2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team The 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2008 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 . On July 23 , 2012 , all eleven wins in the season were vacated as a result of NCAA punishments handed down in the wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal . Previous season . The 2007 season began with the Nittany Lions ranked # 17 in the AP and # 18 in the Coaches ' preseason polls , ranked as high as # 10 at one point . The team dropped out of the rankings with back to back losses to Michigan and Illinois , regained a poll ranking after consecutive blowouts , then dropped out of the polls again after losing to Ohio State , but finished the season ranked # 25 in the Coaches Poll with a final record of 9 – 4 , including a victory over the Texas A & M Aggies in the 2007 Alamo Bowl . Preseason . Prior to the end of the previous season , linebacker Sean Lee announced his plans to return for his senior season . However , Lee tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice and was sidelined for the entire season . Lee used his available redshirt and plans to return in 2009 . In January , junior cornerback Justin King announced that he was going to declare for the 2008 NFL Draft , skipping his final year of eligibility . King had graduated the previous semester with a degree in liberal arts with an emphasis in sports management . According to King ' s stepfather and high school coach , " He wanted to get an education and a degree from Penn State , which he did . He wanted to help turn Penn State around , and he did that , too . " Despite the injury , Lee was named one of the team ' s captains for 2008 . Also elected captains by their teammates were center A . Q . Shipley , receiver Derrick Williams , safety Anthony Scirrotto and defensive end Josh Gaines . All five are seniors . Recruiting class . The Nittany Lions received 14 letters of intent on National Signing Day , February 6 , 2008 . Spring practice . A record crowd of 73 , 000 fans attended the annual Blue - White scrimmage at Beaver Stadium on April 19 , surpassing the previous year ' s record of 71 , 000 . The Blue squad won 27 – 14 . Redshirt freshman running back Stephfon Green opened up the scoring for White , taking his first handoff 57 yards for a touchdown . Green finished the game with 87 yards on 12 carries , a 7 . 2 yard per carry average . Tight end Andrew Szczerba was the game ' s leading receiver , catching five passes for 65 yards in the first half alone , mostly over the middle . In the quarterback competition , both Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin rotated between the first , second and third teams . Overall , Clark finished 9 of 16 for 106 yards and two scores , including a 33 - yard touchdown pass to Derrick Williams . Devlin was 12 of 18 for 122 yards and a 22 - yard touchdown pass to backup receiver Graham Zug . On defense , sophomore Aaron Maybin tied for a game - high six tackles , including 3 . 5 sacks for the White team . Sophomore Ollie Ogbu led the Blue with six tackles and two sacks . Redshirt freshman linebacker Nate Stupar also had six tackles . Sophomore linebacker Chris Colasanti had four stops and forced and recovered a fumble . Suspensions . Five players were suspended prior to spring drills for their involvement in an October 7 fight at the HUB - Robeson Center during the previous season , including defensive tackle Chris Baker , linebacker NaVorro Bowman , defensive back Knowledge Timmons , defensive tackle Phil Taylor , and receiver Chris Bell . Tight end Andrew Quarless became the sixth player suspended after a DUI incident in March . Bell was later kicked off the team after brandishing a knife at a teammate . Following spring practice , Baker , Bowman , Quarless , Timmons and Taylor were allowed to rejoin and work out with the team . Baker was sentenced to two years probation . ESPN ' s " Outside the Lines " aired a story on the legal troubles of the Penn State football team on July 27 , 2008 . The story detailed the increased number of PSU football players that have been arrested during the past few years . Among the statistics presented in the story was that 46 different players since 2002 have been charged with a combined 163 counts that have resulted in 27 players pleading guilty to 45 crimes . Three days after the story aired , Paterno dismissed Baker and Taylor , apparently after another off - campus incident . Schedule . Penn State did not play Big Ten teams Northwestern and Minnesota this year . Game notes . August 30 : Coastal Carolina . Sophomore tailback Evan Royster ran for three touchdowns and 64 yards on eight carries , and redshirt freshman Stephfon Green gained 89 yards on ten carries including two scores to help the Nittany Lions defeat the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina 66 – 10 . Penn State has won seven straight season openers . After Trent Usher provided the Chanticleers ' lone touchdown on a 33 - yard reception