Big Ten · University Park, PA

Penn State

Nittany Lions

Unranked2026: 3-2 (0-2 conf) Beaver Stadium

National titles

Last: 1986

Heisman winners

Last: John Cappelletti

CFP berths

since 2014

All-time

933-418-38

.685 win pct

Weeks ranked

of 104 polls since 2020

Weeks at No. 1

since 2020

The program

Overview

Penn State is synonymous with Joe Paterno, who coached the Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011, won national titles in 1982 and 1986 and posted five undefeated seasons. Beaver Stadium, one of the largest stadiums in the world, hosts the annual 'White Out.' The program joined the Big Ten in 1993 and won conference titles in 1994, 2005, 2008 and 2016.

Rivals

Ohio State

Pittsburgh

Michigan StateLand Grant Trophy

Institution: The Pennsylvania State University
Nickname: Nittany Lions
Founded: 1855
First season: 1887
Conference: Big Ten
Head coach: Matt Campbell (since 2026)
Fight song: Fight On, State
Colors
X / Twitter: @PennStateFball

Since 2020

AP poll history

Season	Preseason	Best	Final / latest	Weeks ranked
2026	18	13	NR (Week 6)	4/6
2025	2	2	NR (Final)	6/17
2024	8	3	5 (Final)	17/17
2023	7	6	13 (Final)	16/16
2022	NR	7	7 (Final)	14/16
2021	19	4	NR (Final)	11/16
2020	7	7	NR (Final)	6/16

3-2 overall

2026 season

Latest poll →

Sep 5
Marshall0
Penn State (home)45
Sep 12
Penn State27
Temple (home)9
Sep 19
Buffalo13
Penn State (home)55
Sep 26
Wisconsin24
Penn State (home)20
Oct 2
Penn State13
Northwestern (home)34
Oct 10
#19USC
Penn State (home)
Oct 17
Penn State
Michigan (home)
Oct 31
Purdue
Penn State (home)
Nov 7
Penn State
Washington (home)
Nov 14
Minnesota
Penn State (home)
Nov 21
Rutgers
Penn State (home)
Nov 28
Penn State
Maryland (home)

