FanBoardHQ

Penn State

Pennsylvania State University · 2026 · Big Ten

Efficiency
+16.7
16th FBS
Record
2-0
Conf. record
Conf. finish
3rd
proj. of 18
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Penn State is 2-0 and ranked 16th in overall efficiency. Their 7th-ranked defense carries them, with a 24th-ranked offense. They run the ball on 55% of offensive plays with an 112th-ranked rushing attack and pass the ball on the remaining 45% of plays with a 9th-ranked passing attack.

Quadrant record

By opponent strength, adjusted for where the game was played.

Q1
0-0
+2 left
Q2
0-0
+3 left
Q3
1-0
Q4
1-0
+5 left

Projected wins

Per-game win probabilities combined across the full schedule.

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Expected: 9.5 wins
Strength of Record
20th
+0.3 wins above a 25th-ranked team's expectation
Strength of Schedule
to date
89th
full season
59th
AP poll
#14
FanBoardHQ has them 2 spots lower
Conf. sched. difficulty
62nd
a 25th-ranked team would win ~5.9 conference games on this schedule

The resume

Every game on the schedule. Click a row for the game breakdown (played) or the matchup projection (upcoming).

WkOpponentConfOpp rankResultExp. marginWin probGameScoreQuad
1vs MarshallSun Belt#103W 450+28.7100%26.3Q4
2@ TempleAmerican Athletic#87W 279+18.6100%22.6Q3
3vs BuffaloMid-American#130Preview+37.899%Q4
4vs WisconsinBig Ten#70Preview+21.690%Q4
5@ NorthwesternBig Ten#50Preview+8.269%Q2
6vs USCBig Ten#8Preview-2.644%Q1
7@ MichiganBig Ten#17Preview-1.347%Q1
9vs PurdueBig Ten#65Preview+19.688%Q4
10@ WashingtonBig Ten#33Preview+5.462%Q2
11vs MinnesotaBig Ten#76Preview+22.391%Q4
12vs RutgersBig Ten#122Preview+34.298%Q4
13@ MarylandBig Ten#46Preview+8.168%Q2

2 played · 2-0. Expected margin and gamescore use the latest ratings — a completed game shows what the model would say now, not that week.

The season

The model’s read on Penn State, recomputed after every week. Toggle between overall, offensive, and defensive efficiency (each with a dot for that week’s game) or the FanBoardHQ CFP rank.

+2.1+13.1+24.22623Week 0Week 2
Line = the model's read each week; dots = that week's game (green above the line, red below).

Passing & rushing

Opponent-adjusted, FBS-only. The bar is the blended Eff rank — EPA/play (scoring value), success rate (staying on schedule), and yards/play (explosiveness), each standardized against the FBS field. The three ranks below each bar are those components, so you can see what's driving it.

Offense
PassingEff 9th
SR 32ndYPP 8thEPA 6th
RushingEff 112th
SR 111thYPP 111thEPA 110th
Defense
Pass defenseEff 16th
SR 39thYPP 14thEPA 13th
Rush defenseEff 51st
SR 47thYPP 70thEPA 50th
Dropback rate 45%Tempo -4.3 snaps/game vs. averageFaced pass defenses ranked 104th on average
Success rate by down

Their offense vs. what their defense allows.

1st · Offense: 48%1st · Defense allowed: 37%1st2nd · Offense: 41%2nd · Defense allowed: 41%2nd3rd/4th · Offense: 52%3rd/4th · Defense allowed: 31%3rd/4th
OffenseDefense allowed
Points by quarter

Scored vs. allowed, all regular-season games.

Q1 · Scored: 17.0Q1 · Allowed: 0.0Q1Q2 · Scored: 17.0Q2 · Allowed: 3.0Q2Q3 · Scored: 24.0Q3 · Allowed: 0.0Q3Q4 · Scored: 14.0Q4 · Allowed: 7.0Q4
ScoredAllowed

What kind of team is this?

Every team by offensive and defensive efficiency (points/game vs. an average team, higher is better on both). Click a dot for that team.

elite bothdefense-ledrebuildingoffense-ledPenn StateOffenseDefense
Penn State Offense vs Defense, 2026
Offensive EffRanked 24th
+5.9
Field position: +0.2Finishing drives: +5.8
Field position +0.2Finishing drives +5.8= +5.9
Offensive Eff efficiency split into field position and finishing

Field position 59th · Finishing 26th

Defensive EffRanked 7th
+10.8
Field position: +3.0Finishing drives: +7.8
Field position +3.0Finishing drives +7.8= +10.8
Defensive Eff efficiency split into field position and finishing

Field position 1st · Finishing 9th

3.10 points per drive on offense, 0.15 allowed — starting, on average, at their own 38.

Play-calling & efficiency

What the offense did, by quarter and by down — raw, not opponent-adjusted.

By quarter
Quarter (att.)Pass / rushSuccessYd/play
Q1(27)44% / 56%37%8.4
Q2(37)49% / 51%49%7.8
Q3(34)44% / 56%65%8.2
Q4(38)26% / 74%34%2.5
how play-calling and results shifted through games — (n) = plays, season total
Passing by down
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(16)10.375%14.1
2nd(23)6.843%10.6
3rd(15)7.853%9.6
4th(1)2.00%0.0
All (55)55%11.1
Rushing by down
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(45)9.738%3.3
2nd(21)5.238%3.2
3rd(13)3.946%3.6
4th(2)1.0100%7.5
All (81)41%3.4

Penn State, all games.