2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Outback Bowl, L 24–37 vs. Florida
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–6 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Joe Paterno (45th season)
Offensive coordinator	Galen Hall (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Tom Bradley (11th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Brett Brackett Ollie Ogbu
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ← 2009 2011 →

2010 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 14 Michigan State +		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 7 Wisconsin $+		7	–	1					11	–	2
Iowa		4	–	4					8	–	5
Illinois		4	–	4					7	–	6
Penn State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Michigan		3	–	5					7	–	6
Northwestern		3	–	5					7	–	6
Purdue		2	–	6					4	–	8
Minnesota		2	–	6					3	–	9
Indiana		1	–	7					5	–	7
No. 5 Ohio State† %		0	–	1					0	–	1
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions † – Ohio State (12–1, 7–1) self-vacated all of their wins[1] Rankings from AP Poll[2][3]

The 2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were members of the Big Ten Conference. Team captains for the season were wide receiver Brett Brackett and defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu.^[4]

The Nittany Lions finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in Big Ten play and were invited to the Outback Bowl where they were defeated by Florida 37–24.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	12:00 p.m.	Youngstown State*	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	BTN	W 44–14	101,213	[5]
September 11	7:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Alabama*	No. 18	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry, College GameDay)	ESPN	L 3–24	101,821	[6]
September 18	12:00 p.m.	Kent State*	No. 22	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN2	W 24–0	100,610	[7]
September 25	3:30 p.m.	Temple*	No. 23	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	BTN	W 22–13	104,840	[8]
October 2	8:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Iowa	No. 22	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN	L 3–24	70,585	[9]
October 9	12:00 p.m.	Illinois		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN2	L 13–33	107,638	[10]
October 23	12:00 p.m.	at Minnesota		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Governor's Victory Bell)	ESPNU	W 33–21	48,479	[11]
October 30	8:00 p.m.	Michigan		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 41–31	108,539	[12]
November 6	3:30 p.m.	Northwestern		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC/ESPN2	W 35–21	104,147	[13]
November 13	3:30 p.m.	at No. 7 Ohio State		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry, College GameDay)	ABC/ESPN	L 14–38	105,466	[14]
November 20	12:00 p.m.	vs. Indiana		FedExField Landover, MD	BTN	W 41–24	78,790	[15]
November 27	12:00 p.m.	No. 10 Michigan State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 22–28	102,649	[16]
January 1, 2011	1:00 p.m.	vs. Florida*		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ABC	L 24–37	60,574	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

	1	2	3	4	Total
Youngstown State	7	0	0	7	14
#14 Penn State	3	13	14	14	44

Rob Bolden became the first true freshman to start the season opening game at quarterback for Penn State since Shorty Miller in 1910.^[18] Bolden led the Nittany Lions to at 44–14 victory over the Football Championship Subdivision Youngstown State Penguins. He passed for 239 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Brett Brackett. Collin Wagner was 3 for 3 in field goals over 40 yards. Chaz Powell returned the second half kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown.^[19]

Although Penn State trailed 7–6 much of the half, in all they scored 41 unanswered points and only punted once. On their final drive, Kevin Newsome and Silas Redd were in to put the Nittany Lions on top 44–7. Youngstown State got a final touchdown against reserves to make it 44–14 before Matt McGloin got some playing time near the end.

	1	2	3	4	Total
#14 Penn State	0	0	0	3	3
#1 Alabama	7	10	0	7	24

Aided by turnovers, the #1 Crimson Tide defeated the #14 Nittany Lions in front of 101,821 in Tuscaloosa. After both teams exchanged punts, the Crimson Tide scored a touchdown to make it 7–0 with a pass to Julio Jones. Penn State blew a chance to tie the game after Bolden was picked off and the Tide marched downfield to make it 14–0. Alabama would add another field goal and miss one more as the Nittany Lions continued to have trouble finishing off drives. Early in the 4th, Alabama put the game away with a Trent Richardson touchdown dive to go up 24–0, but Penn State finally got on the board with a field goal to make it 24–3, yet the Nittany Lions could not close the gap any further. This game was the first time they had been held to 3 points since losing 13–3 in 2006 at Wisconsin, but avoided their first shutout loss since a 20–0 loss to Michigan in 2001. Penn State also got some playing time for backup Kevin Newsome who completed his first pass of 2010 (his only pass attempt against Youngstown State was an incompletion that led to a pass interference penalty on the Penguins). Despite the loss, the Nittany Lions still have not surrendered more than 24 points in the regular season since the 2007 35–31 loss to Michigan State.

