The 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

in the

2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 31, 2006 and ended on ...

. The team's head coach was

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2 ...

. It played its home games 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 ...

University Park, Pennsylvania University Park (also referred to as Penn State University Park) is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post office was ...

Previous season

Penn State had unexpected success in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, following two consecutive losing seasons. Beginning the season unranked in any poll, the team finished 11–1 and ranked third. With only one loss, the team was Big Ten co-champions with

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. Linebacker Paul Posluszny won both the

Chuck Bednarik Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He has been ranked one of the hardest hitting tacklers in NFL history a ...

and

Dick Butkus Richard Marvin Butkus (born December 9, 1942) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, and actor. He played football as a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1965 to ...

Awards, and was a consensus

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. Quarterback Michael Robinson finished fifth in the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

voting.

Preseason

The team had key losses due to graduation, including Michael Robinson,

Tamba Hali Tamba Boimah Hali (born 3 November 1983) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), where he earned All-American honors, and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the ...

, Alan Zemaitis, Anwar Phillips,

Calvin Lowry Calvin Sinclair Lowry (born February 13, 1983) is an American football coach and former player. Early years Lowry starred at wide receiver and defensive back at Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Playing career He played ...

, and

Ethan Kilmer Ethan Michael Kilmer (born January 31, 1983) is a former American football safety of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn ...

. Paul Posluszny and offensive tackle Levi Brown decided to return to the team for the 2006 season, despite speculation both players would enter the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. Posluszny and star receiver Derrick Williams returned from injuries that caused them to miss time in 2005. Paul Posluszny and Levi Brown were elected co-captains of the football team for 2006. Posluszny becomes the team's first two-time captain since 1969. Posluszny was also named the 2006 Big Ten and consensus national pre-season Defensive Player of the Year. Penn State was ranked No. 19 in both the AP and

Coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

college football preseason polls.

Recruiting class

Schedule

Penn State did not play Big Ten teams

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

this year.

Personnel

Roster

Coaching staff

– Head Coach * Dick Anderson – Offensive Line (Guards and Centers) * Tom Bradley – Defensive Coordinator and Cornerbacks *

Galen Hall Galen Samuel Hall (born August 14, 1940) is a retired American college and professional football coach and player. He is a native of Pennsylvania, and an alumnus of Penn State University, where he played college football. Hall was previously t ...

– Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs * Larry Johnson, Sr. – Defensive Line *

Bill Kenney William Patrick Kenney (born January 20, 1955) is an American former quarterback who spent nine years in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs from 1980 to 1988 and a former politician who spent 8 years as a Missouri State S ...

– Offensive Tackles and Tight Ends *

Mike McQueary Michael Jacob McQueary (born October 10, 1974) is a former American football assistant coach for the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) under head coach Joe Paterno until late in the 2011 football season. McQueary was identified as a ke ...

– Wide Receivers and Recruiting Coordinator * Brian Norwood – Safeties * Jay Paterno – Quarterbacks *

Ron Vanderlinden Ron Vanderlinden is a retired American college football coach. Vanderlinden was most recently the linebackers coach at Air Force. He served as the head football coach at the University of Maryland, College Park from 1997 to 2000. Vanderlinden is ...

– Linebackers * John Thomas – Strength and Conditioning

Game summaries

September 2: Akron

Penn State played the

Akron Zips Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pr ...

in its home opener. Akron was unranked, however the team finished as the 2005 MAC Champions.

Anthony Morelli Anthony Michael Morelli (born June 21, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Penn State. Morelli was a member of the San Jose Sab ...

threw a 42-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

on his first pass attempt of his first start. Penn State won the game 34–16. Akron kept it respectably close for a while before Penn State pulled away with a commanding 34–9 lead, allowing a late Zips touchdown to once again make it look respectable.

September 9: Notre Dame

Penn State played the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

. After a close first quarter, Notre Dame pulled away from the young Penn State squad to win 41–17.

September 16: Youngstown State

Penn State defeated the

Youngstown State Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges ...

Penguins by a score of 37–3 on September 16, 2006 at Beaver Stadium. The Youngstown State Penguins were the 150th different team to face Penn State since 1887, the first year for Penn State football.