2026 roster

Roster & stats

Passing leader

1,108 yds

#3 Rocco Becht

Rushing leader

212 yds

#1 James Peoples

Receiving leader

344 yds

#6 Koby Howard

Tackles leader

34 tkl

#13 Tony Rojas

Full roster112 players · 58 with stats

#	Player	Pos	Class	Ht / Wt	Hometown	Season stats
50	Cooper Cousins	OL	JR	6'6" / 320	Erie, PA
51	Brock Riker	OL	SO	6'4" / 291	Brock, TX
52	Dominic Rulli	OL	SR	6'3" / 298	Burlington, KY
54	Vaea Ikakoula	OL	FR	6'3" / 326	Laie, HI
55	Chimdy Onoh	OL	JR	6'5" / 320	Baltimore, MD
56	Mason Bandhauer	OL	FR	6'6" / 297	Fort Collins, CO
61	Liam Horan	OL	SO	6'3" / 292	West Chester, PA
65	Jim Fitzgerald	OL	SR	6'7" / 337	Severna Park, MD
66	Will Tompkins	OL	FR	6'5" / 311	Cedar Falls, IA
67	Henry Boehme	OL	JR	6'5" / 285	Birmingham, AL
68	Anthony Donkoh	OL	JR	6'5" / 334	Aldie, VA
70	Trevor Buhr	OL	JR	6'4" / 318	Washington, MO
71	Garrett Sexton	OL	SO	6'6" / 315	Hartland, WI
72	Tyshon Huff	OL	JR	6'4" / 292	Cincinnati, OH
74	Kuol Kuol II	OL	FR	6'6" / 291	Centerville, OH
75	Pete Eglitis	OL	FR	6'7" / 295	Columbus, OH
76	Hunter Albright	OL	FR	6'5" / 326	Hollidaysburg, PA
77	Owen Aliciene	OL	FR	6'7" / 303	Cheshire, CT
78	Malachi Goodman	OL	FR	6'6" / 330	Bloomfield, NJ
79	Donnie Harbour	OL	SO	6'3" / 333	Milwaukee, WI
3	Rocco Becht	QB	SR	6'1" / 208	Wesley Chapel, FL	83/134, 1,108 pass yds, 10 TD, 3 INT · 27 car, 32 rush yds, 1 TD
7	Alex Manske	QB	FR	6'3" / 210	Algona, IA	9/14, 102 pass yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · 3 car, 14 rush yds, 0 TD
10	Connor Barry	QB	SR	6'1" / 211	Vienna, VA	2/2, 8 pass yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · 3 car, 2 rush yds, 0 TD
12	Kase Evans	QB	FR	6'3" / 200	Lexington, TX
14	Peyton Falzone	QB	FR	6'5" / 216	Nazareth, PA
19	Jack Lambert	QB	JR	6'3" / 202	Hampstead, NC
1	James Peoples	RB	JR	5'10" / 214	San Antonio, TX	45 car, 212 rush yds, 2 TD · 2 rec, 19 yds, 0 TD
21	Carson Hansen	RB	SR	6'2" / 216	Lakeville, MN	43 car, 199 rush yds, 2 TD · 3 rec, 22 yds, 0 TD
25	Quinton Martin Jr.	RB	SO	6'1" / 212	Belle Vernon, PA	29 car, 158 rush yds, 1 TD · 4 rec, 4 yds, 0 TD
26	Cam Wallace	RB	JR	5'9" / 206	Mount Vernon, GA	22 car, 125 rush yds, 2 TD · 1 rec, 7 yds, 0 TD
29	D'Antae Sheffey	RB	FR	5'11" / 201	State College, PA
36	Amar'e Glover	RB	FR	6'0" / 205	Middletown, DE	2 car, 2 rush yds, 0 TD
37	Jeremy Washington	RB	FR	— / —	Washington, DC
18	Benjamin Brahmer	TE	SR	6'7" / 250	Pierce, NE	16 rec, 178 yds, 3 TD
80	Cooper Alexander	TE	SO	6'4" / 241	Washington, OK
83	Brian Kortovich	TE	FR	6'4" / 241	Willoughby, OH
84	Gabe Burkle	TE	SR	6'6" / 247	Cedar Rapids, IA	1 rec, 4 yds, 0 TD
87	Andrew Rappleyea	TE	JR	6'4" / 242	Millbrook, NY	10 rec, 83 yds, 1 TD
89	Finn Furmanek	TE	JR	6'3" / 251	State College, PA	1 rec, 31 yds, 0 TD
0	Chase Sowell	WR	SR	6'3" / 203	Humble, TX	19 rec, 264 yds, 2 TD
2	Zay Robinson	WR	FR	5'11" / 186	Des Moines, IA	7 rec, 104 yds, 1 TD
4	Brett Eskildsen	WR	JR	6'1" / 198	Frisco, TX	15 rec, 128 yds, 1 TD
6	Koby Howard	WR	SO	5'11" / 203	Pensacola, FL	2 car, 24 rush yds, 1 TD · 12 rec, 344 yds, 2 TD
7	Peter Gonzalez	WR	SO	6'2" / 211	Mars, PA
8	Karon Brookins	WR	FR	6'5" / 205	Pennsauken, NJ	1 rec, 8 yds, 0 TD
11	Lyrick Samuel	WR	FR	6'4" / 183	Brooklyn, NY
13	Hank Lustig	WR	FR	5'9" / 170	State College, PA
15	Keith Jones Jr.	WR	SO	6'4" / 197	New Orleans, LA
19	Amarion Jackson	WR	FR	6'2" / 192	Omaha, NE	1 car, 12 rush yds, 0 TD · 1 rec, 10 yds, 0 TD
