2003 Penn State Nittany Lions football team The 2003 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2003 college football season . The team ' s head coach was Joe Paterno . It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park , Pennsylvania . On July 23 , 2012 , all three 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 . Preseason . The offense returns five starters , including quarterback Zack Mills , who was on pace for a record - shattering season before injuring his left throwing arm , and with the emergence of Larry Johnson , the Nittany Lions practically stopped throwing the ball . But in addition to losing Johnson , who won the Maxwell Award , the Doak Walker Award , the Walter Camp Award , and finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting , the offensive unit also loses its leading receiver Bryant Johnson and four starters on the offensive line . Top candidates to replace Johnson include junior Mike Gasparato and true freshmen Austin Scott and Tony Hunt . Defensive tackle Levi Brown was moved to left tackle to help shore up the offensive line . Penn State started the season ranked No . 25 in the Coaches college football preseason poll and was unranked in the AP college football preseason poll . Schedule . Penn State does not play Big Ten teams Illinois and Michigan this year . Game notes . Temple . Penn State played four tailbacks to beat the Owls 23 – 10 . Zack Mills was 7 of 16 for 79 yards and a touchdown . Backup quarterback Michael Robinson , who started at tailback , led the team with 84 yards rushing . True freshman Austin Scott was next with 69 yards on a team - high 12 carries . Fifth - year senior Ricky Upton had 19 yards on four carries , and true freshman Tony Hunt had 12 yards on three carries . This would be the only game of 2003 in which Penn State never once trailed . Boston College . The Boston College Eagles jumped out to an early lead against a flat Penn State team , as the Eagles won 27 – 14 . The Eagles went up 21 – 0 with 7 : 50 left in the first quarter , amassing 206 of its 383 total yards by the end of the first quarter . Zack Mills was 15 of 28 for 144 yards but was benched in favor of Michael Robinson in the third quarter . Robinson led the Lions to a touchdown but going only 4 of 11 for 41 yards . Penn State was inside the Boston College 30 five times and came away with only 14 points . Nebraska . The Cornhuskers running game dominated Penn State , as the Huskers won 18 – 10 . Nebraska rushed for 337 yards on 72 carries and held the ball twice as long as Penn State , who managed only 44 yards on 21 carries . Kent State . Austin Scott made his first career start as Penn State erased a 10 - point deficit to beat the Golden Flashes 32 – 10 . Scott rushed for 100 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns . Fullback Sean McHugh added 49 yards on nine carries and a touchdown . Redshirt freshman cornerback Maurice Humphrey made his first appearance at receiver and produced three receptions for 37 yards . Michael Robinson was used strictly as a quarterback , finishing 2 of 9 for 29 yards , alternating with Zack Mills who finished 10 of 20 for 99 yards . Minnesota . Michael Robinson got his first significant playing time under center , in relief of an injured Zack Mills whose left knee was sprained in the second quarter and did not return , but it wasn ' t enough to beat the Golden Gophers as the Lions lost 20 – 14 . Robinson finished 16 of 27 for 178 yards but with two interceptions . He also had 42 yards rushing on 12 carries and a touchdown . Wisconsin . Penn State ' s special teams broke down as the Badgers won 30 – 23 . The Lions special teams allowed a punt returned for a touchdown , fumbled a punt that led to another touchdown , had two missed field goals and a missed extra point . The defense couldn ' t stop Wisconsin ' s running game , allowing 234 yards on the ground , 119 from Wisconsin ' s third - stringer Booker Stanley . Overshadowed was Michael Robinson ' s superb performance in his first start at quarterback . Robinson finished 22 of 43 for 379 yards , two touchdowns and no interceptions . His 379 passing yards ranks second on Penn State ' s all - time list . Purdue . The Boilermakers defense held the Penn State offense to only 204 total yards as Purdue won 28 – 14 . Michael Robinson , starting at quarterback for the second straight week , was held to only 98 yards passing on 10 of 32 attempts . Purdue , known mostly as a passing team , rushed for 234 yards , compared to Penn State ' s 125 yards rushing . Tony Hunt led the team with 47 yards on nine carries . Iowa . The