Alabama finished the game with 409 total yards and Trent Richardson finished with 190 rushing yards by himself and a touchdown. Rob Bolden has yet to be sacked this year.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	0	0	0	0	0
#20 Penn State	14	0	3	7	24

Penn State's defense delivered their first shutout since the 2009 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers when the Nittany Lions defeated the Kent State Golden Flashes of the Mid-American Conference. Rob Bolden ran for and passed for a touchdown to Devon Smith. Evan Royster ran for his first touchdown of the season but was limited to just 38 yards. The defense garnered two interceptions to help offset the two interceptions thrown by Bolden, who has still not been sacked.^[20]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Temple	13	0	0	0	13
#20 Penn State	6	3	6	7	22

The Nittany Lions handed coach Al Golden's Owls their first loss on the season defeating them 22–13. Collin Wagner converted 5 of 6 field goal attempts and Michael Zordich, Jr. scored the lone Penn State touchdown from his fullback position.^[21] Senior Evan Royster had his first 100-yard game of the season in gaining 187 yards on 26 carries.^[22] True freshmen quarterback Rob Bolden completed 18 of 28 passes for 224 yards. Justin Brown was the leading Penn State receiver catching 4 throws for 84 yards. The defense gathered three interceptions, one by Nate Stupar and two by Nick Sukay. Pete Massaro recovered a Chester Stewart fumble on the final play of the game.^[23]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Penn State	0	3	0	0	3
#18 Iowa	10	7	0	7	24

The Penn State rushing offense struggled against the Iowa defense and was held to only 54 yards in total rushing. While the total offensive yards trailed Iowa's by only 48, the Lions' woe in the opponent's redzone continued. Penn State had three trips into the Iowa redzone (at the 2, 1, and 12 yard lines respectively) but ended up with only one field goal. The Nittany Lion defense kept the Iowa offense scoreless in the 2nd half, but the Iowa defense stood up again and scored a touchdown from an interception return in the 4th quarter.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	20	10	3	33
Penn State	3	10	0	0	13

The Nittany Lions were defeated by the Fighting Illini in the homecoming game and the Big Ten home opener. It is the first time that Penn State has lost to Illinois in Happy Valley. The offense gained only 7 first downs and 235 total yards, the seven first downs being the second fewest by Penn State in the Paterno era.^[24] Although the special team recovered two Illinois punt-return fumbles deep in the Illini territory, the Lions had to settle for two field goals. Quarterback Rob Bolden delivered an 80-yard touchdown pass to Derek Moye, but also threw an interception, that was returned for an Illinois touchdown, in the 2nd quarter. Losing 7 defensive starters to injuries, and 12 overall contributors the defense collapsed against the Illinois running attack, giving up 282 rushing yards and allowing the Illini to possess the ball for more than 38 minutes.^[24]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	7	14	3	9	33
Minnesota	7	0	7	7	21

Penn State won for the first time in the 2010 Big Ten season defeating the Golden Gophers 33–21 in Joe Paterno's first visit to the TCF Bank Stadium. Quarterback Rob Bolden completed 11 of 13 passes for 130 yards including a 21-yard touchdown to Brett Brackett before leaving the game with an apparent concussion.^[25] Backup quarterbacks Kevin Newsome and Matthew McGloin took the remainder of the snaps at quarterback with McGloin doing all of the throwing. He completed his first two career touchdown passes to Derek Moye. Evan Royster added to the scoring with a two-yard touchdown run. Colin Wagner kicked one field goal and the defense garnered a safety to complete the scoring in Joe Paterno's 398th career win.^[25] Leading 33–14 with the game in hand, the reserves gave up a late Gophers touchdown.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	7	3	14	7	31
Penn State	14	14	10	3	41

