8th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorAnthony Poindexter (1st season)
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 3 Michigan xy$^   8 1     12 2  
No. 6 Ohio State x   8 1     11 2  
No. 9 Michigan State   7 2     11 2  
Penn State   4 5     7 6  
Maryland   3 6     7 6  
Rutgers   2 7     5 8  
Indiana   0 9     2 10  
West Division
No. 23 Iowa xy   7 2     10 4  
Minnesota   6 3     9 4  
Wisconsin   6 3     9 4  
Purdue   6 3     9 4  
Illinois   4 5     5 7  
Nebraska   1 8     3 9  
Northwestern   1 8     3 9  
Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team competed as a member of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. The team was led by eighth-year head coach James Franklin.

The Nittany Lions had a promising start to the season, going 5–0 and beating a ranked Wisconsin and Auburn, to reach number 4 in the AP poll. However during their game against #3 Iowa, quarterback Sean Clifford was injured, stalling all momentum they had, allowing Iowa to come back and beat them 23–20. The next week they played an unranked Illinois to hopefully regain momentum ahead of playing rival Ohio State on the road, however they lost in a record breaking 9OT. The Nittany Lions would then lose the next four of their last six games, finishing their season at 7–6 after losing to Arkansas in the Outback Bowl.