2005 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The team returned 18 starters from last year's squad. Eight starters returned on offense, led by starting quarterback Michael Robinson who has also played at wide receiver, tailback, and punt returner during his first three years at Penn State. Robinson played exclusively under center after the graduation of Zack Mills.^[1]

Nine defensive starters return from a unit did not allow more than 21 points in a game in 2004.^[2] Also returning was safety Chris Harrell who suffered a neck injury in 2003 and missed the 2004 season.

Michael Robinson, Alan Zemaitis, and Paul Posluszny were elected tri-captains of the football team in 2005. Posluszny was the first junior captain since 1968.^[3]

Penn State started the season unranked in both the AP and the Coaches college football preseason polls.

US college sports recruiting information for recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Chris Baker DT	Windsor, Connecticut	Windsor HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	5.00	Jan 25, 2005
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Daryll Clark QB	Saltsburg, Pennsylvania	The Kiskiminetas Springs School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.60	Dec 15, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Francis Claude TE	Beauport, Quebec	Champlain Prep	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	252 lb (114 kg)	4.60	Nov 15, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Brennan Coakley TE	Sandy Hook, Connecticut	Newtown HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	4.62	Oct 26, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Kevin Cousins WR	Richmond, Virginia	Huguenot HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.40	May 16, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Devin Fentress CB	Chesapeake, Virginia	Western Branch HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.40	Sep 8, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Willie Harriott CB	Hamden, Connecticut	Hyde Leadership School	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	4.40	Dec 15, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Jerome Hayes LB	Bayonne, New Jersey	Bayonne HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.60	Feb 2, 2005
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Kevin Kelly K	Langhorne, Pennsylvania	Neshaminy HS	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	4.60	Oct 12, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Justin King CB	Monroeville, Pennsylvania	Gateway SHS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.40	Nov 15, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Dennis Landolt OL	Delran, New Jersey	Holy Cross HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	5.00	Nov 24, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Sean Lee LB	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Upper Saint Clair HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	4.60	Dec 16, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Matt Lowry OL	Springfield, Pennsylvania	Cardinal O'Hara HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	5.40	Jan 20, 2005
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
James McDonald WR	Washington, D.C.	Dunbar HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.55	Dec 14, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Anthony Scirrotto S	Westville, New Jersey	West Deptford HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.40	Dec 17, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Lydell Sargeant RB	Lompoc, California	Cabrillo Senior HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.50	Nov 16, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Mickey Shuler TE	Enola, Pennsylvania	East Pennsboro Area SHS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	NA	Feb 1, 2005
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Knowledge Timmons CB	York, Pennsylvania	William Penn SHS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	4.30	Dec 23, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Derrick Williams WR	Greenbelt, Maryland	Eleanor Roosevelt HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	4.40	Dec 22, 2004
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 28   Rivals: 25
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Penn State Commit List for 2005". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 8, 2007. "Scout.com Football Recruiting: Penn State". Scout.com. Retrieved February 8, 2007. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 8, 2007. "2005 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 8, 2007.

• Alan Zemaitis

  Second-team Sporting News All-American^[4]

  Third-team Street & Smith's All-American^[4]

  First-team Sporting News All-Big Ten^[4]

