| Year: | 2017 |
| Team: | Penn State Nittany Lions |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Division: | East Division |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 11–2 |
| Conf Record: | 7–2 |
| Coachrank: | 8 |
| Aprank: | 8 |
| Hc Year: | 4th |
| Off Coach: |
|
| Dc Year: | 2nd |
| Codc1 Year: | 2nd |
| Champion: | Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy Fiesta Bowl champion |
| Bowl Result: | W 35–28 vs. Washington |
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.
See also: 2017 NFL draft.
Nittany Lions who were picked in the 2017 NFL Draft or signed undrafted free agent contracts:
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 84 | Chris Godwin | WR | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| UFA | Malik Golden | S | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||
| UFA | Garrett Sickels | DE | Indianapolis Colts | ||
| UFA | Brandon Bell | LB | Cincinnati Bengals | ||
| UFA | Evan Schwan | DE | New York Giants |
| Player | Class | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trace McSorley 9 | Junior | QB | |
| Saquon Barkley 26 | Junior | RB | |
| DaeSean Hamilton 3 | Senior | WR | |
| Saeed Blacknall | Senior | WR | |
| DeAndre Thompkins | Junior | WR | |
| Mike Gesicki | Senior | TE | |
| Ryan Bates | Sophomore | OL | |
| Connor McGovern | Sophomore | OL | |
| Brendan Mahon | Senior | OL |
| Player | Class | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Givens | Sophomore | DL | |
| Jason Cabinda | Senior | LB | |
| Manny Bowen | Junior | LB | |
| Marcus Allen | Senior | S | |
| Grant Haley | Senior | CB | |
| Christian Campbell | Senior | CB |
| Player | Class | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Davis | Senior | K/P | |
| Reference:[2] | |||
Penn State's recruiting class consisted of 21 recruits, including four that enrolled early. Penn State's recruiting class was ranked No. 15 by Scout, No. 10 by Rivals, and No. 17 by ESPN.
| Back | B | Center | C | Cornerback | CB | Defensive back | DB | |||
| Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E | |||
| Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K | |||
| Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB | |||
| Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB | |||
| Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR |
| Position | Name | Alma mater | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | James Franklin[3] | East Stroudsburg (1994) | |
| Defensive coordinator/linebackers/associate head coach | Brent Pry | Buffalo (1993) | |
| Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks | Joe Moorhead | Fordham University (1995) | |
| Safeties/co-defensive coordinator | Tim Banks | Central Michigan University (1994) | |
| Running backs/special teams coordinator | Charles Huff | Hampton (2005) | |
| Tight ends/passing game coordinator | Ricky Rahne | Cornell (2002) | |
| Wide receivers/offensive recruiting coordinator | Josh Gattis | Wake Forest (2006) | |
| Cornerbacks/defensive Recruiting Coordinator | Terry Smith | Penn State (1991) | |
| Offensive line | University of Chicago (1990) | ||
| Defensive line/run game coordinator | Sean Spencer | Clarion (1995) | |
| Strength and conditioning | Dwight Galt | Maryland (1981) | |
| Graduate assistant | Sean Cascarano | University of Virginia (2013) | |
| Graduate assistant | Mark Dupuis | University of Connecticut (2011) | |
| Graduate assistant | Matt Fleischacker | Penn State (2016) | |
| Graduate assistant | Kevin Smith | Urbana University (2014) |
During the 2017 Nittany Lions season, Penn State met with non-conference opponents Akron, Pittsburgh and Georgia State (first ever meeting) and faced Big Ten conference opponents Iowa, Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland. They also received an invitation to participate in the Fiesta Bowl against Washington. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home, 5 away, and 1 neutral-site games.
Penn State started the season 7–0, which included a stunning buzzer-beater victory at Iowa, and a home blowout over No. 19 Michigan. The team's first loss was at No. 6 Ohio State, where a furious comeback rally was not enough to suppress the Buckeyes. The next week, Penn State was upset at No. 24 Michigan State on a game-winning field goal. Penn State bounced back, however, with a 4-game winning streak, including a Fiesta Bowl win over No. 11 Washington.
See also: 2017 Akron Zips football team.
See also: 2017 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry.
See also: 2017 Georgia State Panthers football team.
See also: 2017 Iowa Hawkeyes football team.
See also: 2017 Indiana Hoosiers football team.
See also: 2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team.
See also: 2017 Michigan Wolverines football team.
See also: 2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football team.
See also: 2017 Michigan State Spartans football team.
See also: 2017 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team.
See also: 2017 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.
See also: 2017 Maryland Terrapins football team.
See also: 2017 Washington Huskies football team and 2017 Fiesta Bowl.
| Player | Watch list | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Saquon Barkley | Maxwell Award | [4] |
| Doak Walker Award | ||
| Trace McSorley | Maxwell Award | |
| Davey O'Brien Award | ||
| Johnny Unitas Award | ||
| Wuerffel Trophy | ||
| Marcus Allen | Chuck Bednarik Award | |
| Bronco Nagurski Award | ||
| Lott Trophy | ||
| Jim Thorpe Award | ||
| Jason Cabinda | Chuck Bednarik Award | |
| Bronco Nagurski Award | ||
| Mike Gesicki | John Mackey Award | |
| Tyler Davis | Lou Groza Award | |
| Blake Gillikin | Ray Guy Award | |
| Brandon Smith | American Football Coaches Association Good Works team |
| Player | Award | Date Awarded | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saquon Barkley | Co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week | September 4, 2017 | [5] | |
| DeAndre Thompkins | Co-Special Teams Player of the Week | September 4, 2017 | [6] | |
| Marcus Allen | Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week | September 10, 2017 | [7] | |
| Saquon Barkley | Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week | September 24, 2017 | [8] | |
| DaeSean Hamilton | Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week | October 1, 2017 | [9] | |
| Saquon Barkley | Big Ten Special Teams Player of the week | October 1, 2017 | ||
| Saquon Barkley | Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week | October 22, 2017 | [10] | |
| Jason Cabinda | Big Ten Defensive Player of the week | October 22, 2017 | ||
| Trace McSorley | Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week | October 22, 2017 | [11] |
See also: 2018 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club | |
| 1 | 2 | New York Giants | |||
| 2 | 42 | Miami Dolphins | |||
| 4 | 109 | Washington Redskins | |||
| 4 | 113 | Denver Broncos | |||
| 5 | 148 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |||
| 6 | 182 | Arizona Cardinals |