Joe Paterno got his 399th career win by starting a former walk-on quarterback, Matt McGloin, for the first time. In his first career start, Matt McGloin passed for 250 yards and scored a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Running back Evan Royster surpassed Curt Warner and became the all-time Penn State rushing leader by running 150 yards on 29 carries with 2 touchdowns. Although the Lions' defense could not stop Michigan's Denard Robinson, who posted 190 passing yards and 191 rushing yards, the Penn State offense was able to march down the field with a commanding 10–16 3rd-down efficiency. The Lions controlled the ball for more than 37 minutes and outscored Michigan by a stunning 28–10 in the first half partly due to turnovers, never trailing, and boosted the lead to 31–10 early in the 3rd quarter. Michigan scored a TD but Penn State quickly restored the three touchdown lead. Michigan scored two more TDs, one late in the third, the other midway through the 4th to cut the lead to 7, but Penn State put it away with a field goal, and after stopping Michigan on 4th down, drove all the way to the 1 yard line before taking a knee.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	7	14	0	0	21
Penn State	0	7	21	7	35

After a week of speculation on who should be the starting quarterback, Rob Bolden got the nod after recovering from concussion. However, he was hit hard during one play in the 1st quarter and was relieved by Matt McGloin. Penn State could not stop the Wildcats quarterback Dan Persa in the first half and trailed by 21 points late in the 2nd quarter. After a 91-yard drive in the last minute of the 2nd quarter, the Lions managed to score their first touchdown of the game. Penn State continued the momentum and dominated the opponent in the 2nd half. The Lions scored 4 consecutive touchdowns and shutout Northwestern to win the game from behind. Evan Royster and Silas Redd both ran for over 130 yards and McGloin passed for four touchdowns to Brett Brackett, Nate Cadogan, Derek Moye and Royster. Linebacker Michael Mauti led the Penn State defense with 11 tackles, including 3 tackles for loss. The 35–21 victory marked the 400th career win for head coach Joe Paterno.^[26] The win also matched Penn State's biggest come-from-behind victory under Paterno.^[27]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	7	7	0	0	14
#7 Ohio State	3	0	14	21	38

A 17-point underdog, the Lions outplayed the Buckeyes in the first half of the game. Matt McGloin led a balanced Penn State offense to score two passing touchdowns. The first touchdown was also Penn State's first passing touchdowns in Ohio Stadium under Joe Paterno. Also, the first 14+ point game at Ohio State since 1978.

Although leading by 11 points in the first half, Penn State was dominated in the second half. The Lions generated only 60 yards of total offense in the last 30 minutes of the game, most of which came on their opening drive of the third quarter. After a 13–18 pass completion rate in the first half, McGloin completed 2 of his 12 pass attempts in the second half and threw two interceptions, both of which were returned by Buckeyes for touchdowns. The Penn State defense also failed to stop Ohio State's running attack, especially after linebacker Mike Mauti left the game with shoulder injury. The Lions defense surrendered 314 rushing yards and Ohio State scored 35 unanswered points to win the game. Despite this, improvements from their first three losses were noted in the deceptive final score, as it was a winnable game for over 50 minutes until the Buckeyes made it 31–14 from a Matt McGloin pick six. This game would be later be vacated by Ohio State due to NCAA violations.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	7	10	14	10	41
Indiana	0	14	10	0	24

Penn State scored two touchdowns in the first two drives of the game and led by 14 points early in the 2nd quarter. However, the Hoosiers managed to tie the game at 24–24 in the 3rd quarter. The Lions broke the tie when Andrew Dailey blocked an Indiana punt and James Van Fleet returned it for a touchdown and scored 17 unanswered points to win the game in the Fedex Field. Matt McGloin passed for 315 yards with 2 touchdowns to Derek Moye and Brett Brackett. Penn State also ran for 171 yards, with running touchdowns from Evan Royster and Silas Redd. Many reserves saw playing time in the second half of the fourth quarter.

