List of Penn State Nittany Lions football seasons

This is a list of seasons completed by the Penn State Nittany Lions football team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Since the team's creation in 1887, the Nittany Lions have participated in 1,368 officially sanctioned games, including 52 bowl games.[1][2] For most of its existence, Penn State competed as an independent. In 1993, Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference, where it has been a member ever since.

Beaver Stadium, the home venue since 1960

Seasons

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Year Coach Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Independent (1881–1890)
1881 No coach 1–0
1882–86 No team
1887 No coach 2–0
1888 No coach 0–2–1
1889 No coach 2–2
1890 No coach 2–2
PIFA (1891)
1891 No coach 6–2 4–1 1st
George W. Hoskins (Independent) (1892–1895)
1892 George W. Hoskins 5–1
1893 George W. Hoskins 4–1
1894 George W. Hoskins 6–0–1
1895 George W. Hoskins 2–2–3
Samuel B. Newton (Independent) (1896–1898)
1896 Samuel B. Newton 3–4
1897 Samuel B. Newton 3–6
1898 Samuel B. Newton 6–4
Sam Boyle (Independent) (1899)
1899 Sam Boyle 4–6–1
Pop Golden (Independent) (1900–1902)
1900 Pop Golden 4–6–1
1901 Pop Golden 5–3
1902 Pop Golden 7–3
Daniel A. Reed (Independent) (1903)
1903 Daniel A. Reed 5–3
Tom Fennell (Independent) (1904–1908)
1904 Tom Fennell 6–4
1905 Tom Fennell 8–3
1906 Tom Fennell 8–1–1
1907 Tom Fennell 6–4
1908 Tom Fennell 5–5
Bill Hollenback (Independent) (1909)
1909 Bill Hollenback 5–0–2
Jack Hollenback (Independent) (1910)
1910 Jack Hollenback 5–2–1
Bill Hollenback (Independent) (1911–1914)
1911 Bill Hollenback 8–0–1
1912 Bill Hollenback 8–0
1913 Bill Hollenback 2–6
1914 Bill Hollenback 5–3–1
Dick Harlow (Independent) (1915–1917)
1915 Dick Harlow 7–2
1916 Dick Harlow 8–2
1917 Dick Harlow 5–4
Hugo Bezdek (Independent) (1918–1929)
1918 Hugo Bezdek 1–2–1
1919 Hugo Bezdek 7–1
1920 Hugo Bezdek 7–0–2
1921 Hugo Bezdek 8–0–2
1922 Hugo Bezdek 6–4–1 L Rose
1923 Hugo Bezdek 6–2–1
1924 Hugo Bezdek 6–3–1
1925 Hugo Bezdek 4–4–1
1926 Hugo Bezdek 5–4
1927 Hugo Bezdek 6–2–1
1928 Hugo Bezdek 3–5–1
1929 Hugo Bezdek 6–3
Bob Higgins (Independent) (1930–1948)
1930 Bob Higgins 3–4–2
1931 Bob Higgins 2–8
1932 Bob Higgins 2–5
1933 Bob Higgins 3–3–1
1934 Bob Higgins 4–4
1935 Bob Higgins 4–4
1936 Bob Higgins 3–5
1937 Bob Higgins 5–3
1938 Bob Higgins 3–4–1
1939 Bob Higgins 5–1–2
1940 Bob Higgins 6–1–1
1941 Bob Higgins 7–2
1942 Bob Higgins 6–1–1 19
1943 Bob Higgins 5–3–1
1944 Bob Higgins 6–3
1945 Bob Higgins 5–3
1946 Bob Higgins 6–2
1947 Bob Higgins 9–0–1 T Cotton 4
1948 Bob Higgins 7–1–1 18
Joe Bedenk (Independent) (1949)
1949 Joe Bedenk 5–4
Rip Engle (Independent) (1950–1965)
1950 Rip Engle 5–3–1
1951 Rip Engle 5–4
1952 Rip Engle 7–2–1
1953 Rip Engle 6–3
1954 Rip Engle 7–2 16 20
1955 Rip Engle 5–4
1956 Rip Engle 6–2–1
1957 Rip Engle 6–3
1958 Rip Engle 6–3–1
1959 Rip Engle 9–2 W Liberty 10 12
1960 Rip Engle 7–3 W Liberty 16
1961 Rip Engle 8–3 W Gator 19 17
1962 Rip Engle 9–2 L Gator 9 9
1963 Rip Engle 7–3 16
1964 Rip Engle 6–4 14
1965 Rip Engle 5–5
Joe Paterno (Independent) (1966–1992)
1966 Joe Paterno 5–5
