Penn State·Big Ten

2016 — The Top-10 Year

Penn State finished 2016 inside the final AP top-10. The top-10 is the tier the program calibrates annual expectation against.

Record 11-3
Final result 11-win season Lost the Rose Bowl
AP final #5 post-bowls
SP+ +9.0 last-week
Era The Sanctions Wilderness
The shape of the season · week by week, cumulative W-L below
W vs Kent Sta 33-13 L @ Pittsb 39-42 W vs Temple 34-27 L @ Michigan 10-49 W vs Minnes 29-26 W vs Maryland 38-14 W vs Ohio St 24-21 W @ Purdue 62-24 W vs Iowa 41-14 W @ Indiana 45-31 W @ Rutgers 39-0 W vs Mich St 45-12 W vs Wiscon 38-31 L vs USC 49-52 Bowl

Who carried it

Season leaders, 2016.

Defining moments
The statement

The 2016 season's largest margin: Penn State 39, Rutgers 0. A 39-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The setback

The season's deepest loss: Penn State 10, Michigan 49. A 39-point margin the season is remembered by.

The postseason

The season's last act: Penn State fell to USC 49-52 in the postseason.

"We Are."
— Penn State fanbase voice · 2016· synthesized
What it meant

2016 is a middle chapter for Penn State — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.