to cut Penn State ' s lead to 14 – 7 early in the second quarter , Derrick Williams scored on an 89 - yard kickoff return en route to a 38 – 7 halftime lead . Many reserves saw action in the second half , including Chaz Powell ' s 55 - yard touchdown run , and freshman Brandon Beachum ' s 1 - yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Nittany Lions ' final touchdown . After Darryl Clark and Pat Devlin split quarterback duties in the first three quarters , Penn State subbed in Paul Cianciolo for the 4th . Coastal Carolina kicked a field goal as time expired for the final score . Defensively for Penn State , Tyrell Sales led the defense with seven tackles , while Aaron Maybin had two sacks . Bani Gbadyu snagged his first career interception . Twenty - eight Nittany Lions recorded at least one tackle . The win tied Joe Paterno with Florida State ' s Bobby Bowden atop the career wins list among major college coaches with his 373rd win . September 6 : Oregon State . In the week leading up to the game , a campus police search turned up a small amount of marijuana in an on - campus apartment home to defensive end Maurice Evans , defensive tackle Abe Koroma , tight end Andrew Quarless and cornerback A . J . Wallace . Coach Paterno later announced that Evans , Koroma and Quarless would not play against Oregon State . Wallace was allowed to return to practice , according to Paterno , " Wallace was not part of that . " In an unrelated incident , cornerback Willie Harriott was dismissed from the team . Despite the off - field distractions , the Nittany Lions rolled to a 35 – 7 halftime lead en route to a 45 – 14 win in their first ever meeting with the Beavers . Sophomore tailback Evan Royster ran for a career - high 141 yards on seventeen carries and three touchdowns . Daryll Clark ' s 276 total yards of offense ( 215 yards passing , 61 yards rushing ) helped Penn State total 454 yards of offense . Linebackers Tyrell Sales and Navorro Bowman both recorded ten tackles each , both career - highs . Linebacker Josh Hull and safety Mark Rubin both made their first career interceptions . Junior defensive end Jerome Hayes , making his first career start in place of the suspended Evans , was lost for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee . Hayes missed the latter half of the 2007 season with a torn ACL in his right knee . For his performance , Royster was named Big Ten Co - Offensive Player of the Week . September 13 : Syracuse . The Nittany Lions defeated their old rivals 55 – 13 in their first meeting since the series was last played in 1990 . Each of Penn State ' s three quarterbacks threw touchdown passes . Daryll Clark finished 10 of 21 for 163 yards and two touchdowns , Pat Devlin was 8 of 13 for 130 yards and two touchdowns , and Paul Cianciolo was 2 of 4 for 51 yards and a score . Receivers Jordan Norwood and Deon Butler both had over 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns apiece . Kevin Kelly kicked a 52 - yard field goal just before halftime , the second - longest of his career , and backup kicker Collin Wagner kicked a 43 - yard field goal late in the third quarter , his first career field goal . The Nittany Lion defense held the Orange offense without a first down until early in the second quarter . September 20 : Temple . After a scoreless first quarter , the Nittany Lions scored three touchdowns in the first six minutes of the second quarter en route to a 31 – 0 halftime lead . The Penn State defense held the Owls to only 138 yards of total offense , including only 16 yards on the ground . In contrast , the Nittany Lions totaled 546 of offense , highlighted by Stephfon Green ' s 132 rushing yards including a 69 - yard touchdown . Sophomore linebacker Navorro Bowman , in his first start , recorded eleven tackles , including five tackles for loss and three sacks , a forced fumble and an interception . Bowman was named Big Ten Co - Defensive Player of the Week . The win , combined with Florida State ' s loss to Wake Forest , gave Paterno sole possession of the career record for most wins by a Division I FBS coach . September 27 : Illinois . The Nittany Lions defeated the Fighting Illini 38 – 24 in a nationally - televised , prime time , " White Out " game , earning their first win over a ranked opponent this season and their first victory over a ranked opponent in a conference opener since joining the Big Ten . Illinois jumped out to a 14 – 7 lead , becoming the first team to take a lead on the Nittany Lions and the first to score points against them in the first quarter this season . However , the Nittany Lions responded with two touchdowns en route to a 21 – 14 halftime lead . The Illini wouldn ' t score again until kicking a field goal on the final play of the third quarter after recovering a Stephfon Green fumble , but Derrick Williams returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown . Penn State was 4 of 4 in the red zone and was penalized only once for 10 yards . The Illini ' s 24 points were the most allowed by