Updated on 1/3/2018
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Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten East)
2017 Schedule & Results
| Record: 11-2 | Second-order wins (diff.): 10.6 (-0.4) | S&P+ Rk: 4 | |||||||||
| Date | Opponent | Opp. S&P+ Rk | Score | W-L | Win Expectancy |
Adj. Scoring Margin |
Percentile Performance |
Off. Percentile |
Def. Percentile |
| 2-Sep | Akron | 112 | 52-0 | W | 100% | 51.4 | 94% | 94% | 99% |
| 9-Sep | Pittsburgh | 82 | 33-14 | W | 100% | 30.2 | 92% | 76% | 94% |
| 16-Sep | Georgia State | 96 | 56-0 | W | 100% | 47.9 | 96% | 98% | 96% |
| 23-Sep | at Iowa | 49 | 21-19 | W | 87% | 10.2 | 72% | 61% | 75% |
| 30-Sep | Indiana | 51 | 45-14 | W | 63% | 3.1 | 57% | 53% | 62% |
| 7-Oct | at Northwestern | 46 | 31-7 | W | 100% | 36.2 | 95% | 70% | 97% |
| 21-Oct | Michigan | 27 | 42-13 | W | 97% | 16.9 | 83% | 88% | 63% |
| 28-Oct | at Ohio State | 2 | 38-39 | L | 3% | -17.8 | 19% | 45% | 9% |
| 4-Nov | at Michigan State | 19 | 24-27 | L | 40% | -2.4 | 46% | 53% | 37% |
| 11-Nov | Rutgers | 110 | 35-6 | W | 100% | 42.5 | 93% | 68% | 98% |
| 18-Nov | Nebraska | 103 | 56-44 | W | 98% | 19.1 | 81% | 95% | 23% |
| 25-Nov | at Maryland | 114 | 66-3 | W | 100% | 36.7 | 92% | 93% | 93% |
| 30-Dec | vs. Washington | 5 | 35-28 | W | 77% | 6.8 | 65% | 75% | 46% |
| Category | Offense | Rk | Defense | Rk |
| S&P+ | 37.6 | 10 | 20.0 | 12 |
| Points Per Game | 44.5 | 6 | 17.8 | 8 |
Five Factors
| Offense | Defense | |||||
| Category | Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| EFFICIENCY | Success Rate | 47.1% | 8 | 35.6% | 12 | 40.3% |
| EXPLOSIVENESS | IsoPPP | 1.31 | 19 | 1.08 | 24 | 1.17 |
| FIELD POSITION | Avg. FP | 33.6 | 7 | 25.9 | 6 | 29.6 |
| FINISHING DRIVES | Pts. Per Trip in 40 | 5.08 | 14 | 3.98 | 27 | 4.42 |
| TURNOVER MARGIN | EXPECTED | 10.7 | 3 | Turnover Luck (PPG): +0.48 |
||
| ACTUAL | 12 | 11 | ||||
Rushing
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| Rushing S&P+ | 133.4 | 4 | 120.1 | 18 | 100.0 |
| Rushing Success Rate | 46.9% | 22 | 35.4% | 15 | 42.2% |
| Rushing IsoPPP | 1.09 | 11 | 0.83 | 25 | 0.92 |
| Adj. Line Yards | 101.8 | 63 | 106.6 | 45 | 100.0 |
| Opportunity Rate | 43.9% | 9 | 33.7% | 20 | 38.5% |
| Power Success Rate | 65.0% | 89 | 71.1% | 90 | 67.7% |
| Stuff Rate | 21.3% | 95 | 22.4% | 34 | 19.3% |
Individual Rushing Stats
| Player | Pos. | Ht, Wt | Year | Rushes | Yards | TD | Yards/ Carry |
Hlt Yds/ Opp. |
Opp. Rate |
Fumbles (Lost) |
| Saquon Barkley | RB | 5'11, 230 | JR | 217 | 1271 | 18 | 5.9 | 8.3 | 39.2% | 0 (0) |
| Trace McSorley | QB | 6'0, 195 | JR | 117 | 629 | 11 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 47.0% | 2 (1) |
| Miles Sanders | RB | 5'11, 215 | SO | 31 | 191 | 2 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 45.2% | 1 (0) |
| Tommy Stevens | QB | 6'5, 228 | SO | 25 | 207 | 4 | 8.3 | 4.1 | 76.0% | 1 (0) |
| Andre Robinson | RB | 5'9, 223 | SO | 9 | 55 | 1 | 6.1 | 12.6 | 33.3% | 1 (0) |
| Mark Allen | RB | 5'6, 180 | JR | 9 | 38 | 0 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 44.4% | 0 (0) |