1967 Joe Paterno 8–2–1 T Gator 11 10
1968 Joe Paterno 11–0 W Orange 3 2
1969 Joe Paterno 11–0 W Orange 2 2
1970 Joe Paterno 7–3 19 18
1971 Joe Paterno 11–1 W Cotton 11 5
1972 Joe Paterno 10–2 L Sugar 8 10
1973 Joe Paterno 12–0 W Orange 5 5
1974 Joe Paterno 10–2 W Cotton 7 7
1975 Joe Paterno 9–3 L Sugar 10 10
1976 Joe Paterno 7–5 L Gator
1977 Joe Paterno 11–1 W Fiesta 4 5
1978 Joe Paterno 11–1 L Sugar 4 4
1979 Joe Paterno 8–4 W Liberty 18 20
1980 Joe Paterno 10–2 W Fiesta 8 8
1981 Joe Paterno 10–2 W Fiesta 3 3
1982 Joe Paterno 11–1 W Sugar 1 1
1983 Joe Paterno 8–4–1 W Aloha 17
1984 Joe Paterno 6–5
1985 Joe Paterno 11–1 L Orange 3 3
1986 Joe Paterno 12–0 W Fiesta 1 1
1987 Joe Paterno 8–4 L Florida Citrus
1988 Joe Paterno 5–6
1989 Joe Paterno 8–3–1 W Holiday 14 15
1990 Joe Paterno 9–3 L Blockbuster 10 11
1991 Joe Paterno 11–2 W Fiesta 3 3
1992 Joe Paterno 7–5 L Blockbuster 24
Joe Paterno (Big Ten Conference) (1993–2011)
1993 Joe Paterno 10–2 6–2 3rd W Florida Citrus 7 8
1994 Joe Paterno 12–0 8–0 1st W Rose 2 2
1995 Joe Paterno 9–3 5–3 T–3rd W Outback 12 13
1996 Joe Paterno 11–2 6–2 T–3rd W Fiesta 7 7
1997 Joe Paterno 9–3 6–2 T–2nd L Florida Citrus 17 16
1998 Joe Paterno 9–3 5–3 5th W Outback 15 17
1999 Joe Paterno 10–3 5–3 T–4th W Alamo 11 11
2000 Joe Paterno 5–7 4–4 T–6th
2001 Joe Paterno 5–6 4–4 T–4th
2002 Joe Paterno 9–4 5–3 4th L Capital One 15 16
2003 Joe Paterno 3–9 1–7 T–8th
2004 Joe Paterno 4–7 2–6 9th
2005 Joe Paterno 11–1 7–1 T–1st W Orange 3 3
2006 Joe Paterno 9–4 5–3 T–4th W Outback 25 24
2007 Joe Paterno 9–4 4–4 T–5th W Alamo 25
2008 Joe Paterno 11–2 7–1 T–1st L Rose 8 8
2009 Joe Paterno 11–2 6–2 T–2nd W Capital One 8 9
2010 Joe Paterno 7–6 4–4 T–4th L Outback
2011 Joe Paterno[n 1] 9–4[n 1] 6–2[n 1] T–1st (Leaders) L Ticket City
Bill O'Brien (Big Ten Conference) (2012–2013)
2012 Bill O'Brien 8–4 6–2 2nd (Leaders) Ineligible[n 2] [n 2]
2013 Bill O'Brien 7–5 4–4 3rd (Leaders) Ineligible[n 2] [n 2]
James Franklin (Big Ten Conference) (2014–present)
2014 James Franklin 7–6 2–6 6th (East) W Pinstripe
2015 James Franklin 7–6 4–4 4th (East) L TaxSlayer
2016 James Franklin 11–3 8–1 T–1st (East) L Rose 7 7
2017 James Franklin 11–2 7–2 T–2nd (East) W Fiesta 8 8
2018 James Franklin 9–4 6–3 3rd (East) L Citrus 17 17
2019 James Franklin 11–2 7–2 2nd (East) W Cotton 9 9
2020 James Franklin 4–5 4–5 3rd (East)
2021 James Franklin 7–6 4–5 4th (East) L Outback
2022 James Franklin 11–2 7–2 3rd (East) W Rose 7 7
2023 James Franklin 10–3 7–2 3rd (East) L Peach 13 13
Total: 930–409–42
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Paterno coached the first nine games of the season before he was fired on November 9. Tom Bradley was named interim head coach to replace him. Penn State credits the first nine games to Paterno, and the final four to Bradley.
  2. ^ a b c d Ineligible for Big Ten title, bowl game and Coaches Poll.

References

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  1. ^ Penn State Nittany Lions Index. Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  2. ^ Penn State Yearly Totals Archived 2010-02-16 at the Wayback Machine. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved October 18, 2011.