Penn State this season as were their 189 total rushing yards . Derrick Williams is the first player under Paterno to score a rushing , receiving , and a kick return touchdown in the same game . His career - high 241 all - purpose yards ( 33 rushing , 75 receiving and 133 on kick returns ) are the most by a Nittany Lion since Larry Johnson gained 289 yards versus Michigan State in 2002 . Williams was selected the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week . October 4 : Purdue . Penn State defeated the Boilermakers 20 – 6 in their last matchup against Purdue coach Joe Tiller , who is retiring after this season . The Nittany Lions outgained Purdue 422 to 241 in total offense . Daryll Clark completed 18 of 26 passes for 226 yards and a ran for a touchdown — a quarterback sneak on 4th - and - goal in the second quarter for the first points of the game . Running back Evan Royster ran for 141 yards and a touchdown and also caught four passes for 53 yards . Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter finished 13 of 22 for 112 yards but was replaced by backup Joey Elliott after throwing an interception to Nittany Lions safety Drew Astorino . Purdue kicker Chris Summers missed all three of his kick attempts — two field goal attempts and an extra point attempt . Running back Kory Sheets ' fourth quarter touchdown on Purdue ' s last possession of the game was Purdue ' s first offensive touchdown against Penn State since 2005 . October 11 : Wisconsin . Daryll Clark ran for two touchdowns and threw for one to Deon Butler in Penn State ' s 48 – 7 win over the Badgers in Camp Randall Stadium , handing them their worst home loss since 1989 . Derrick Williams returned a punt for a touchdown , Evan Royster and backup quarterback Pat Devlin scored touchdowns on short runs , and Kevin Kelly kicked two field goals for the Nittany Lions . Penn State was penalized only once for 10 yards . Clark was 16 of 25 passing for a career - high 244 yards and a touchdown , and also ran for a pair of scores for the first time in his career . He was named Big Ten ' s Offensive Player of the Week . Defensive end Aaron Maybin , making only his fifth career start , was named Big Ten ' s Co - Defensive Player of the Week . Maybin recorded six tackles , a career - high 3 . 5 tackles - for - loss , a sack , two forced fumbles and a pass break - up . Maybin also stripped Badgers quarterback Allen Evridge late in the first half deep in Badgers territory , which was recovered by linebacker Josh Hull . Lydell Sargeant intercepted two passes , his first interceptions of the season . October 18 : Michigan . In front of the fourth - largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history , the Nittany Lions ended a nine game losing streak to the Wolverines , dating back to 1997 . Michigan tallied 204 yards of offense and scored on their first three possessions to take a 17 – 7 lead early in the second quarter . Daryll Clark ' s touchdown pass to Jordan Norwood late in the first half cut Michigan ' s lead to 17 – 14 . Despite trailing at halftime for the first time this season , the Nittany Lion offense would outscore the Wolverines 32 – 0 in the second half and the defense made key halftime adjustments to limit the Wolverines to only 87 yards the remainder of the game . Clark finished 18 of 31 for 171 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 45 yards and two one - yard touchdowns , but lost a fumble on Penn State ' s second drive which led to a Wolverine field goal . Evan Royster ran for a career - high 174 yards on eighteen carries for a 9 . 7 yard per carry average , including a 44 - yard touchdown for Penn State ' s first points . Deon Butler had a season - high eight receptions for 105 yards , his fourth - career 100 - yard game . Stephfon Green took a screen pass from Pat Devlin and outran the Wolverines defense 80 yards for the Nittany Lions ' final score . Linebacker Navorro Bowman led the defense with eleven tackles . Defensive tackle Jared Odrick made a career - high six stops , with 2 . 5 tackles for loss , but his biggest play occurred with 4 : 39 remaining in the third quarter when he sacked Michigan quarterback Nick Sheridan , who was playing in place of the injured Steven Threet , in the end zone for a safety and Penn State ' s first lead of the game , 19 – 17 . Aaron Maybin finished with four tackles , including a sack of Threet that forced a fumble , which was recovered by Abe Koroma and led to a Penn State touchdown . Kicker Kevin Kelly made three field goals and five extra points to become the Big Ten ' s all - time leader in career kick scoring ( 376 career points ) and was named the Big Ten ' s Special Teams Player of the Week . Odrick ' s sack for a safety was named the Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Week . October 25 : Ohio State . For the fourth straight year , ESPN ' s College GameDay crew broadcast from the site of the Penn State – Ohio State match - up . In front of an Ohio Stadium - record crowd of 105 , 711 , the Nittany