2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football team The 2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represent the Pennsylvania State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The team is coached by Bill O ' Brien and plays its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park , Pennsylvania , US . It is a member of the Big Ten Conference and plays in the Leaders Division . Penn State is ineligible to play in a bowl game for the 2012 season . O ' Brien was hired as Penn State ' s 15th head football coach , replacing Hall of Fame coach , Joe Paterno . He was introduced as the head coach at a press conference on January 7 , 2012 . The team added player names to the back of their jerseys while also wearing a blue ribbon to support child abuse victims . NCAA sanctions . The 2012 season was the Nittany Lions ' first season in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal . On July 22 , Penn State pulled down the Joe Paterno statue in front of the stadium . It was not an NCAA sanction but was a self - imposed sanction . On July 23 , the NCAA announced sanctions on Penn State football . All wins from 1998 - 2011 were vacated . The rescinded wins are reflected on the overall record of Joe Paterno , bumping 111 wins off his total record and moving him behind Bobby Bowden and others on the all - times wins list . Additionally , Penn State was fined $ 60 million and had 40 scholarships removed for a period of 4 - years ( 10 initial and up to 20 over the next 3 years ) . Penn State was placed on probation for a 5 - year period and will be ineligible to compete in any type of postseason play for the next 4 years . All funds from the fine will be placed into a child abuse protection program . All Penn State immediately players became eligible to transfer and play for another university . However , the NCAA guaranteed that any Penn State player that chooses not to transfer cannot have his scholarship stripped from him . Roster . The preliminary roster is based on the previous season ' s roster and eligibility , along with incoming recruits . All numbers are from www . gopsusports . com . Wide receiver Shawney Kersey left the team on September 12 , 2012 for " personal reasons " . On September 28 , 2012 , QB / TE Paul Jones left the Penn State football team . Game notes . September 1 vs . Ohio . The Ohio University Bobcats spoiled Head Coach Bill O ' Brien ' s PSU debut defeating the Nittany Lions 24 – 14 . Penn State led 14 – 3 at the half due to passing touchdowns by QB Matt McGloin to Bill Belton ( 6 yard ) and Matt Lehman ( 14 yard ) . Ohio came out of the half - time intermission with 21 unanswered points from passing scores from QB Tyler Tettleton to Landon Smith ( 43 yard ) and Donte Foster ( 5 yard ) and a Tettleton run ( 1 yard ) . Penn State committed several costly turnovers including a muffed punt by linebacker Gerald Hodges which set up an Ohio TD and an interception thrown with a minute left by Matt McGloin which essentially put the nail in the coffin . Beau Blankenship led the way for the Bobcats rushing for 109 yards on 31 carries and catching 7 passes for 72 yards . Allen Robinson led the Lions catching 9 passes for 92 yards . Penn State tight end Kyle Carter also caught 6 passes for 72 yards . September 8 at Virginia . Penn State was without starting running back Bill Belton due to injury , so senior Derek Day got the start . Penn State ' s opening drive of the game lasted 17 plays and 75 yards and took up about 6 minutes resulting in an 8 - yard pass from QB Matt McGloin to Kyle Carter . Their first - half offense was thwarted , however , when they could not convert on 2 FG attempts . Drew Jarrett ' s 46 yard FG put Virginia on the scoreboard with 3 : 56 remaining in the first half . True freshman Steven Bench took over QB duties for Penn State late in the first half when McGloin left the field after being hit in the elbow on 2 consecutive series . < br > Virginia ' s opening drive of the second half resulted in a 1 yard TD pass from QB Michael Rocco to Jeremiah Mathis . Penn State ' s FG woes continued in the third quarter when Sam Ficken missed a 20 yard FG which would have tied the game . In the fourth quarter , McGloin completed a long pass to Allen Robinson , who made the diving catch but was shaken up after the play . Ficken ' s PAT attempt was blocked . Penn State ' s final scoring drive began when Michael Mauti recovered a Virginia fumble deep in UVA territory . On the ensuing drive , Ficken attempted a 32 yard field goal and , for the first time on the day , made it . Rocco ' s 6 yard pass to Jake McGee and the ensuing PAT gave Virginia a 1 point lead with 1 : 28 remaining in the contest . Ficken missed a 43 yard field goal as time expired . September 15 vs . Navy . In the game where new head coach Bill O ' Brien celebrated his first victory at Penn State , the Lions overpowered Navy 34 – 7 . Senior quarterback Matt McGloin threw for 231 yards ( 13 – 21 ) and 4 touchdowns including three to sophomore wide receiver Allen Robinson who had 5 catches for 136 yards . For the second consecutive game , Penn State was without starting halfback Bill Belton . Fifth year senior Michael Zordich , who has spent his career at PSU playing fullback carried the ball 11 times for 50 yards . Teammate Curtis Dukes carried 11 times for 47 yards . Navy turned the ball over several times including a fumble which was recovered by Linebacker U Mike Hull and returned for a 74 yard touchdown . Gerald Hodges also recorded an interception . This was Penn State ' s first official win since 1997 against Wisconsin . September 22 vs . Temple . Led by a strong effort by senior quarterback Matt McGloin who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another , the Lions defeated Temple 24 - 13 . With running back Bill Belton out for the third straight game , it was up to McGloin to lead the team around the goal line . He did , with a one yard rushing touchdown , followed by a two yarder . He also threw a touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Allen Robinson , who recorded 5 catches for 82 yards and a score . Sophomore Zach Zwinak saw the first extensive action of his career at running back ; he ran for 94 yards on 18 carries . Fullback Michael Zordich added 15 carries of his own for 75 yards . Kicker Sam Ficken , who had missed 4 field goals and an extra point