September 23: Ohio State

Penn State lost to the number one ranked

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

on September 23, 2006, by the score of 28–6 in a game closer than the final score would indicate. Despite the score, Penn State led in many statistical areas, such as first downs, controlling the clock, and total yards, but only had six points to show for their dominating effort. After a scoreless first half, in which the Nittany Lions messed up a chance to score an early touchdown because fullback Matt Hahn broke loose, but was tackled near the goal line and fumbled before the ball crossed the plane. However, Penn State scored a field goal right before halftime after putting together their second long drive of the first half. Penn State led 3–0 at halftime, and controlled the tempo in much of the second half, despite the Buckeyes going up 7–3 following a missed Penn State field goal. Early in the fourth quarter, Troy Smith threw the football away, down the field to avoid a sack in a tipped, nearly intercepted, up for grabs pass that happened to be caught for a touchdown by Brian Robiskie. The Nittany Lions, still playing like they were in control of the game, responded with a strong drive that was called back at the 1 yard line for a false start. The Nittany Lions had to settle for a field goal, which helped shift the momentum to the Buckeyes, but Penn State would gain a full head of steam late in the game. The score was 14–6 in favor of the Buckeyes and Penn State was driving downfield with less than three minutes left. As Penn State led another potentially scoring drive far down the field, hoping to tie the game up at 14–14, it was intercepted and returned for a touchdown with roughly 2 minutes left on the clock. However, Malcolm Jenkins spiked the ball at the one yard line, which rolled into the endzone untouched. This was only noticed after the game. Antonio Smith returned another interception to clinch the victory with 1:07 remaining on the clock, this time from midfield. As ESPN had said, this allowed the Buckeyes to make the victory look easy when, in fact, it was a hard-fought victory, some Penn State fans feel that the Nittany Lions were the better team and should have won that contest, failing to realize that the mistakes that they made, even if it was "handing the game over on a silver platter", are as much a part of football as any other element, which is why a defense that can force turnovers is so highly regarded.

September 30: Northwestern

Penn State defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 33–7 on September 30, 2006 at Beaver Stadium. Deon Butler set a Penn State record with 216 receiving yards, breaking

O.J. McDuffie Otis James McDuffie (born December 2, 1969) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for Penn State University, and ...

's record of 202 yards set against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

in 1992. Tony Hunt ran for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Anthony Morelli completed 19-of-33 passes for 288 yards.

October 7: Minnesota

Penn State defeated the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big T ...

28–27 in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. Tony Hunt rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns (2 rushing), the last in overtime for the game-winning touchdown.

threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns despite playing with a dislocated ring finger on his left (non-throwing) hand. The game, tied at overtime, was decided by two factors, a missed

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

kick, and a pass interference penalty on Penn State's drive to give them a fresh set of downs. Both proved critical, as Penn State soon converted the touchdown and kicked the extra point to escape with the win.

October 14: Michigan

Michigan's defensive front seven was the story of the game, collecting seven sacks and holding the Nittany Lions to −14 net rushing yards. On a third-quarter pass play, Alan Branch knocked Penn State's quarterback Anthony Morelli out of the game with a concussion; Penn State's backup quarterback Daryl Clark was later injured on a rushing attempt. Third-string quarterback Paul Cianciolo managed to throw the Nittany Lions' only touchdown pass of the game. The game was a homecoming for Pennsylvania native Henne, who played the only game of his career at Penn State. With Manningham not playing due to a knee injury suffered against Michigan State, Arrington and Breaston caught the bulk of Henne's passes, each collecting five receptions. Hart picked up his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season and scored the winning touchdown

October 21: Illinois

Carried mostly by the play of its defense, Penn State defeated the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

26–12 during homecoming weekend.

Strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their du ...

Anthony Scirrotto Anthony Paul Scirrotto (born October 21, 1986) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Penn State. Scirrotto has also been a member of the New ...

had two interceptions and returned an attempted

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team intends to give the ball to the ...

for a touchdown. Punter Jeremy Kapinos was named

Big Ten 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 ...

Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season, averaging 45.6 yards per punt, with a long of 57 yards. He pinned Illinois inside its own 20 yard line four times. He also surpassed Ralph Giacomarro to become first all-time in career punting yardage (9,578).

Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Paul Posluszny was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, notching a season-high 13 tackles and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

October 28: Purdue

Penn State's low-scoring win on the road against the Boilermakers saw

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

Tony Hunt rush 31 times for 142 yards and a touchdown (along with 2 receptions for 36 yards) as the Nittany Lions posted a shutout against Purdue, their first ever under head coach

Joe Tiller Joseph Henry Tiller (December 7, 1942 – September 30, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1991 to 1996 and Purdue University from 1997 to 2008, with a career record of know ...

. The low score was primarily a result of the high winds and cold weather. It was Penn State's first shutout since a 49–0 win over the Northwestern Wildcats in October 2002. Recording a game-high 12 tackles and an interception,

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Dan Connor was named

Defensive Player of the Week.

November 4: Wisconsin

Penn State suffered a 13–3 loss on the road versus the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. Wisconsin kicker

Taylor Mehlhaff Taylor Mehlhaff (born August 25, 1985) is a former American football placekicker. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin where he was a First-team All-American. ...

put the Badgers on the scoreboard first with a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Penn State kicker Kevin Kelly tied the score with a 39-yard field goal, but Badgers quarterback

John Stocco John Stocco (born June 14, 1983, in Richfield, Minnesota) is a former collegiate and professional American football quarterback. Stocco played football for the University of Wisconsin–Madison, starting at quarterback for the Badgers during his ...

countered with 14-yard touchdown pass to Paul Hubbard. Wisconsin added a 20-yard field goal in the third quarter. With the long-held ten point lead, the Badgers were the only Big Ten team that Penn State lost to that they had not played completely down to the wire. In both games, they had late chances to win the game, but in this game, again a stubborn defensive struggle, Penn State was unable to kick a second field goal that would have at least made it interesting late. Recording 14 tackles,

Paul Posluszny broke

Greg Buttle Gregory Ellis Buttle (born June 20, 1954 in Atlantic City, New Jersey) is a retired American football linebacker for the New York Jets. He played college football at Penn State University. He was named a Consensus All-American in 1975. In 2005, ...

's record for career tackles. Posluszny finished the game with 349 career tackles in a game where Penn State's defense did their part to hold Wisconsin to few yardage and points. Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was injured during a sideline collision in the third quarter. Although reluctant to leave the sideline, he was taken to the locker room for evaluation and flown back to Penn State ahead of the team. There it was revealed that Paterno had a pair of

fractures Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displ ...

to his

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it conn ...

along with tears of his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments.

November 11: Temple

Running back Tony Hunt had a career day, scoring 4 touchdowns and rushing for 167 yards in two and a half quarters of play, as Penn State shut out the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and mascot for Temple University since its founding in the ...

47–0 with coach Joe Paterno absent from the sidelines for the first time since 1977. Derrick Williams scored on a 75-yard

punt return In gridiron football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final d ...

, while placekicker Kevin Kelly added field goals of 19 and 33 yards. Reserve quarterback

Daryll Clark Daryll Lawrence Clark (born February 5, 1986) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League as a free agent in 2010. He played collegiately for the Penn State Nittany Lions. F ...

scored on a 4th quarter run. Following the game, Penn State

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Levi Brown and Paul Posluszny visited Paterno at his home to present him with the game ball. The game was the first in Happy Valley for former Nittany Lion tight end Al Golden as Temple head coach.

November 18: Michigan State

23 seniors helped close out their regular season careers as Nittany Lions by winning the Land Grant Trophy with a 17–13 win over the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

. Coach Joe Paterno, still nursing a broken shinbone, coached from the pressbox. Running back Tony Hunt overcame 2 first quarter

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

s to tally his seventh 100-yard game this season, rushing for 129 yards on 29 attempts. Quarterback

, who also had 2 fumbles, finished 17-of-37 for 220 yards.

January 1: 2007 Outback Bowl – Tennessee

The 2007 Outback Bowl featured Penn State against the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

of the SEC. Penn State last participated in the game in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, when they won over the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

by the score of 26–14. Tennessee last played in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

in the 1993 Hall of Fame Bowl, defeating the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...