Lions got their first win at Ohio State since 1978 by defeating the Buckeyes 13 – 6 in a game where both offenses were held below their season averages . The turning point of the game occurred early in the fourth quarter with Ohio State holding a three - point lead and facing a 3rd - and - 1 . Safety Mark Rubin tackled Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor and forced a fumble recovered by linebacker Navorro Bowman . Backup quarterback Pat Devlin , in for an injured Daryll Clark , scored on a quarterback sneak for the only touchdown of the game . After Kevin Kelly ' s second field goal , the Buckeyes last drive was ended with an interception by cornerback Lydell Sargeant at the goal line , Pryor ' s second turnover of the game . The Buckeyes were limited to their lowest point total in Ohio Stadium since 1982 , and the Nittany Lions were charged with zero penalties . Clark completed 12 of 20 passes for 121 yards before leaving . Devlin only attempted one pass , which drew a pass interference flag . Evan Royster had 77 yards on 19 carries . The Nittany Lions defense held the Buckeyes running game in check , holding Pryor to six yards on nine attempts , and Chris " Beanie " Wells to 55 yards on 22 carries . Rubin led the defense with a career - high eleven tackles and the forced fumble , and Bowman had ten tackles and the fumble recovery . Rubin ' s forced fumble was voted the week ' s Pontiac Game Changing Performance with an overwhelming 53 percent of the total votes , and Rubin was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation Defensive Player of the Week and the Big Ten ' s Defensive Player of the Week . The team was named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America . Kelly ' s two field goals moved him into a first place tie for made field goals ( 72 ) in Big Ten history . The win earned the seventh - largest regular season primetime audience ever on ABC . It was the second - highest of the 2008 college football season , drawing a larger audience than Game 3 of the 2008 World Series played on the same evening . Despite being an away game , thousands of Penn State students and fans rioted in the streets of State College following the game . November 8 : Iowa . Penn State was handed their only loss of the regular season when Iowa kicked a 31 - yard field goal with : 01 remaining to win the game , 24 – 23 . Iowa began their game - winning drive at their own 15 yard line following a Tyler Sash interception of a Daryll Clark pass . It was only Clark ' s third interception of the year . Derrick Williams was a multidimensional threat : taking several direct snaps from a variant of the Wildcat formation , rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown on twelve carries , and completing his first career pass ( 23 yards to tight end Mickey Shuler ) . Running back Evan Royster picked up 90 yards and a touchdown on a career - high twenty - six carries , becoming the 12th Nittany Lion to rush for 1 , 000 yards in a season . Receiver Deon Butler had three catches , moving him into a tie with Bobby Engram for the career receptions leader at Penn State ( 167 ) . Kevin Kelly set the Big Ten record for career field goals with his 24 - yarder in the first quarter , topping Mike Nugent ' s previous record of 72 . Kelly has kicked field goals in a school - record 30 consecutive games . Penn State ' s defense limited the Iowa offense to 272 yards and forced two turnovers but allowed the Hawkeyes to drive 41 yards and into field goal range on the game ' s final drive , aided by an Anthony Scirrotto pass interference call on 3rd - and - 15 . November 15 : Indiana . Penn State overcame a sluggish first half to preserve their perfect record over the Hoosiers with a 34 – 7 victory . The Nittany Lions overcame three Daryll Clark turnovers , who threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns . Receiver Deon Butler had five receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown , becoming Penn State ' s career receptions leader with 172 , passing Bobby Engram ( 167 ) . Derrick Williams accumulated 164 all - purpose yards , the second - highest total of his career . Williams ran for a career - high 61 yards on four carries , including a career - long 36 - yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter . His 39 - yard touchdown catch was his longest career reception . The defense held Indiana to 180 yards of total offense and only six first downs , the fewest Penn State has ever allowed in a Big Ten game . Linebacker Josh Hull led all tacklers with seven , including his first career sack . The only points allowed came on a Marcus Thigpen 57 - yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter to tie the game 7 – 7 . Kevin Kelly later kicked a field goal to give the Lions a 10 – 7 lead at halftime . In the second half , the Nittany Lions defense would only give up 36 yards and one first down . November 22 : Michigan State . On Senior Day , the Nittany Lions clinched a Rose Bowl BCS bid and a share of the Big Ten championship with a 49 – 18 victory over the Spartans . In snowy weather conditions , Daryll Clark threw for career - highs of 341 yards and four touchdowns . The offensive line , led by seniors A . Q . Shipley , Gerald Cadogan , Mike Lucian and Rich Ohrnberger , and senior fullback Dan Lawlor paved the way for Penn State ' s 557 yards of total offense . Senior receiver Jordan Norwood had five receptions for a career - high 127 yards . Fellow senior Deon Butler tallied 133 yards on three receptions , all resulting in touchdowns . Entering the game , Spartans running back Javon Ringer was third in the NCAA in rushing averaging 140 . 