	1	2	3	4	Total
#10 Michigan State	7	7	7	7	28
Penn State	3	0	0	19	22

Although Penn State generated 396 offensive yards, 65 more than the Spartans in the game, the Lions offense could not score any touchdown in the first 3 quarters and trailed by 18 points after 44 minutes of play. Penn State surged in the 4th quarter and scored 3 touchdowns from Joe Suhey, Evan Royster and Derek Moye. However, the balanced Spartans attack was able to control the ball for more than 34 minutes and scored their 4th touchdown in the 4th quarter. Penn State's final attempt to come from behind fell short after a failed onside kick in the last minute of the game. The Lions also committed 8 penalties, the most in one game this season, with 67 yards.

The game was Penn State's first home loss to Michigan State since 1965, a year before Joe Paterno became the Penn State head coach. Penn State sent off 18 seniors and finished their 2010 regular season with a 7–5 (4–4 Big Ten) record.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	0	14	6	17	37
Penn State	7	10	7	0	24

The Nittany Lions concluded the 2010–2011 season with a 7–6 record after losing the 2011 Outback Bowl. The Lions were hurt badly by miscues and turnovers, as all Florida touchdowns were set up by Penn State's miscues. The Gators scored a touchdown after blocking a Penn State punt in the 2nd quarter. Quarterback McGloin threw a school-record five interceptions in the game: the 2nd and 3rd were deep in the Penn State territory (15 and 25 yards) and directly led to Florida touchdowns; the 4th interception was returned by the Gators for an 80-yard touchdown and ended Penn State's final hope to win the game.

Senior back Evan Royster led the Lions with 98 rushing and 51 receiving yards, which marked his third straight season with over 1,000 yards. Receiver Derek Moye also recorded 5 catches for 79 yards. Penn State offense outplayed Florida by 71 yards in total offense and controlled the ball for more than 32 minutes in the loss.

After the game, quarterback Rob Bolden and his father requested to transfer from Penn State. However, their request was denied by Joe Paterno later.

• Joe Paterno – Head Coach
• Dick Anderson – Offensive Line (Guards and Centers)
• Tom Bradley – Defensive Coordinator and Cornerbacks
• Kermit Buggs – Safeties
• Galen Hall – Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs
• Larry Johnson, Sr. – Defensive Line
• Bill Kenney – Offensive Tackles and Tight Ends
• Mike McQueary – Wide Receivers and Recruiting Coordinator
• Jay Paterno – Quarterbacks
• Ron Vanderlinden – Linebackers
• John Thomas – Strength and Conditioning