| Nick Eury | RB | 5'9, 207 | FR | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0 (0) |
| DaeSean Hamilton | WR | 6'1, 206 | SR | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0 (0) |
| NOTE: Quarterback run totals above do not include sacks (which are counted toward pass averages below) or kneeldowns. | ||||||||||
Passing
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| Passing S&P+ | 131.3 | 6 | 118.9 | 13 | 100.0 |
| Passing Success Rate | 47.3% | 11 | 35.7% | 23 | 40.3% |
| Passing IsoPPP | 1.48 | 51 | 1.27 | 9 | 1.48 |
| Adj. Sack Rate | 109 | 56 | 113.4 | 45 | 100 |
Individual Passing Stats
| Player | Ht, Wt | Year | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT | Comp Rate |
Sacks | Sack Rate | Yards/ Att. |
| Trace McSorley | 6'0, 195 | JR | 284 | 427 | 3570 | 28 | 10 | 66.5% | 27 | 5.9% | 7.6 |
| Tommy Stevens | 6'5, 228 | SO | 14 | 27 | 158 | 3 | 0 | 51.9% | 2 | 6.9% | 4.9 |
| Billy Fessler | 5'11, 181 | JR | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 4.0 |
Individual Receiving Stats
| Player | Pos. | Ht, Wt | Year | Targets | Catches | Yards | TD | Yds/ Catch |
Yds/ Target |
Catch Rate | Success Rate | Target Rate |
| DaeSean Hamilton | WR | 6'1, 206 | SR | 82 | 53 | 878 | 9 | 16.6 | 10.7 | 64.6% | 61.0% | 18.6% |
| Juwan Johnson | WR | 6'4, 226 | SO | 79 | 54 | 701 | 1 | 13.0 | 8.9 | 68.4% | 59.5% | 18.0% |
| Mike Gesicki | TE | 6'6, 250 | SR | 76 | 57 | 563 | 9 | 9.9 | 7.4 | 75.0% | 48.7% | 17.3% |
| Saquon Barkley | RB | 5'11, 230 | JR | 68 | 54 | 611 | 3 | 11.3 | 9.0 | 79.4% | 47.1% | 15.5% |
| DeAndre Thompkins | WR | 5'11, 187 | JR | 40 | 28 | 443 | 3 | 15.8 | 11.1 | 70.0% | 62.5% | 9.1% |
| Saeed Blacknall | WR | 6'3, 217 | SR | 35 | 17 | 289 | 2 | 17.0 | 8.3 | 48.6% | 42.9% | 8.0% |
| Brandon Polk | WR | 5'9, 175 | SO | 16 | 10 | 130 | 1 | 13.0 | 8.1 | 62.5% | 50.0% | 3.6% |
| Tommy Stevens | QB | 6'5, 228 | SO | 14 | 12 | 60 | 2 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 85.7% | 42.9% | 3.2% |
| Miles Sanders | RB | 5'11, 215 | SO | 12 | 6 | 30 | 0 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 50.0% | 8.3% | 2.7% |
| Irvin Charles | WR | 6'4, 217 | SO | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 20.0% | 0.0% | 1.1% |
| Tom Pancoast | TE | 6'3, 242 | SR | 4 | 4 | 27 | 1 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 100.0% | 75.0% | 0.9% |
| Jonathan Holland | TE | 6'4, 248 | SO | 4 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 75.0% | 50.0% | 0.9% |
| Andre Robinson | RB | 5'9, 223 | SO | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 33.3% | 33.3% | 0.7% |
| Nick Bowers | TE | 6'4, 268 | SO | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.2% |
| Cody Hodgens | WR | 5'7, 173 | SR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
Standard Downs
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| Standard Downs S&P+ | 122.0 | 6 | 114.7 | 19 | 100.0 |
| Standard Downs Success Rate | 49.6% | 30 | 41.4% | 20 | 46.5% |
| Standard Downs IsoPPP | 1.18 | 22 | 0.99 | 31 | 1.07 |
| SD Line Yards per Carry | 2.68 | 101 | 2.63 | 36 | 2.92 |
| SD Sack Rate | 3.5% | 30 | 5.0% | 69 | 5.3% |
Passing Downs
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| Passing Downs S&P+ | 155.9 | 2 | 120.6 | 20 | 100.0 |
| Passing Downs Success Rate | 41.5% | 3 | 25.6% | 14 | 30.7% |
| Passing Downs IsoPPP | 1.67 | 25 | 1.31 | 11 | 1.53 |
| PD Line Yards per Carry | 3.22 | 69 | 3.13 | 60 | 3.22 |
| PD Sack Rate | 10.3% | 104 | 8.9% | 33 | 7.8% |
Situational
| Offense | Defense | |||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | |
| Q1 S&P+ | 155.9 | 2 | 121.7 | 21 |
| Q2 S&P+ | 131.2 | 6 | 128.2 | 12 |
| Q3 S&P+ | 138.0 | 3 | 126.5 | 13 |
| Q4 S&P+ | 124.5 | 8 | 90.6 | 106 |
| 1st Down S&P+ | 129.3 | 6 | 112.9 | 24 |
| 2nd Down S&P+ | 142.5 | 3 | 129.4 | 6 |
| 3rd Down S&P+ | 150.3 | 2 | 101.0 | 67 |
Offensive Footprint
| Team | Rk | Nat'l Average | |
| Std. Downs Run Rate | 51.9% | 109 | 60.0% |
| Pass Downs Run Rate | 26.4% | 110 | 35.3% |
| Adj. Pace | +1.1 | 89 | +0.0 |
| % of Solo Tackles | 77.6% | 30 | 73.8% |
Defensive Footprint
| Team | Rk | Nat'l Average | |
| Std. Downs Run Rate | 52.0% | 124 | 59.9% |
| Pass. Downs Run Rate | 29.6% | 108 | 35.0% |
| Overall Havoc Rate | 20.0% | 11 | 16.0% |
| DL Havoc Rate | 7.4% | 14 | 4.9% |
| LB Havoc Rate | 3.5% | 92 | 4.4% |
| DB Havoc Rate | 8.9% | 8 | 6.5% |
| PD to INC | 37.4% | 27 | 33.9% |
Individual Defensive Stats
| Name | Pos | Ht, Wt | Year | Tackles | TFL (Sacks) | Run Stuffs* | Int (PBU) | FF | Succ. Rate** |
| Jason Cabinda | LB | 6'1, 234 | SR | 60.5 | 6.5 (2.5) | 11 | 0 (3) | 2 | 30.7% |
| Marcus Allen | S | 6'2, 207 | SR | 58.0 | 4 (1) | 5 | 1 (3) | 2 | 54.9% |
| Troy Apke | S | 6'1, 198 | SR | 45.5 | 3 (0) | 3 | 1 (5) | 0 | 60.0% |
| Brandon Smith | LB | 6'0, 231 | SR | 40.5 | 2.5 (0) | 9 | 0 (0) | 0 | 29.8% |
| Christian Campbell | CB | 6'1, 194 | SR | 37.0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 (12) | 2 | 53.3% |
| Manny Bowen | LB | 6'1, 226 | JR | 36.5 | 3.5 (1.5) | 5 | 0 (1) | 1 | 44.0% |
| Koa Farmer | LB | 6'1, 237 | JR | 33.5 | 5.5 (1) | 9 | 0 (1) | 0 | 47.9% |
| Grant Haley | CB | 5'9, 190 | SR | 33.5 | 3 (2) | 2 | 2 (9) | 0 | 47.4% |
| Shareef Miller | DE | 6'5, 257 | SO | 28.5 | 11 (5) | 10 | 0 (0) | 0 | 13.5% |
| Nick Scott | S | 5'11, 199 | JR | 25.0 | 1.5 (0) | 2 | 0 (0) | 0 | 58.3% |
| Cam Brown | LB | 6'5, 227 | SO | 23.5 | 1.5 (0.5) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 41.7% |
| Amani Oruwariye | CB | 6'1, 209 | JR | 23.5 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (8) | 0 | 51.9% |
| Lamont Wade | CB | 5'9, 196 | FR | 22.5 | 0 (0) | 1 | 0 (3) | 1 | 65.0% |
| Parker Cothren | DT | 6'4, 304 | SR | 17.5 | 2.5 (1.5) | 5 | 0 (1) | 0 | 18.5% |
| Kevin Givens | DT | 6'1, 287 | SO | 16.0 | 4 (3.5) | 9 | 0 (2) | 1 | 4.3% |
| Shaka Toney | DE | 6'3, 233 | FR | 14.0 | 6.5 (4) | 5 | 0 (0) | 2 | 25.0% |
| Tyrell Chavis | DT | 6'3, 308 | SR | 13.0 | 6.5 (3) | 5 | 0 (2) | 0 | 21.1% |
| Ayron Monroe | S | 5'11, 207 | SO | 13.0 | 1.5 (0.5) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 63.6% |
| Ryan Buchholz | DE | 6'6, 275 | SO | 12.5 | 2.5 (2) | 6 | 0 (0) | 1 | 11.1% |
| Robert Windsor | DT | 6'4, 303 | SO | 12.5 | 2.5 (2) | 5 | 0 (0) | 1 | 15.8% |
| Shane Simmons | DE | 6'3, 250 | FR | 11.5 | 4.5 (1) | 4 | 0 (0) | 0 | 20.0% |
| Curtis Cothran | DT | 6'5, 301 | SR | 11.0 | 4 (3.5) | 5 | 0 (0) | 0 | 6.7% |
| Yetur Gross-Matos | DE | 6'5, 248 | FR | 11.0 | 2 (1.5) | 3 | 0 (0) | 0 | 29.4% |
| Tariq Castro-Fields | CB | 6'0, 185 | FR | 9.5 | 2 (0) | 2 | 1 (3) | 1 | 66.7% |
| Jan Johnson | LB | 6'2, 234 | SO | 9.0 | 1 (0) | 2 | 0 (0) | 0 | 66.7% |
* Stuffs are rushes stopped at or behind the line. They are not necessarily tackles for loss (since they include zero-yard gains), so adding sacks and stuffs won't necessarily equal TFLs. Also: the figure is based on how many stuffs a tackler has taken part in -- solo tackles and assist tackles count for the same amount.
** For defenders, Success Rate is defined as the offense's success rate on plays in which the defender made a tackle. The lower the number, the better for the defender. On average, due to proximity to the line of scrimmage, defensive linemen will produce lower success rates than linebackers, who producer lower rates than defensive backs.
Special Teams
| Rating | Rank | |
| Special Teams S&P+ | -0.3 | 88 |
| Category | Rate | Rank |
| FG Value (per kick) | -0.76 | 124 |
| Punt Success Rate | 72.7% | 10 |
| Kickoff Success Rate | 75.3% | 59 |
| Punt Return Success Rate | 70.4% | 14 |
| Kick Return Success Rate | 45.2% | 65 |
| Place-Kicker | Ht, Wt | Year | PAT | FG | Pct |
| Tyler Davis | 5'11, 183 | SR | 71-71 | 9-17 | 52.9% |
| Punter | Ht, Wt | Year | Punts | Avg | TB | FC | I20 | FC/I20 Ratio |
| Blake Gillikin | 6'2, 195 | SO | 52 | 43.2 | 3 | 16 | 21 | 71.2% |
| Daniel Pasquariello | 6'1, 201 | SR | 1 | 45.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100.0% |
| Kicker | Ht, Wt | Year | Kickoffs | Avg | TB | TB% | OOB | Fair Catches |
Onside Att |
Onside Success |
| Tyler Davis | 5'11, 183 | SR | 87 | 62.3 | 33 | 37.9% | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Barbir | 5'9, 193 | FR | 6 | 61.2 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Punt Returner | Ht, Wt | Year | Returns | Avg. | TD | Fair Catch | Fumbles (Lost) |
| DeAndre Thompkins | 5'11, 187 | JR | 24 | 13.3 | 1 | 25 | 1 (0) |
| Zech McPhearson | 5'11, 182 | FR | 1 | -3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) |
| Mark Allen | 5'6, 180 | JR | 1 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (0) |
| Kick Returner | Ht, Wt | Year | Returns | Avg. | TD | Fair Catch | Fumbles (Lost) |
| Saquon Barkley | 5'11, 230 | JR | 15 | 28.4 | 2 | 0 | 0 (0) |
| Miles Sanders | 5'11, 215 | SO | 5 | 15.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 (0) |
| Koa Farmer | 6'1, 237 | JR | 4 | 23.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (0) |
| Tackler | Pos | Ht, Wt | Year | ST Tackles | PR Avg | KR Avg |
| Josh McPhearson | RB | 5'10, 197 | SR | 8.5 | 17.9 | |
| Lamont Wade | CB | 5'9, 196 | FR | 8.0 | 18.6 | |
| Garrett Taylor | S | 6'0, 197 | SO | 8.0 | 5.3 | 13.0 |
| Nick Scott | S | 5'11, 199 | JR | 7.0 | -7.0 | 20.1 |
| Ayron Monroe | S | 5'11, 207 | SO | 6.5 | 5.0 | 17.8 |
Stats via SportSource Analytics