AP No. 24 | Coaches No. 25 | |
 | ||
Head coach Joe Paterno (41st year) | ||
The 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Contents
Previous season
Penn State had unexpected success in 2005, following two consecutive losing seasons. Beginning the season unranked in any poll, the team finished 11–1 and ranked third. With only one loss, the team was Big Ten co-champions with Ohio State. Linebacker Paul Posluszny won both the Chuck Bednarik and Dick Butkus Awards, and was a consensus All-American. Quarterback Michael Robinson finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Preseason
The team had key losses due to graduation, including Michael Robinson, Tamba Hali, Alan Zemaitis, Anwar Phillips, Calvin Lowry, and Ethan Kilmer. Paul Posluszny and offensive tackle Levi Brown decided to return to the team for the 2006 season, despite speculation both players would enter the NFL Draft. Posluszny and star receiver Derrick Williams returned from injuries that caused them to miss time in 2005.
Paul Posluszny and Levi Brown were elected co-captains of the football team for 2006. Posluszny becomes the team's first two-time captain since 1969. Posluszny was also named the 2006 Big Ten and consensus national pre-season Defensive Player of the Year.
Penn State was ranked No. 19 in both the AP and Coaches college football preseason polls.
Schedule
Penn State did not play Big Ten teams Indiana and Iowa this year.
Coaching staff
Post season
Penn State finished the season ranked number 24 in the final AP college football poll and number 25 in the final USA Today college football poll, earning Penn State its 32nd Top 25 finish under Joe Paterno.
The team's success helped Penn State finish second in football attendance for the fourth time this decade and in the top four for the 16th consecutive year, averaging 107,567 for seven home games, including a crowd of 110,007 on October 14 to watch Penn State host Michigan in primetime, the second-largest in Beaver Stadium history. Penn State finished the season with a sellout crowd of 65,601 at the Outback Bowl.
Five players participated in the NFL Scouting Combine, held February 22–27 in Indianapolis, IN: Jay Alford, Levi Brown, Tony Hunt, Paul Posluszny, and Tim Shaw.
NFL draft
Five Penn State players were selected in the 2007 NFL Draft.