The 2023 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The team was led by James Franklin in his tenth year as Penn State's head coach.

Schedule

Game summaries

West Virginia

No. 19 Delaware (FCS)

At Illinois

No. 24 Iowa

At Northwestern

UMass

At No. 3 Ohio State

Indiana

At Maryland

No. 3^CFP/2^AP Michigan

Penn State hosted Michigan on November 11. As the Michigan team and coaching staff flew to Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon, Big Ten commissioner

Tony Petitti Tony Petitti is the former president of sports and entertainment of Activision Blizzard. He was formerly the chief operating officer of Major League Baseball. He succeeded Rob Manfred in the position on January 25, 2015, after Manfred became Comm ...

suspended head coach

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

from game-day coaching for the remainder of the regular season as punishment for the

Michigan Wolverines football sign-stealing scandal In 2023, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) opened an investigation into a potential sign stealing scandal by staff members of the Michigan Wolverines football team. Background Sign stealing refers to the practice of covertly id ...

. Michigan defeated Penn State, 24–15, before a crowd of 110,856 at

Beaver Stadium Beaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania. It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of ...

. The first three drives of the game ended with punts. Penn State then drove 66 yards on 13 plays and became the first team to run a play inside Michigan's 10-yard line during the 2023 season. Facing a first-and-goal from the three-yard line, Michigan's defense stopped the Nittany Lions who settled for a 20-yard field goal by Alex Felkins. After Penn State's field goal, Michigan drove 75 yards on nine plays, including a 22-yard run by

Donovan Edwards Donovan Edwards (born February 25, 2003) is an American football running back for the Michigan Wolverines. Early years and high school career Edwards was born in 2003 in West Bloomfield, Michigan. His mother, Donna, died from cancer in 2005 when ...

, a pass from J. J. McCarthy to Semaj Morgan for 19 yards and ending with a three-yard touchdown run by

Blake Corum Blake Nolan Corum (born November 25, 2000) is an American football running back for the Michigan Wolverines. He won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football and was named a unanimous All-American in 2022 after rushing for over 1,400 yards with 18 touc ...

. After holding Penn State to a three-and-out, Michigan drove 78 yards on six plays, including a 44-yard run by Corum and a 22-yard touchdown run by Edwards. Late in the second quarter, Penn State drove 75 yards and scored on an 11-yard touchdown run by

Drew Allar Drew Patrick Allar (born March 8, 2004) is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Early life and high school Allar grew up in Medina, Ohio and attended Medina High School. He became Medina's start ...

, though its attempt at a two-point conversion failed. Michigan led, 14–9 at halftime. On the opening drive of the second half, Allar fumbled after being hit by Rayshaun Benny, and Michigan's Makari Paige recovered the loose ball at the Penn State 49-yard line. After the turnover, Michigan drove to the Penn State four-yard line, and James Turner kicked a 22-yard field goal. The defenses then took control of the game as six consecutive drives ended with punts, With four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game, Michigan forced a turnover on downs as Allar threw an incomplete pass on fourth down. Corum ran 30 yard for a touchdown with 4:15 remaining in the game. In the closing minutes, Penn State drove 75 yards on eight plays, scoring on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Allar to Theo Johnson. Penn State again failed on an attempted two-point conversion. Penn State attepted an onside kick, but

Mike Sainristil Michael Sainristil (born October 3, 2000) is an American football wide receiver and defensive back for the Michigan Wolverines. Early life and high school career Sainristil was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 2000. His father, Carlot, was the ...

fell on the ball, and Michigan ran out the clock.

carried the ball 26 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. The team totaled 227 rushing yards against a Penn State defense that had the top-ranked rushing defense in the county, having not allowed any opponent to rush for more than 100 yards in a game.

Rutgers

At Michigan State

Vs. No. 11^CFP/AP Mississippi (Peach Bowl)

Rankings

Roster

References

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Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Penn State Nittany Lions football seasons

Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 afte ...