College Football
#40

Penn State Nittany Lions

Big Ten · 3-4

Beaver Stadium · 106,572 seats

Penn State Nittany Lions rank #40 among FBS teams in the Predictium ratings with an opponent-adjusted net rating of +0.058 points per play (Elo 1605), a 3-4 record in the Big Ten, and 46% of that rating still riding on preseason priors.

Ratings

Net rating
+0.058
#40 in FBS
Offense
+0.026
higher is better
Defense
-0.031
lower is better
SOS
+0.028
mean opp. rating
Elo
1605
Off EPA/play
+0.026
higher is better
Def EPA/play
-0.037
lower is better
Off success
-0.001
Def success
-0.018
Off explosive
-0.003
Def explosive
-0.008
Rush EPA
-0.016
offense
Pass EPA
+0.073
offense
Pts / drive
2.50
9.8 drives/gm
Pts / opportunity
2.78
inside opp 40

Offense and Defense are the net rating's own split (offense − defense reconciles to net rating exactly); everything else is opponent-adjusted, per play. Defensive numbers are from the defense's perspective: negative means opponents produced less than expected. SOS is the mean net rating of every opponent on the schedule.

What drives our rating

No black box: these are the actual model inputs behind Penn State's number, including exactly how much is still preseason prior versus observed play.

Preseason prior+0.051

Where our rating started before a snap was played

Prior season rating+0.100

Last season's final rating, for comparison

Offseason adjustment-0.048

This season's prior minus last season's final rating — our offseason risers/fallers number

Prior remaining46%

How much of today's rating still rides on that prior — fades as real games arrive

Returning production8%

Share of last season's production (PPA) back on the roster

Recruiting talent+0.75σ

Recruiting talent, standard deviations above the FBS average

Transfer portal-8.7 pts

Net production gained or lost through the transfer portal

Coaching changeYes

First-year head coach adds uncertainty and resets some priors

Rating trajectory

Weekly net rating across the season — starts at the preseason prior and moves as real games replace it.

+0.070.00Wk 1Wk 8

Schedule & results

WkOpponentResultOur lineMarketATS
1vsMarshallW 45–0———
2@TempleW 27–9———
3vsBuffaloW 55–13———
4vsWisconsinL 20–24———
5@NorthwesternL 13–34———
6vsUSCL 23–31———
7@MichiganL 18–21———
9vsPurdueOct 31———
10@WashingtonNov 7———
11vsMinnesotaNov 14———
12vsRutgersNov 21———
13@MarylandNov 28———