Hawkeyes defense dominated the Penn State offense as Iowa goes on to win 26 – 14 . The Lions led after the first quarter when safety Yaacov Yisrael returned an interception 83 yards for a touchdown . Penn State and starting quarterback Michael Robinson started their first three possessions in Iowa territory but couldn ' t move the ball and had a fumble returned that set up Iowa ' s first touchdown . Robinson was replaced by Zack Mills , who went 14 of 25 for 138 yards and a touchdown in the final three quarters , but the team failed to mount a serious comeback . Ohio State . Zack Mills regained the starting position , but it wasn ' t enough as the Buckeyes defeated the Lions 21 – 20 . Mills was 27 of 43 for 253 yards , becoming the school ' s all - time leader in completions with 406 , passing Tony Sacca . He also moved past Todd Blackledge into fourth place in passing yards with 4 , 973 . Mills also moved into second place in total offense with 5 , 482 yards . Converted cornerback Maurice Humphrey had seven receptions for 64 yards , and little - used Terrance Phillips had his first career reception and finished with two catches for 47 yards . On defense , Alan Zemaitis returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown . Kickoff specialist David Kimball made the first field goal of his career , replacing Robbie Gould in all kicking roles . Northwestern . The Nittany Lions , in control most of the game , couldn ' t hold off the Wildcats as the Wildcats scored 17 points in the final seven minutes to win 17 – 7 . Zack Mills finished 22 of 36 for 230 yards passing and an interception but also rushed for Penn State ' s lone score . Maurice Humphrey led Penn State with eight receptions for 97 yards but dropped two passes including one that would have been a touchdown . Michael Robinson started at tailback and finished with 15 rushes for 47 yards , five receptions for 55 yards , and was 1 for 1 for 11 yards passing . Fullback Sean McHugh led the team in rushing with 79 yards on 10 carries . The defense forced three Wildcat turnovers . Paul Posluszny made eight tackles , including one for a loss and a crucial stop on fourth - and - 1 . Yaacov Yisrael led the Lions with 15 tackles forced a fumble . Indiana . On senior day Penn State scored on offense , defense , and special teams , as they rolled over the Hoosiers 52 – 7 . After the Hoosiers jumped to a 7 – 0 lead , Penn State piled on 52 unanswered points . Zack Mills was 12 of 19 for 173 yards , three touchdowns and no interceptions . Michael Robinson started at tailback and rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown . Robinson was also 2 of 3 passing for 87 yards and a touchdown . Senior Tony Johnson had three receptions , all for touchdowns , totaling 47 yards . On special teams , Robbie Gould kicked a 37 - yard field goal . Yaacov Yisrael also blocked a punt , that Andrew Guman recovered and returned seven yards for a touchdown . Linebacker Paul Posluszny also returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown . Michigan State . Robbie Gould gave the Lions a 3 – 0 lead , but it was all Michigan State Spartans after that en route to a 41 – 10 victory over the Nittany Lions . The Lions defense could not stop the Spartans , as Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker completed 29 of 50 for 357 yards and four touchdowns . Zack Mills finished 11 of 24 for 114 yards , becoming Penn State ' s career leader in total offense and also moved into second place on the school ' s passing yardage list . Post season . Penn State finished the season with a 3 – 9 record , 1 – 7 in the Big Ten , Paterno ' s worst ever at Penn State . It was the third losing season in the past four , and only Paterno ' s fourth losing season since joining the coaching staff in 1950 . Nine losses were the most ever for a Penn State team , breaking the record set by the 1931 2 – 8 team . The season ended without any wins in road games , which hadn ' t occurred since 1936 . Despite the losing record , Penn State claimed second place in football attendance for the third consecutive season , averaging 105 , 629 through seven home games , ranking in the top four for the 13th consecutive year . The Ohio State game drew Penn State ' s largest home crowd of 108 , 276 , the seventh largest crowd ever in Beaver Stadium . The team ' s second - leading receiver Maurice Humphrey , after a promising season at wide receiver was expelled from school and convicted of three counts of simple assault . Humphrey would not play another down for Penn State . NFL draft . Four Nittany Lions were drafted in the 2004 NFL Draft .