the previous week , converted on all 3 extra points and a 21 yard field goal . Defensively , the Lions were led by another strong effort from senior linebacker Michael Mauti , who recorded 9 tackles , and defensive tackle Jordan Hill , who added 7 tackles and a sack . September 29 at Illinois . After getting a quick three and out on Penn State ' s first series , Illinois muffed the punt and set up Penn State with great field position . Kicker Sam Ficken attempted a field goal , which he made , but a running into the kicker penalty on Illinois , Penn State was set up inside the 5 yard line . Zach Zwinak ran the ball for a 1 yard touchdown . Later in the quarter , Matt McGloin ran for a score . Taylor Zalewski missed a short field goal late in the first quarter . Early in the second quarter , Sam Ficken missed a 47 yarder of his own . In the second quarter , Matt McGloin threw a 21 yard touchdown pass to Matt Lehman , his tenth of the year . As Lehman was falling into the end zone , an Illinois defender hammered Lehman helmet to helmet and was ejected . At the end of the first half , quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase threw an interception to Michael Mauti who returned the ball 99 yards and was stopped at the one yard line with one second left . Sam Ficken ' s 18 yard was blocked to end the half . On a trick play , receiver Josh Ferguson threw a 22 yard touchdown to Spencer Harris in the third quarter . Matt McGloin capped a long drive late in the third quarter with a 2 yard touchdown run , his second of the game . Michael Mauti intercepted Nathan Scheelhaase for the second time of the day near the end of the third quarter . Zach Zwinak went over the century mark with his second touchdown run of the day early in the fourth quarter to put Penn State up 35 – 7 . October 6 vs . Northwestern . In the Lions ' first game against a ranked opponent , they defeated Northwestern 39 – 28 at Beaver Stadium . Penn State won the toss and elected to receive . Their first drive showed promise , but a false start penalty pushed them back and forcing them to punt . Alex Butterworth ' s punt was downed at the Northwestern 1 . The Wildcats were forced into a quick three - and - out . The ensuing drive for the Lions included two fourth down conversions on their way to inside the five yard line where , rather than risking a third fourth down on the drive , the Nittany Lions settled for a 21 - yard field goal try by Sam Ficken . On Penn State ' s fifth drive of the game , which began at the Northwestern 40 , they slowly drove down the field using the no - huddle offense , converting on fourth and short at one point for their third 4th down conversion of the game . The drive was capped by a one yard touchdown plunge by Zach Zwinak to give Penn State a 10 – 0 lead . Northwestern ' s ensuing drive managed to pick up a couple first downs , but ultimately stalled and they were forced to punt for a fifth time . Penn State , however , muffed this punt and Northwestern recovered at the Penn State 17 . Three plays later , Northwestern scored its first touchdown of the game on a two - yard run by Venric Mark to make the score 10 – 7 . After another exchange of punts , Penn State drove from its 21 - yard line to the Northwestern 34 where the drive stalled and Penn State was forced to 4th and 4 . Penn State elected to try to convert its fourth 4th down of the game , but they failed this time . Northwestern took advantage of this to drive down the field , aided by a controversial pass interference call , and scored another touchdown before the half on a Trevor Siemian pass . At the end of the first half , Penn State trailed 14 – 10 . Northwestern opened the second half on offense and after one first down was forced to punt . Penn State then moved the ball 80 yards in 12 plays and scored a touchdown on a 8 - yard pass from Matt McGloin to Allen Robinson to take a 17 – 14 lead . Northwestern responded in kind with a touchdown scored on a 10 - yard run by Kain Colter to put Penn State down again , this time by a score of 21 – 17 . Penn State ' s next drive also stalled , and the ensuing Penn State punt resulted in a disaster when Northwestern ' s Venric Mark returned it 75 yards for a touchdown to widen the gap to 28 – 17 . Penn State responded to this score with its own 18 play 82 - yard drive that ended on a touchdown pass from McGloin to Robinson on 4th and 4 from the Northwestern 6 . A successful two - point rush by Michael Zordich trimmed the defecit to 25 – 28 with just under 10 minutes to play . Penn State forced a Northwestern three - and - out , but a good Northwestern punt backed up Penn State to its own 15 . Penn State drove , in 13 plays , down the field to the Northwestern 4 , along the way converting on another 4th down to make it 5 for 6 on 4th downs . On 2nd and Goal , McGloin was stripped of the ball from behind , but managed to fall on it for a loss of one . One 3rd and Goal , McGloin escaped the pass rush and dove into the end zone to give the Lions a 32 – 28 lead with 2 : 37 to play . Northwestern had all three timeouts for what ultimately would be its last chance , but ran four plays and turned the ball over on downs . Penn State ran three consecutive handoffs to Michael Zordich , who took the second one all the way to the three and the third into the end zone to make the score 39 – 28 , the final score . November 17 vs . Indiana . Receiver Allen Robinson caught three touchdown passes in the first half . Senior linebackers Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges each left in the first half due to injury . Hodges subsequently returned and made an interception late in the second quarter where he tipped the ball to himself and made a diving catch . Mauti is expected to miss significant time with a left knee injury . Quarterback Matt McGloin set both a single - season record for most passing yards in school history and broke Zack Mills ' record for most career touchdown passes . Awards . Despite the Lions ' ineligibility to play in bowl games , several players were named to the All - Conference Team or received other individual awards . Post - season . Four players were invited to the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine , held February 20 ro 26 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis , Indiana : Jordan Hill , Gerald Hodges , Michael Mauti , and Matt Stankiewitch .