The Penn State Nittany Lions football statistical leaders are statistical leaders of the Penn State Nittany Lions football program in various categories,[ 1] passing , rushing , receiving , total offense , defensive stats, kicking and overall team performance. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, career leaders and all time records. The Nittany Lions represent Pennsylvania State University in the NCAA 's Big Ten Conference .
Although Penn State began competing in intercollegiate football in 1887,[ 1]
These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since 1970, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002,[ 2] The Nittany Lions played in the 2016 Big Ten Football Championship Game , giving players in that season yet another game to amass statistics.
Starting in 2018 a redshirted player was allowed to play in up to 4 games in a season and still maintain their status allowing players to gain an extra season of statistics.
Due to COVID-19 issues, the NCAA ruled that the 2020 season would not count against the athletic eligibility of any football player, giving everyone who played in that season the opportunity for five years of eligibility instead of the normal four.[ 3]
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Sean Clifford 10,661
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
2
Trace McSorley 9,899
2015 2016 2017 2018
3
Christian Hackenberg 8,427
2013 2014 2015
4
Zack Mills 7,212
2001 2002 2003 2004
5
Matt McGloin 6,390
2009 2010 2011 2012
6
Tony Sacca 5,869
1988 1989 1990 1991
7
Daryll Clark 5,742
2006 2007 2008 2009
8
Chuck Fusina 5,382
1975 1976 1977 1978
9
Kerry Collins 5,304
1991 1992 1993 1994
10
Anthony Morelli 5,275
2004 2005 2006 2007
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Trace McSorley 3,614
2016
2
Trace McSorley 3,570
2017
3
Matt McGloin 3,271
2012
4
Sean Clifford 3,107
2021
5
Daryll Clark 3,003
2009
6
Christian Hackenberg 2,977
2014
7
Christian Hackenberg 2,955
2013
8
Sean Clifford 2,882
2022
9
Kerry Collins 2,679
1994
10
Sean Clifford 2,654
2019
Passing completion percentage
edit
Minimum of 100 attempts for career Longest touchdown pass
edit
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Evan Royster 3,932
2007 2008 2009 2010
2
Saquon Barkley 3,843
2015 2016 2017
3
Curt Warner 3,398
1979 1980 1981 1982
4
Tony Hunt 3,320
2003 2004 2005 2006
5
Blair Thomas 3,301
1986 1987 1988 1989
6
Curtis Enis 3,256
1995 1996 1997
7
DJ Dozier 3,227
1983 1984 1985 1986
8
Larry Johnson 2,953
2000 2001 2002
9
Lydell Mitchell 2,934
1969 1970 1971
10
Ki-Jana Carter 2,829
1992 1993 1994
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Larry Johnson 2,087
2002
2
Lydell Mitchell 1,567
1971
3
Ki-Jana Carter 1,539
1994
4
John Cappelletti 1,522
1973
5
Saquon Barkley 1,496
2016
6
Blair Thomas 1,414
1987
7
Tony Hunt 1,386
2006
8
Curtis Enis 1,363
1997
9
Blair Thomas 1,341
1989
10
Rodney Kinlaw 1,329
2007
Longest rushing plays
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Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Bobby Engram 3,026
1993 1994 1995
2
DaeSean Hamilton 2,842
2014 2015 2016 2017
3
Deon Butler 2,771
2005 2006 2007 2008
4
Jahan Dotson 2,757[ 8]
2018 2019 2020 2021
5
Allen Robinson 2,474
2011 2012 2013
6
Chris Godwin 2,421
2014 2015 2016
7
Derek Moye 2,395
2008 2009 2010 2011
8
Jordan Norwood 2,015
2005 2006 2007 2008
9
Bryant Johnson 2,008
2000 2001 2002
10