38–23. Before this game, Penn State's last game versus Tennessee was the 1994 Florida Citrus Bowl where they crushed the heavily favored Volunteers in an easy 31–13 victory. Penn State defeated the favored Tennessee 20–10 for Joe Paterno's record 22nd bowl win. Tony Hunt led the PSU offense running for 158 yards on 31 carries. Tony Davis returned a fumble 88 yards for the game-winning touchdown. First Team All-

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 ...

strong safety

also recorded his sixth interception of the season. The key play of the game was a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Late in the fourth, Penn State ran down the clock, but despite stalling in the red zone, kicked a field goal that put the game out of reach.

Rankings

Awards

Watchlists

* Levi Brown *:

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombar ...

watchlist *:

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Ame ...

watchlist * Dan Connor *:

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ame ...

watchlist *:

Dick Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

watchlist * Tony Hunt *:

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football League ...

watchlist * Jeremy Kapinos *:

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Foo ...

watchlist * Paul Posluszny *:

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

watchlist *:

watchlist *:Lindy's Football

watchlist *:

Draddy Trophy The William V. Campbell, formerly the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, is awarded by the National Football Foundation to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It is ...

semifinalist and finalist *:

Lott Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the ...

watchlist *:

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...

Player of the Year watchlist * Tim Shaw *:

watchlist * Derrick Williams *:

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

watchlist

Players

Jay Alford Jason Jamaal Alford (born May 28, 1983) is a former American football defensive tackle. He most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played colle ...

*:Third-team

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

n *:Second-team All-

(conference coaches selection) * Levi Brown *:Second-team

n *:Second-team ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

n *:Third-team

n *:Second-team All-

Gerald Cadogan Gerald Anthony Cadogan (born January 16, 1986, in Oakland, California) is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football ...

*:''

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...

'' CoSIDA Academic All-District * Dan Connor *:First-team ''

n *:Second-team

n *:Second-team All-

Defensive Player of the Week (Sep. 2) *:

Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 28) * Maurice Evans *:''

All-Freshman Team * Tony Hunt *:Second-team All-

Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 11) *:Most Valuable Player, 2007

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...

*:Most Valuable Player, 2007

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

* Jeremy Kapinos *:Third-team

n *:Second-team All-

Special Teams Player of the Week (Sep. 23) *:

Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 21) * Justin King *:Second-team All-

(conference coaches selection) * Nolan McCready *:''

'' CoSIDA Academic All-District *:Second-team ''

'' CoSIDA Academic

n * Paul Posluszny *:2006

Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Americ ...

winner *:''

'' CoSIDA Academic All-District *:First-team ''

'' CoSIDA Academic

n *:''

'' CoSIDA Academic

n of the Year *:First-team

n *:First-team

n *:First-team All-

*:Second-team ''

n *:

Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 21) *:National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete fellowship *:NCAA Defensive Player of the Year *

Andrew Quarless Andrew Christopher Quarless (born October 6, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Penn State. Quarless was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft and later won Super Bow ...

*:''

All-Freshman Team *

*:First-team All-

(conference media selection) *:ESPN.com All-Bowl Team * Tim Shaw *:''

'' CoSIDA Academic All-District *:First-team ''

'' CoSIDA Academic

Post season

Penn State finished the season

ranked A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

number 24 in the final AP college football poll and number 25 in the final

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

college football poll, earning Penn State its 32nd Top 25 finish under Joe Paterno. The team's success helped Penn State finish second in football attendance for the fourth time this decade and in the top four for the 16th consecutive year, averaging 107,567 for seven home games, including a crowd of 110,007 on October 14 to watch Penn State host Michigan in primetime, the second-largest in Beaver Stadium history. Penn State finished the season with a sellout crowd of 65,601 at the Outback Bowl. Five players participated in the NFL Scouting Combine, held February 22–27 in

Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Levi Brown, Tony Hunt, Paul Posluszny, and Tim Shaw.

NFL draft

Five Penn State players were selected in the 2007 NFL Draft.

All-star games

References

{{Penn State Nittany Lions football navbox

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 ReliaQuest Bowl champion 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 ...