2005 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 2 Derrick Williams Fr WR 3 Deon Butler  Fr WR 4 Terrell Golden  So WR 5 Jim Kanuch Jr QB 6 Mike Hart  So RB 8 Rodney Kinlaw  So QB 12 Michael Robinson (C) Sr QB 14 Anthony Morelli So QB 15 Paul Cianciolo  Fr WR 16 Dan Corrado  Jr WR 16 Lydell Sargeant Fr QB 17 Daryll Clark Fr WR 17 Knowledge Timmons Fr QB 18 Kevin Suhey Fr TE 22 Jed Hill Fr WR 24 Jordan Norwood Fr WR 25 Brendan Perretta  So RB 26 Tony Hunt Jr WR 29 Patrick Mauti Fr FB 30 BranDon Snow Jr RB 33 Austin Scott Jr RB 34 Matt Hahn So RB 36 Nick Pinchek  So FB 38 Dan Lawlor  Fr FB 42 Adam Senk  Sr WR 43 Ethan Kilmer  Sr TE 44 Patrick Hall Jr RB 48 Zack Zeglinski Fr OT 50 Andrew Richardson  Sr G 56 Austin Hinton  Fr C 57 A.Q. Shipley Fr G 58 Greg Harrison  Fr G 59 Charles Rush  Sr C 60 Patick Weber  So OT 61 Matt Lowry Fr G 63 Joe Toriello  Fr OL 64 Rich Ohrnberger Fr G 65 Robert Price  Jr C 66 Lance Antolick  Sr OT 67 Levi Brown  Jr OT 68 John Wilson  Sr G 70 Wyatt Bowman  Fr G 71 Mark Farris Jr C 72 Trent Varva  Fr OL 73 Dennis Landolt Fr G 74 Tyler Reed  Sr G 75 Richard Cheek  Jr OT 76 Gerald Cadogan  Fr OT 78 John Shaw Jr OT 79 Chris Auletta  So WR 80 Mark Rubin So TE 81 Isaac Smolko  Sr WR 82 Vic Surma  Jr WR 83 Kevin Cousins Fr WR 84 James McDonald Fr TE 85 Mickey Shuler Fr TE 87 Greg Miskinis  Fr TE 88 Brennan Coakley Fr TE 89 Jordan Lyons  Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 1 Anwar Phillips  Sr S 4 Anthony Scirrotto Fr LB 5 Jerome Hayes Fr S 6 Donnie Johnson Jr CB 7 Justin King Fr S 9 Jason Ganter  So S 10 Calvin Lowry  Sr CB 11 Tony Davis  Fr DT 13 Jay Alford Jr CB 15 Brent Wise  So DE 16 Francis Claude Fr LB 19 Andy Kubic Jr LB 20 Tim Shaw  Jr CB 21 Alan Zemaitis (C) Sr S 22 Darien Hardy Jr S 24 Nolan McCready Jr DB 25 Devin Fentress Fr S 27 Chris Harrell  Sr DB 28 Willie Harriott Fr S 29 Paul Cronin  Sr LB 31 Paul Posluszny (C) Jr CB 32 Rocky Washington  Fr CB 35 John Royse  Sr LB 35 J.R. Zwierzynski  Jr LB 37 Spencer Ridenhour  Fr DB 39 Doug Rheam Fr LB 40 Dan Connor So DT 41 Scott Paxson  Sr LB 43 Josh Hull Fr LB 45 Sean Lee Fr S 46 Curt Reese  Sr LB 46 Tyrell Sales  Fr DE 47 Josh Gaines  Fr LB 48 Matt Pavelic  Jr LB 49 Dorian Burton  Sr LB 51 Joe Cianciolo  Jr LB 52 Dontey Brown  Fr DT 53 Steve Roach Jr DE 55 Matthew Rice  Sr LB 57 Chris Mauriello  So DE 62 Ross Muir  Fr DT 75 Lee Kuzemchak Jr DT 86 Mike Lucian Fr LB 88 Kevin Darling Jr DE 91 Tamba Hali  Sr DL 93 Chris Baker Fr DT 94 Blase Iorio  Jr DT 95 Elijah Robinson So DE 98 Mike Pawlikowski  Sr DE 99 Jim Shaw Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 13 Patrick Humes Fr K 23 Kevin Kelly Fr P 36 Jeremy Kapinos  Jr P 44 Jeremy Boone Fr LS 90 Nick Daise Jr K 96 Matt Waldron Fr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: August 12, 2005

• Joe Paterno – Head Coach
• Dick Anderson – Offensive Line (Guards and Centers)
• Tom Bradley – Defensive Coordinator and Cornerbacks
• Galen Hall – Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs
• Larry Johnson, Sr. – Defensive Line
• Bill Kenney – Offensive Tackles and Tight Ends
• Mike McQueary – Wide Receivers and Recruiting Coordinator
• Brian Norwood – Safeties
• Jay Paterno – Quarterbacks
• Ron Vanderlinden – Linebackers
• John Thomas – Strength and Conditioning

Penn State opened the season by defeating the Bulls 23–13. In his debut as a full-time starter at quarterback, Michael Robinson struggled, finishing 9 of 15 for 90 yards and an interception that set up the Bulls' first touchdown. Robinson also ran for 39 yards on 18 carries but was sacked three times and lost two fumbles. Tony Hunt finished with a career-high 140 yards on 15 carries. Alan Zemaitis scored the Lions' first touchdown of the year on a fumble recovery.

