By Alexander Yuncker
The past decade of Penn State football brought forth arguably the most controversial years the program has ever seen.
In the past 10 years Happy Valley has seen three different head coaches. Compare that to the 45 years that Joe Paterno spent there as the program’s only head coach. The beginning of the decade brought us some of the lowest moments to date, yet those dark times have seemingly only made the recent success shine so much brighter. Speaking of recent success, in the past 10 years, Penn State has seen 39 total players drafted to the NFL and has played in seven bowl games, a number that would likely have been higher had the team not dealt with the sanctions placed on it by the NCAA.
Despite the recruiting restrictions and the turmoil at the head coach position, we have seen plenty of memorable teams in the past decade. Here’s to the turning of the century and plenty more years of Penn State football. These are all the teams from the past decade ranked from worst to first.
10. Year: 2015
Record: 7-6
Bowl: Taxslayer Bowl, Penn State (17) Georgia (24)
Coach: James Franklin
This was Year Two of James Franklin’s soon-to-be long tenure at Penn State. This year’s team had one true bright spot, the emergence of Saquon Barkley. Barkley quickly took over the backfield as a freshman constantly showing flashes of greatness. Aside from Barkley’s excitement, this team had a rather lackluster offense. The offensive line was horrendous and in big games it never came through. The defense is rather forgettable aside from a few notable names, Koa Farmer and Jason Cabinda. Overall, the 2015 year felt like a drag and any play not involving Saquon Barkley was probably Christian Hackenberg getting lit up. Obviously there was a quick turnaround going into the next year.
9. Year: 2010
Record: 7-6
Bowl: Outback Bowl, Penn State (24) Florida (37)
Coach: Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno’s last full year at the helm followed a sequence of very successful years. This season was rather disappointing given a combined 31-16 record from the previous three seasons. There was that weird mix between Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin at quarterback that never really seemed to work. The defense, led by Devon Still and Gerald Hodges, was the only thing that kept this team afloat during games. This year was essentially a rebuild season for Paterno and he ultimately would have gotten back on track.
8. Year: 2014
Record: 7-6
Bowl: Pinstripe Bowl, Penn State (31) Boston College (30)
Coach: James Franklin
This was James Franklin’s first crack at the head coaching job. This team was fun despite being very average. It was a young team with a freshman Daesean Hamilton breaking the school’s freshman receptions record. There was also a lot of hype for Christian Hackenberg’s second year at quarterback, although it was a disappointing one. The defense was extremely solid and only gave up 18.6 points per game. This team was actually pretty close to being actually good with close losses to Michigan, Ohio State, and Maryland. The bottom line is Franklin’s first year gave us fans hope despite looking relatively average.
7. Year: 2013
Record: 7-5
Bowl: No Bowl due to sanctions
Coach: Bill O’Brien
The second and final year of Bill O’Brien running the show was a fun one that showed a lot of promise for the future. Allen Robinson’s last year at Penn State was electric. A-Rob posted 1,432 receiving yards on his way to breaking the single-season yardage record. Christian Hackenberg took over as a freshman quarterback and stole all of our hearts. The dream of Hackenberg leading an elite passing attack will always haunt Penn State fans. This team really deserved a bowl game, as did O’Briens other squad. This year felt like a positive, despite the obvious distractions and restrictions.
6. Year: 2012
Record: 8-4
Bowl: No Bowl due to sanctions
Coach: Bill O’Brien
2012 was exactly what Penn State fans needed. After a year of turmoil and heart-breaking moments, seeing even a glimpse of success felt amazing. The team was playing for nothing for the first year in its history. Despite a challenging scenario, the players went out and showed why we love Penn State football. Allen Robinson had his breakout campaign and made games fun to watch, while the defense held its own on the other side. Just like O’Brien’s second year, this team deserved a bowl game after what it did for the fanbase.
5. Year: 2019
Record: Currently 7-0
Bowl: Still in Season
Coach: James Franklin
* Here comes the run on Franklin teams
The 2019 team is the last of the previous 10 years and although the season is not over, we can paint a pretty good picture of who they are. The defense this year is off the charts. Micah Parsons is making it known he may be one of the best linebackers in the country as a sophomore. Meanwhile, Yetur Gross-Matos is making quite the case to be a top-15 pick in the upcoming draft. The offense has a balanced attack, but relies heavily on home-run plays for scoring. Sean Clifford is getting better at quarterback, though he needs to take the next step soon if he wants to lead them to the College Football Playoff. The team is entering the heart of Big Ten play and is coming off back-to-back wins against ranked opponents, Michigan and Iowa. Penn State Fans have their calendars set for the November 23 matchup in Columbus that may decide the fate of the season.
4. Year: 2018
Record: 9-4
Bowl: Citrus Bowl, Penn State (24) Kentucky (27)
Coach: James Franklin
No one knew what to expect going into last year. This was the first post-Saquon season, not to mention the loss of plenty of other key players (Marcus Allen, Jason Cabinda, Daesean Hamilton, and Mike Gesicki). Miles Sanders proved a great successor to Barkley, but there were serious struggles in the passing game as Mcsorley struggled with a new receiving corps. Redshirt freshman K.J. Hamler was able to break out and put his speed on show. Meanwhile on the defensive side of the ball, true freshman Micah Parsons quietly led the team in tackles while never even starting a game. Last year was a slight disappointment, but gave us hope with young corps and so far it seems to be paying off.
3. Year: 2017
Record: 11-2
Bowl: Fiesta Bowl, Penn State (35) Washington State (28)
Coach: James Franklin
A year removed from Penn State football’s rebirth as a powerhouse program and the team really didn’t disappoint. Sure there were College Football Playoff aspirations heading into the year, but in the end this team solidified itself as a household name again. Saquon Barkley remained the most entertaining player in all of college football. Trace Mcsorley was still electric and kept the offense in elite order. The defining moment of this year was against Ohio State with some questionable play calling from Coach Franklin in the final moments. This led to the whole “we are great, but not elite” spiel from Franklin. Looking back this season was a fun one and worthy of being in the top three.
2. Year: 2016
Record: 11-3
Bowl: Rose Bowl, Penn State (49) USC (51)
Coach: James Franklin
*Big Ten Champions
The Comeback Kids! This is easily the most fun team we have seen in a while at Penn State. Saquon Barkley was nothing short of remarkable and truly brought the spotlight back to Penn State. Trace Mcsorley led a tremendous passing attack with his home-run throws and an iconic celebration that deserves a statue. Every game was a stressful first half and an electric second half with high scoring and big plays. The year also brought us the forever memorable Big Ten Championship game that solidified a new era at Happy Valley. We also cannot forget the heartbreaking Rose Bowl game that featured Saquon Barkley making the USC defense look like a bunch of kids chasing the ice cream truck. Had Penn State beat Pitt early in the season, who knows? Maybe we would be talking about a College Football Playoff run.
1. Year: 2011
Record: 9-4
Bowl: Ticket Bowl, Penn State (14) Houston (31)
Coach: Joe Paterno (8-1) Tom Bradley (1-3)
There is only one reason this team has this placement and that is because this was JoePa’s last year as head coach. It was a truly unfortunate ending for one of the most successful coaching careers in the history of college football. In fact, the team was playing fairly well prior to his firing. Who knows what that team could have been, but once everything blew up there was no way they were going to have a strong finish. This year kicked off the start to some extremely unusual and stressful years for the Penn State faithful. Despite all the off-field distractions (specifically the Sandusky scandal), Penn State never suffered a losing season and has quickly resurged back to the top of the college football pecking order.