31	Logan Cunningham	WR	SR	5'8" / 183	Belle Vernon, PA	1 car, 2 rush yds, 0 TD
81	Ben Whitver	WR	FR	6'2" / 195	Powhatan, VA
82	Ethan Black	WR	JR	5'9" / 178	Davidsville, PA
2	Audavion Collins	CB	SR	5'11" / 183	Covington, GA	10 tkl
5	Daryus Dixson	CB	SO	6'0" / 184	Perris, CA	10 tkl, 0.5 TFL · 1 INT
7	Zion Tracy	CB	SR	5'11" / 184	Hempstead, NY	13 tkl
12	Xxavier Thomas	CB	FR	5'11" / 180	Canonsburg, PA	2 tkl
15	Joshua Johnson	CB	FR	6'2" / 189	Ironton, OH
16	Donte Nastasi	CB	JR	5'10" / 169	State College, PA	1 tkl
17	Josiah Zayas	CB	FR	6'2" / 205	Piscataway, NJ	10 tkl, 2 TFL · 1 INT
20	Tyrell Chatman	CB	FR	6'2" / 196	Lincoln, NE	2 tkl
23	Jahmir Joseph	CB	FR	6'0" / 190	Nyack, NY	6 tkl
29	Hunter Sowell	CB	FR	5'10" / 180	Humble, TX
35	Tyler Armstead	CB	SO	6'1" / 177	Canonsburg, PA	1 tkl
37	Max Heffner	CB	FR	5'11" / 176	Birdsboro, PA
1	Ikenna Ezeogu	DE	SR	6'5" / 273	Blue Springs, MO	10 tkl
11	LaVar Arrington II	DE	SO	6'3" / 220	Annapolis, MD
18	Max Granville	DE	SO	6'3" / 252	Sugar Land, TX
19	Yvan Kemajou	DE	SO	6'3" / 252	Burtonsville, MD	11 tkl, 2 TFL, 1 sk
33	Alexander McPherson	DE	SO	6'6" / 254	Stuart, FL	9 tkl, 1 TFL
42	Mason Robinson	DE	JR	6'3" / 255	Randallstown, MD
43	Dayshaun Burnett	DE	FR	6'3" / 226	Pittsburgh, PA
47	Aidan Probst	DE	SO	6'2" / 246	Erie, PA
89	Jackson Ford	DE	FR	6'5" / 264	Phoenixville, PA	2 tkl
93	Bobby Mears	DE	JR	6'4" / 257	West Chester, PA	1 rec, 12 yds, 0 TD
88	Elijah Reeder	DL	FR	6'6" / 210	Bayville, NJ
39	Ty Blanding	DT	JR	6'1" / 301	Bronx, NY	2 tkl, 1 TFL
56	Alijah Carnell	DT	SO	6'5" / 299	Henderson, NV	1 tkl
73	Caleb Brewer	DT	SO	6'4" / 295	Reading, PA
90	Liam Andrews	DT	SO	6'4" / 276	Brookline, MA	3 tkl
91	Armstrong Nnodim	DT	SO	6'2" / 310	Mesquite, TX	8 tkl, 1 TFL
92	Siale Taupaki	DT	SR	6'2" / 326	East Oakland, CA	10 tkl, 1.5 TFL
94	De'Andre Cook	DT	SO	6'4" / 298	Washington, DC	2 tkl
98	Dallas Vakalahi	DT	JR	6'2" / 326	West Valley, UT	3 tkl, 1 TFL
99	Keanu Williams	DT	SR	6'5" / 317	Clovis, CA	13 tkl
8	Kooper Ebel	LB	SR	6'4" / 233	Hartley, IA	29 tkl, 2 TFL, 1 sk
9	Cael Brezina	LB	JR	6'3" / 233	Downers Grove, IL	19 tkl
10	Caleb Bacon	LB	SR	6'4" / 242	Lake Mills, IA	14 tkl, 4 TFL, 1 sk
13	Tony Rojas	LB	JR	6'2" / 236	Fairfax, VA	34 tkl, 7.5 TFL, 3 sk · 2 INT
25	Alex Tatsch	LB	SO	6'2" / 235	Latrobe, PA	11 tkl, 1.5 TFL
26	Cam Smith	LB	FR	6'0" / 222	Salem, NJ	4 tkl
32	John Klosterman	LB	SR	5'11" / 223	Iowa City, IA
34	Chris Fileppo	LB	SO	6'4" / 219	Doylestown, PA
40	Keian Kaiser	LB	FR	6'4" / 215	Sidney, NE
40	Jake Lukac	LB	FR	6'1" / 210	State College, PA
45	Josh Banks	LB	FR	6'1" / 200	Hollidaysburg, PA
46	Evan Wolff	LB	FR	6'2" / 215	Moscow, PA
3	Jamison Patton	S	SR	6'2" / 206	Des Moines, IA	16 tkl
4	Jeremiah Cooper	S	SR	6'0" / 188	El Paso, TX	16 tkl
21	Vaboue Toure	S	SO	6'1" / 209	Pleasantville, NJ	5 tkl
24	Ibn McDaniels	S	SO	6'3" / 202	Elizabeth, NJ	1 tkl
27	Omarion Davis	S	SO	5'11" / 198	Charlotte, NC
28	Bryson Williams	S	FR	6'4" / 188	Omaha, NE	3 tkl · 1 INT
30	Christian Askew	S	FR	6'4" / 199	Kathleen, GA
31	Marcus Neal Jr.	S	JR	6'1" / 216	Kansas City, MO	19 tkl
41	Jake LaVerde	S	FR	6'2" / 210	Kirtland, OH
35	Blaise Sokach-Minnick	LS	SR	6'3" / 216	West Pittston, PA	1 tkl
92	Andrew Dufault	LS	SO	6'1" / 249	Westwood, MA
38	Nathan Tiyce	P	SO	6'5" / 232	Gerringong, NSW
96	Lucas Tenbrock	P	FR	6'6" / 210	St. Charles, IL
94	Ryan Barker	PK	JR	6'2" / 191	Landenberg, PA	7/9 FG
95	Cristiano Rosa	PK	SR	5'11" / 205	Shelton, CT
98	Matthew Parker	PK	FR	6'0" / 224	York, PA