Kenny Jackson 2,006
1980 1981 1982 1983
Receiving touchdowns
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Longest touchdown reception
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All-time career and single season records for Tight Ends
Career
Rk
Player
Yards
Years
1
Sean Clifford 11,734 [ 4] 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
2
Trace McSorley 11,596 2015 2016 2017 2018
3
Christian Hackenberg 8,215 2013 2014 2015
4
Zack Mills 7,853 2001 2002 2003 2004
5
Daryll Clark 6,377 2006 2007 2008 2009
6
Matt McGloin 6,325 2009 2010 2011 2012
7
Tony Sacca 6,000 1988 1989 1990 1991
8
Saquon Barkley 5,574 2015 2016 2017
9
Kerry Collins 5,300 1991 1992 1993 1994
10
Michael Robinson 5,168 2002 2003 2004 2005
Single season
Rk
Player
Yards
Year
1
Trace McSorley 4,061 2017
2
Trace McSorley 3,979 2016
3
Trace McSorley 3,328 2018
4
Sean Clifford 3,270 [ 4] 2021
5
Matt McGloin 3,220 2012
6
Daryll Clark 3,214 2009
7
Michael Robinson 3,156 2005
8
Sean Clifford 3,056 [ 4] 2019
9
Sean Clifford 2,998 [ 4] 2022
10
Christian Hackenberg 2,887 2013
Touchdowns responsible for
edit
In official NCAA records, "touchdowns responsible for" includes rushing and passing touchdowns, but not receptions or returns—the same statistical categories used to measure total offense.[ 22]
Field Goal Percentage
edit
*Minimum of 40 Attempts
Longest field goal made
edit
Longest kickoff return
edit
Overall team records
edit
edit
Home & Away
Rank
Games
First Win
Last Win
Days
Opponent to End Streak
Score
1
23
9/21/1968
9/19/1970
728
@ Colorado
41-13
2
20
11/6/1993
9/23/1995
686
Wisconsin
17-9
3
19
10/8/1977
11/24/1978
412
Alabama (Sugar Bowl)
17-7
4
15
10/24/1970
11/20/1971
392
@ Tennessee
31-11
5
13
9/15/1973
9/14/1974
364
Navy
7- 6
13
9/6/1986
9/5/1987
364
Alabama
24-13
7
12
10/25/1919
11/6/1920
378
@Lehigh
7-7
12
10/26/1996
11/1/1997
371
Michigan
34-8
9
11
11/30/1911
10/11/1913
681
@ Washington & Jefferson
17-0
11
9/7/1985
11/23/1985
77
Oklahoma (Orange Bowl)
25-10
11
10/19/1991
10/3/1992
350
Miami (FL)
17-14
11
11/28/1998
10/30/1999
336
Minnesota
24 -23
Home
Rank
Games
First Win
Last Win
Days
Opponent to End Streak
Score
1
29
10/4/1919
10/11/1924
1834
Syracuse
10-6d
2
23
10/28/1899
9/29/1906
Gettysburg
0-0
3
21
10/31/1970
9/14/1974
1414
Navy
7-6
4
18
10/26/1889
09/30/1899
Washington & Jefferson
0-0
5
17
10/7/1939
9/25/1943
1449
Colgate
0-0
6
16
9/3/2016
9/15/2018
742
Ohio State
27-26
7
15
9/25/1915
10/27/1917
763
Lehigh
9-0
15
10/21/1967
9/19/1970
1064
Syracuse
24-7
9
14
9/14/1985
9/5/1987
721
Alabama
24-13
14
9/22/1990
9/26/1992
735
Miami (FL)
17-14
Away
Rank
Games
First Win
Last Win
Days
Opponent to End Streak
Score
1
14
9/29/1967
11/29/1969
792
@ Colorado
41-13
2
12
10/7/1972
10/26/1974
749
@ North Carolina State
12-7
3
10
9/7/1985
9/26/1987
749
@ Syracuse
48-21
10
11/20/1993
10/21/1995
700
@ Northwestern
21-10
5
9
9/2/1977
10/28/1978
421
@ Nebraska
42-17
9
10/6/1979
10/17/1981
742
@ Miami (FL)
17-14
7
8
10/10/1970
11/20/1971
406
@ Tennessee
31-11
8
7
10/11/1947
11/6/1948
392
@ Pittsburgh
7-0
9
6
10/23/1982
10/15/1983
357
@ Boston College
27-17
6
10/26/1996
11/15/1997
385
@ Michigan State
49-14
Longest losing streaks
edit
All-Time
Rank
Streak
Years
Record
Head Coach
Notes
1
13 Years
1971-1983
9-4
Joe Paterno
1982: Won 1st National Championship in Sugar Bowl vs Georgia 27-23
2
11 Years
1989-1999
8-3
Joe Paterno
1994: Won Big Ten Championship, Won Rose Bowl vs Oregon 38-20