7 yards per game , but the Penn State defense held Ringer to a season - low 42 yards . Senior Mark Rubin led all Penn State tacklers with eight . Senior defensive backs Lydell Sargeant and Anthony Scirrotto each had one interception , with Scirrotto ' s leading to a Derrick Williams 32 - yard touchdown on the next offensive play . The win was the 800th in Penn State history . The Nittany Lions are the sixth school to reach 800 wins , joining Michigan ( 872 ) , Notre Dame ( 830 ) , Texas ( 830 ) , Nebraska ( 815 ) and Ohio State ( 808 ) . Clark was named the Big Ten Co - Offensive Player of the Week . January 1 , 2009 : Southern California ( Rose Bowl ) . For the first time since 2004 , the Big Ten and Pac - 10 champs met in the Rose Bowl . During the years in between , one or the other was in the BCS national championship . However , the last time USC and Penn State met in a bowl game , Penn State was still an independent . After a close first quarter , USC scored 24 unanswered second quarter points en route to a 31 – 7 halftime lead . A possible fumble in Penn State ' s favor was negated by an offsides penalty and Stephon Green ' s fumble just before halftime led to the final USC touchdown . The second half was more in Penn State ' s favor . USC continued their pass - heavy gameplan , but Penn State adjusted and was able to outscore USC 17 – 7 in the second half . Penn State cut the lead to 38 – 24 with 4 and 1 / 2 minutes left , but their first attempt to cut further into the lead was immediately intercepted . However , USC ' s next punt went sailing over the punter and Penn State recovered , giving Penn State the ball at the USC 14 , but it was also intercepted . Penn State is now 1 – 2 in Rose Bowls and 1 – 1 under Joe Paterno . After taking over for an injured Evan Royster in the second quarter , backup tailback Stephfon Green finished with 57 yards on 10 carries and was the Nittany Lions ' leading receiver with five catches for 67 yards . Green left the game in the fourth quarter after sustaining what appeared to be a sprained right ankle . However , tests conducted after the team returned home revealed that Green sustained broken bones in his right leg and ankle and would require surgery to help repair the bones . Green is expected out of action for up to three months . Post season . Penn State finished the season ranked number 8 in both the final AP and Coaches college football polls , earning Penn State its 22nd Top 10 finish under Joe Paterno . It ' s the 34th final top 25 ranking under Paterno . Penn State finished second in football attendance for the sixth time this decade and in the top four for the 18th consecutive year , averaging 108 , 254 for seven home games , including crowds of 110 , 017 on homecoming to watch Penn State host Michigan , the fourth - largest in Beaver Stadium history , and 109 , 845 to watch Penn State beat Michigan State and clinch the Big Ten title , the seventh - largest in Beaver Stadium history . In December , backup quarterback Pat Devlin decided to transfer from Penn State and would not play in the Rose Bowl . Devlin appeared in ten games for the Nittany Lions , passing for 459 yards , four touchdowns and no interceptions . Devlin later committed to Delaware , a Division I FCS school , where he will have two years of eligibility left . In January , redshirt sophomore defensive end Aaron Maybin announced that he was skipping his final two seasons of eligibility and declared for the 2009 NFL Draft . Junior defensive end Maurice Evans , despite losing his starting position and playing time to Maybin due to a three - game suspension for marijuana possession , also declared for the draft . After the Rose Bowl , defensive line coach Larry Johnson , Sr . interviewed with Illinois head coach Ron Zook to become the Illini ' s defensive coordinator . While many anticipated Johnson to take the job , in the end Johnson decided to stay at his current position at Penn State . Eight players were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine , held February 18 – 24 in Indianapolis : Deon Butler , Gerald Cadogan , Maurice Evans , Aaron Maybin , Jordan Norwood , Lydell Sargeant , A . Q . Shipley and Derrick Williams . NFL draft . Five Penn State players were selected in the 2009 NFL Draft . Along with the five players selected in the 2009 NFL Draft , nine other players have signed with NFL teams .