Home field

Beaver Stadium

Capacity

106,572

University Park, PA

Opened: 1960; 66 seasons ago
Surface: Natural grass
Roof: Open air
Elevation: 1,162 ft
Time zone: New York
Avg. home crowd: 99,408; 93% of capacity · 39 games since 2020
Biggest crowd since 2020: 111,030; vs Ohio State, 2024
Zip: 16802
Map: 40.812, -77.856

Titles & awards

Trophy case

National championships2

19821986

Heisman Trophy winners1

1973John CappellettiRB

College Football Playoff1

2024 · 6th seed · Playoff

1888–2026

Program history

Win %★ National title season

Best seasons

197312-0Joe Paterno
198612-0Joe Paterno★
199412-0Joe Paterno
196811-0Joe Paterno
196911-0Joe Paterno
19128-0Bill Hollenback

On the sideline

Head coaches

Coach	Tenure	Record	Pct	Best final AP
Matt Campbell	2026	0-0	—	—
Terry Smith	2025	4-3	.571	—
James Franklin	2014–2025	104-45	.698	#5
Bill O'Brien	2012–2013	15-9	.625	—
Joe Paterno	1966–2011	409-136-3	.749	#1
Rip Engle	1950–1965	104-48-4	.679	#9
Joe Bedenk	1949	5-4	.556	—
Bob Higgins	1930–1948	91-57-11	.607	#4
Hugo Bezdek	1918–1929	65-30-11	.665	—
Dick Harlow	1915–1917	20-8	.714	—
Bill Hollenback	1911–1914	23-9-2	.706	—
Jack Hollenback	1910	5-2-1	.688	—
Bill Hollenback	1909	5-0-2	.857	—
Tom Fennell	1904–1908	33-17-1	.657	—
Daniel Reed	1903	5-3	.625	—
Pop Golden	1900–1902	16-12-1	.569	—
Sam Boyle	1899	4-6	.400	—
Samuel Newton	1896–1898	12-14	.462	—

46 picks · 8 first-rounders

NFL Draft since 2020

20268 picks

#14Olaivavega IoaneOffensive Guard · Baltimore
#76Drew AllarQuarterback · Pittsburgh
#112Drew SheltonOffensive Tackle · Dallas
#120Dani Dennis-SuttonDefensive Edge · Green Bay
#151Zakee WheatleySafety · Carolina
#165Nicholas SingletonRunning Back · Tennessee
#181Zane DurantDefensive Tackle · Buffalo
#187Kaytron AllenRunning Back · Washington

20255 picks

#3Abdul CarterDefensive Edge · New York
#14Tyler WarrenTight End · Indianapolis
#82Kevin Winston Jr.Safety · Tennessee
#187Jaylen ReedSafety · Houston
#201Kobe KingLinebacker · Minnesota

20248 picks

#11Olu FashanuOffensive Tackle · New York
#21Chop RobinsonDefensive Edge · Miami
#68Caedan WallaceOffensive Tackle · New England
#93Adisa IsaacLinebacker · Baltimore
#107Theo JohnsonTight End · New York
#159Hunter NourzadCenter · Kansas City
#219Daequan HardyCornerback · Buffalo
#255Kalen KingCornerback · Green Bay

20236 picks

#32Joey Porter Jr.Cornerback · Pittsburgh
#61Brenton StrangeTight End · Jacksonville
#62Juice ScruggsCenter · Houston
#87Ji'Ayir BrownSafety · San Francisco
#149Sean CliffordQuarterback · Green Bay
#185Parker WashingtonWide Receiver · Jacksonville

20228 picks

#16Jahan DotsonWide Receiver · Washington
#38Arnold EbiketieDefensive End · Atlanta
#48Jaquan BriskerSafety · Chicago
#120Brandon SmithInside Linebacker · Carolina
#130Jordan StoutPunter · Baltimore
#221Tariq Castro-FieldsCornerback · San Francisco
#249Rasheed WalkerOffensive Tackle · Green Bay
#256Jesse LuketaOutside Linebacker · Arizona

20216 picks

#12Micah ParsonsInside Linebacker · Dallas
#31Odafe OwehOutside Linebacker · Baltimore
#55Pat FreiermuthTight End · Pittsburgh
#246Shaka ToneyDefensive End · Washington
#247Michal MenetCenter · Arizona
#248Will FriesOffensive Tackle · Indianapolis

20205 picks

#38Yetur Gross-MatosDefensive End · Carolina
#46KJ HamlerWide Receiver · Denver
#141John ReidCornerback · Houston
#183Cam BrownOutside Linebacker · New York
#193Robert WindsorDefensive Tackle · Indianapolis