Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
2022 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
American college football season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
The 2022 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by ninth-year head coach James Franklin.[1] The Nittany Lions entered the season unranked for the first time since 2016.[2] Prior to the season, the team recruited the former number one quarterback Drew Allar, and the number one running back Nicholas Singleton.[3]
The Nittany Lions sought to improve from their previous disappointing season, where after starting 5–0, went on to lose six out of their last eight games, culminating in a loss to Arkansas in the Outback Bowl. Despite losing impact players such as Jahan Dotson, Arnold Ebiketie, and Jaquan Brisker to the NFL Draft, the Nittany Lions rebounded going 10–2, only losing to top 4 ranked Michigan and Ohio State, securing them a place in the Rose Bowl, where they would beat Utah to win their first Rose Bowl since 1995,[4] ending the season 11–2.[5] This marked Coach James Franklin's third New Years Six win with the Nittany Lions, and his first Rose Bowl win.[6]
Remove ads
Offseason
Summarize
Perspective
Players drafted into the NFL
Transfers
Outgoing
Incoming
Transfer References:[7]
Recruiting
Going into the 2022 season, the Nittany Lions have the #6 overall recruiting class in the country, and the #2 overall in the Big Ten.[8]
Recruiting Reference [8]
Remove ads
Preseason
Preseason Big Ten poll
Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. For the 2022 poll, Penn State was projected to finish third in the East Division.[9]
Remove ads
Personnel
Coaching staff
Schedule
Summarize
Perspective
Remove ads
Game summaries
Summarize
Perspective
At Purdue
Penn State at Purdue – Game summary
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
- Date: September 1
- Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C), sunny
- Game attendance: 57,307
- Referee: Ron Snodgrass
- TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
To open the season, the Nittany Lions went on the road to West Layfette to play the Purdue Boilermakers. In recent years, Purdue has been known as "The Spoilermakers," defeating high ranked opponents including #2 Ohio State, #2 Iowa, and #3 Michigan State, costing all of them potential spots in the College Football Playoff.[12] This game was also Purdue's "Blackout" game, similar to Penn State's "Whiteout" game, further increasing the hostility of the already tough environment.[13] Due to these factors sport analysts thought the game would be close, with most saying Penn State would win narrowly, while some thought Purdue would upset them narrowly.[14][15]

The Nittany Lions started the game slow, allowing only a field goal in the first quarter. Penn State was able to get on the board after quarterback Sean Clifford threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Tinsley early in the second. Purdue answered with a touchdown of their own, making the score 10–7. In the last minutes of the quarter, the Nittany Lions scored another touchdown via a 2-yard rush by Clifford, then recovered a fumble by Purdue allowing Clifford to throw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Brenton Strange before halftime, making the score 21–10 at the end of the first half.
Purdue received the ball at the beginning of the third quarter, scoring another touchdown via a 2-yard run from running back King Doerue. Upon receiving the ball, backup quarterback Drew Allar, the former number 1 rated quarterback of his high school class, made his debut for the Nittany Lions after Clifford experienced leg cramps as a result of a tackle made in the last minutes of the second quarter. Clifford was able to return to the game on the following drive.[16] Purdue was able to throw a 7-yard pass to Charlie Jones for a touchdown, giving Purdue a 24–21 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Nittany Lions quickly responded with a 29-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith, giving them a 28–24 lead. The Boilermakers were forced to punt, then Clifford threw an interception to Chris Jefferson, who returned it for a 72-yard defensive touchdown, giving Purdue a 31–28 lead. The Nittany Lions were given one final chance to win the game, having 2:22 left in the fourth, and 2 timeouts, Sean Clifford was able to march them down the field and throw a 10-yard touchdown to Keyvone Lee, ending the game at 35–31.[17][18]
Despite throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown, Sean Clifford was named Big Ten co-offensive player of the week, after he completed 20-of-37 passes for 282 yards and a career-high-tying four touchdowns.[19]
Ohio
Ohio at Penn State – Game summary
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
- Date: September 10
- Game time: 12:00 noon EDT
- Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), cloudy
- Game attendance: 107,306
- Referee: Kole Knueppel
- TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, and Tom Luginbill
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
At Auburn
No. 22 Penn State at Auburn – Game summary
at Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama
- Date: September 17
- Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C), sunny
- Game attendance: 87,451
- Referee: Michael Cannon
- TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, and Jenny Dell
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
Central Michigan
Central Michigan at No. 14 Penn State – Game summary
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
- Date: September 24
- Game time: 12:00 noon EDT
- Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), sunny
- Game attendance: 106,624
- Referee: Ron Snodgrass
- TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill, Matt Millen, and Matt McGloin
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
Northwestern
Northwestern at No. 11 Penn State – Game summary
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
- Date: October 1
- Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), rain
- Game attendance: 105,524
- Referee: Greg Blum
- TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, and Kris Budden
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
At No. 5 Michigan
No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan – Game summary
at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Date: October 15
- Game time: 12:00 noon EDT
- Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), sunny
- Game attendance: 110,812
- Referee: Ron Snodgrass
- TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
Minnesota
Minnesota at No. 16 Penn State – Game summary
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
- Date: October 22
- Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), partly cloudy
- Game attendance: 109,813
- Referee: Larry Smith
- TV announcers (ABC): Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, and Katie George
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
No. 2 Ohio State
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 13 Penn State – Game summary
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
- Date: October 29
- Game time: 12:00 noon EDT
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), sunny
- Game attendance: 108,433
- Referee: Jeffrey Servinski
- TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
At Indiana
No. 15 Penn State at Indiana – Game summary
at Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana
- Date: November 5
- Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C), cloudy
- Game attendance: 45,142
- Referee: Michael Cannon
- TV announcers (ABC): Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, and Kris Budden
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
Maryland
Maryland at No. 14 Penn State – Game summary
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
- Date: November 12
- Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), rain
- Game attendance: 108,796
- Referee: Mark Kluczynski
- TV announcers (FOX): Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
At Rutgers
No. 11 Penn State at Rutgers – Game summary
at SHI Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey
- Date: November 19
- Game time: 3:30 p.m EST
- Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C), cloudy
- Game attendance: 55,676
- Referee: Greg Blum
- TV announcers (BTN): Brandon Gaudin, Jake Butt, and Rick Pizzo
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
Michigan State
Michigan State at No. 11 Penn State – Game summary
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
- Date: November 26
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), sunny
- Game attendance: 105,154
- Referee: Larry Smith
- TV announcers (FS1): Noah Eagle and Mark Helfrich
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
Vs. No. 8 Utah (Rose Bowl)
No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 8 Utah – Game summary
at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- Date: January 2, 2023
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C); cloudy
- Game attendance: 94,873
- Referee: Michael Vandervelde
- TV announcers (ESPN/ESPN Radio): Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Holly Rowe/Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, and Ian Fitzsimmons
- ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
Remove ads
Roster
Summarize
Perspective
Remove ads
Notes
Running back Devyn Ford appeared in the team's first four games, before it was announced he would be leaving the team. Ford later transferred to Notre Dame after the conclusion of the season.[20]
Rankings
Players drafted into the NFL
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads