Penn State — Big Ten
HC
Matt Campbell · Beaver Stadium · University Park, PA · 106,572 cap
PPA off / def
0.23 / 0.10
2025
Class rank
#65
class of 2026
Returning PPA
8%
returning production
vs Ohio State — OSU leads 27–14
| 2025 |
OSU W 38–14 | Columbus |
| 2024 |
OSU W 20–13 | away |
| 2023 |
OSU W 20–12 | Columbus |
| 2022 |
OSU W 44–31 | away |
| 2021 |
OSU W 33–24 | Columbus |
| 2020 |
OSU W 38–25 | away |
| 2019 |
OSU W 28–17 | Columbus |
| 2018 |
OSU W 27–26 | away |
| 2017 |
OSU W 39–38 | Columbus |
| 2016 |
OSU L 21–24 | away |
| + 31 earlier meetings in archive |
2026 schedule
2025 results (7–6)
Statistical comps — 2025 Penn State's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (38 in / 48 out)
Origins
An agricultural school in a valley with nothing else in it, which is exactly why 107,000 people drive there on Saturdays. Paterno won 409 games and two national titles across 46 seasons that ended in a scandal that reshaped the university.
Founded 1855 · Founded as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania · first football 1887 · defined by Joe Paterno
All-time record
All-time
930–416–38
1888–2025
Win %
68.6%
138 seasons played
Winning seasons
107
78% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2024 | 13 | 3 | Big Ten |
| 1994 | 12 | 0 | Big Ten |
| 1986 | 12 | 0 | FBS Independents |
| 1973 | 12 | 0 | FBS Independents |
| 1969 | 11 | 0 | FBS Independents |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1888 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 319 | 58% |
47% | 24 of 136 | 6.2 | 12% |
| 2nd down | 234 | 58% |
43% | 48 of 136 | 5.3 | 9% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 49 | 71% |
67% | — | 3.5 | 4% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 54 | 43% |
41% | — | 5.3 | 6% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 43 | 23% |
26% | — | 7.5 | 14% |
| 4th down | 29 | 55% |
62% | — | 4.5 | 7% |
134 drives · 43% ended in points · 7.2 plays and 40.6 yards per drive · 1.31 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| CFP | Clemson |
Trebor Pena 73 Yd pass from Ethan Grunkemeyer (Quinton Martin Jr. Run for Two-Point Conver… |
73 | 7.01 |
| 14 | Rutgers |
(09:47) #17 E.Grunkemeyer pass complete short left to #87 A.Rappleyea caught at RU39, for … |
53 | 6.11 |
| 12 | Michigan State |
Shotgun #17 E.Grunkemeyer pass complete short middle to #5 D.Ross caught at PSU31, for 75 … |
75 | 6.08 |
| 2 | Florida International |
Kaytron Allen 67 Yd Run (Ryan Barker Kick) |
67 | 5.43 |
| 7 | Northwestern |
Drew Allar pass complete to Devonte Ross for 67 yds to the NU 19 for a 1ST down |
67 | 4.52 |
| 11 | Indiana |
Shotgun #10 N.Singleton rush middle for 59 yards gain to the IND02 (#5 D.Ponds), 1ST DOWN |
59 | 4.19 |
| 10 | Ohio State |
End of 2nd quarter. |
74 | 4.16 |
| 14 | Rutgers |
(01:15) #10 N.Singleton rush left for 53 yards gain to the RU36 (#9 J.Elad), 1ST DOWN |
53 | 4.12 |