3
7 Years
2005-2011
4-3
Joe Paterno / Tom Bradley
2005: Won Big Ten Championship, Won Orange Bowl vs Florida State 26-23
2008: Won Big Ten Championship, Lost Rose Bowl vs USC 24-38
2011: Won Big Ten Leaders Division, Lost TicketCity Bowl vs Houston 14-30
Streak Ended with NCAA Sanctions
4
6 Years
2014-2019
3-3
James Franklin
2016 : Won Big Ten Championship, Lost Rose Bowl vs USC 49-52
5
4 Years
1959-1962
3-1
Charles A. "Rip" Engle
6
3 Years
1967-1969
2-0-1
Joe Paterno
3 Years
1985-1987
1-2
Joe Paterno
1986 : Won 2nd national Championship in Fiesta Bowl vs Miami (FL) 14-10
Longest bowl win streak
edit
Rank
Streak
Years
Head Coach
Notes
1
5 Years
1979-1983
Joe Paterno
1982: Won 1st National Championship in Sugar Bowl vs Georgia 27-23
2
4 Years
1993-1996
Joe Paterno
1994: Won Big Ten Championship, Won Rose Bowl vs Oregon 38-20
3
3 Years
1959-1961
Charles A. "Rip" Engle
3 Years
2005-2007
Joe Paterno
2005: Won Big Ten Championship, Won Orange Bowl vs Florida State 26-23
edit
^ a b "2017 Penn State Football Yearbook" . GoPSUSports.com . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .^ "NCAA changes policy on football stats" . ESPN.com . Associated Press. August 28, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2014 .^ Cobb, David (August 21, 2020). "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility" . CBSSports.com . Retrieved November 27, 2021 . ^ a b c d e f g h "Sean Clifford" . ESPN.com .^ a b c d "Penn State vs. USC Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 12, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024 .^ "Pitt holds off Penn State rally to win 42-39" . ESPN.com . September 10, 2016.^ "Penn State vs. Washington Box Score" . ESPN.com . November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024 .^ a b c d e f "Jahan Dotson" . ESPN.com .^ a b "Parker Washington" . ESPN.com .^ "Ohio State blows 17-point lead, rebounds to beat Penn State in 2OT" . ESPN.com . October 26, 2014.^ "Michigan State takes division with rout of Penn State" . ESPN.com . November 28, 2016.^ "Penn State vs. Ohio State Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 30, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021 .^ a b "Ohio State vs. Penn State Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 29, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022 .^ "USC hits FG at gun, beats Penn State 52-49 in epic Rose Bowl" . ESPN.com . January 2, 2017.^ "Pat Freiermuth" . ESPN.com .^ "Ohio State vs. Penn State Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020 .^ a b "Villanova vs. Penn State Box Score" . ESPN.com . September 25, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021 .^ "Ohio State vs. Penn State Box Score" . ESPN.com . September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2021 .^ "Penn State stuns UCF, wins opener on Sam Ficken's game-winning FG" . ESPN.com . August 30, 2014.^ "Barkley's run lifts Penn State over Minnesota 29-26 in OT" . ESPN.com . October 1, 2016.^ a b "Penn State beats Michigan State to reach Big Ten title game" . ESPN.com . November 26, 2016.^ "2022 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved November 5, 2022 .^ "Arnold Ebiketie" . ESPN.com .^ a b c d e f "Jake Pinegar" . ESPN.com .^ "Indiana vs. Penn State Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023 .^ a b "Massachusetts vs. Penn State Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023 .