2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 1 Robert Bolden Fr RB 3 Brandon Beachum Jr WR 4 Shawney Kersey  Fr WR 5 Graham Zug Sr WR 6 Derek Moye Jr WR 7 Curtis Drake So WR 8 Brandon Moseby-Felder  Fr QB 10 Paul Jones Fr QB 11 Matt McGloin  So QB 12 Kevin Newsome So TE 13 Mark Wedderburn So WR 15 Alex Kenney Fr QB 16 Shane McGregor  So WR 17 Christian Kuntz  Fr WR 18 Andrew Goodman  So QB 19 Garrett Venuto  Fr WR 19 Justin Brown So WR 20 Devon Smith So RB 21 Stephfon Green Jr RB 22 Evan Royster Sr RB 24 Derek Day  So RB 25 Silas Redd Fr RB 26 Curtis Dukes  Fr WR 27 Tariq Tongue  Fr RB 29 Kevin Kowalishen So FB 33 Andre Dupree  Fr FB 35 Pat Zerbe  Fr RB 36 Deron Thompson Fr RB 37 Joe Suhey Jr FB 41 Zach Zwinak Fr G 50 DeOn'tae Pannell Jr OL 51 Patrick Christie Fr OT 52 Chimaeze Okoli  Jr C 54 Matt Stankiewitch  So OL 55 Tom Ricketts Fr OT 58 Adam Gress  Fr C 60 Ty Howle  Fr G 61 Stefen Wisniewski Sr G 62 Frank Figueroa  Fr OL 63 Alex Mateas Fr G 64 John Urschel  Fr C 65 Miles Dieffenbach Fr OT 67 Quinn Barham  Jr C 68 Doug Klopacz Sr G 70 Anthony Tortorelli Jr G 72 Khamrone Kolb Fr G 73 Mark Arcidiacono  Fr G 74 Johnnie Troutman Jr G 75 Eric Shrive  Fr OT 76 Nate Cadogan  Fr G 77 Lou Eliades  Sr OT 78 Mike Farrell  So OL 79 Luke Graham Fr TE 80 Andrew Szczerba Jr WR 81 Ryan Scherer  So TE 82 Kevin Haplea  Fr WR 83 Brett Brackett (C) Sr TE 87 Jonathan Stewart Jr TE 88 J.D. Mason So TE 89 Gary Gilliam  Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 1 Nick Sukay Jr CB 2 Chaz Powell Jr CB 5 Derrick Thomas  Fr LB 6 Gerald Hodges So CB 8 D'Anton Lynn Jr LB 9 Michael Zordich  So S 10 Malcolm Willis  Fr LB 11 Khairi Fortt Fr CB 12 Stephon Morris So S 13 Andrew Dailey Jr CB 14 Mike Wallace  Fr CB 14 Evan Lewis  So LB 15 Bani Gbadyu  Sr CB 16 Shelton McCullough  Sr S 23 Stephen Obeng-Agyapong  Fr S 24 Jonathan Duckett Fr S 27 Jacob Fagnano  So S 28 Drew Astorina Jr S 30 Ryan Keiser Fr LB 31 Nick Delligatti Fr LB 32 Dakota Royer Fr LB 33 Michael Yancich  So LB 34 Nathan Stupar Jr S 36 Kyle Johnson Jr S 38 Tyler Ahrenhold Jr CB 39 Jesse Della Valle Fr LB 40 Glenn Carson Fr DL 41 J.R. Refice  Fr LB 42 Michael Mauti  So LB 43 Mike Hull Fr DE 44 Kevion Latham Jr LB 46 Ken Pollock  So DL 47 Jordan Hill So DE 48 Chris Colasanti Sr DE 52 Brian Irvin  So LB 54 James Van Fleet  So DE 56 Eric Latimore  Jr DE 59 Pete Massaro  So DT 71 Devon Still Jr DT 75 Evan Hailes Fr DE 81 Jack Crawford Jr LB 83 Brad Bars Fr DT 84 Kyle Baublitz Fr DT 85 Ollie Ogbu (C) Sr DE 86 C.J. Olaniyan Fr DE 90 Sean Stanley So DT 91 DaQuan Jones Fr DT 93 James Terry  So DE 94 Shawn Oakman Fr DT 96 Cody Castor  So DT 99 Brandon Ware So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 28 David Soldner So K 29 Russell Nye So K 30 Anthony Fera  Fr K 36 Collin Wagner Sr LS 44 Michael Fuhrman  So P 45 Alex Butterworth Fr P 49 A.J. Firestone Fr LS 53 Jon Rohrbaugh Jr LS 57 Emery Etter  Fr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Tom Bradley (Defensive Coordinator/Cornerbacks) Galen Hall (Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs) Ron Vanderlinden (Linebackers) Kermit Buggs (Safeties) Mike McQueary – (Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator) Dick Anderson (Guards/Centers) Bill Kenney (Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends) Jay Paterno (Quarterbacks) Larry Johnson, Sr. (Defensive Line) John Thomas (Strength and Conditioning) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: September 1, 2010

On November 29, 2010, three Penn State players were selected to the 2010 All-Big Ten Team in voting by the conference coaches and media. Guard Stefen Wisniewski was again selected to the first team (by coaches) after his 2009 All-Big Ten first team selection. Ollie Ogbu and Evan Royster were second team selections by coaches.^[28]

Game	Date	Site	Players
86th East–West Shrine Game	January 22, 2011	Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, Orlando, Florida	Evan Royster[46] Ollie Ogbu
1st Eastham Energy All-Star Game	January 23, 2011	Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona	Brett Brackett[47]