The Nittany Lions also tried to show off two highly touted freshmen. Justin King, who played both ways in the game, made his first contribution with a 61-yard run on a reverse. Derrick Williams finished with 38 yards on three catches.^[15]

Punter Jeremy Kapinos landed three punts inside the 11 and was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week.^[16]

Michael Robinson went bombs away to the Lions' speedy freshmen as Penn State defeated the Bearcats 42–24. The offense struggled in the first half, but Robinson hooked up with Justin King for a 59-yard touchdown in the third quarter, followed by a 41-yard bomb to Derrick Williams on the next possession. In the fourth quarter, Deon Butler hooked up with Robinson for a 45-yard touchdown. Robinson finished 11 of 17 for 220 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

Penn State's backup quarterback, sophomore Anthony Morelli, made his season debut, finishing 4 of 5 passes and scoring the Lions' final touchdown on a 1-yard keeper.^[17]

Penn State displayed an aerial attack rarely seen in Beaver Stadium as the Lions defense held the Chippewas to only 172 total yards for a 40–3 win. Michael Robinson finished 14 of 23 for 274 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Two of those touchdowns were to Deon Butler in the second quarter for 54 and 24 yards. Terrell Golden caught the third touchdown, a 47 yarder in the third quarter.

Robinson was pulled halfway through the third quarter for backup Anthony Morelli, who finished 8 of 13 for 107 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown to Ethan Kilmer.^[18]

Michael Robinson led a come-from-behind 34–29 win against the Wildcats, but in the first half Robinson threw three interceptions and lost a fumble to dig a deep hole for the Lions. But the offense recovered in the second half and outscored the Wildcats 17–6 in the fourth quarter to escape with the win.

The defining drive came with two minutes left, trailing by two points. On a fourth-and-15, Robinson threw a 20-yard strike to tight end Isaac Smolko. Five plays later, Robinson lobbed a 36-yard pass to Derrick Williams who caught the ball, ducked to avoid a defender, and dashed into the end zone. Anwar Phillips picked off Northwestern's Brett Basanez to seal the win.^[19]

Williams' touchdown reception from Robinson was selected as the Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the week.^[20]

Linebacker Paul Posluszny recorded a career-high 22 tackles, the most by a Penn State player since 1977, and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.^[21]

Penn State went to the power running game and tallied 364 yards on the ground en route to a 44–14 thumping of the Golden Gophers. Tony Hunt ran for 114 yards, and Michael Robinson ran for 112 yards, his first 100-yard rushing game, including a hard hit on Gophers safety Brandon Owens. Robinson never went down, but Owens was knocked out and needed help off the field, ending his football career with uprooted nerves in his spinal column.^[22] Hunt and Derrick Williams each scored two rushing touchdowns.

The defense held the Gophers to just 287 total yards and 13 first downs. (In contrast, Penn State had 35 first downs.) Minnesota tailback Laurence Maroney entered the game as the nation's leader in rushing yards and all-purpose yards, rushing for at least 100 yards in the last six games, and was considered by some to be the frontrunner for the Heisman. The Lions' defense held Maroney to only 46 yards on 16 carries.^[23]

After recording nine tackles, Paul Posluszny was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week as well as the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week.^[24]

Penn State defeated the Buckeyes 17–10 in front of 109,839 fans, during a student White Out,^[25] at the time the second-largest Beaver Stadium crowd (topped later the same season by the home game versus Wisconsin). Michael Robinson threw for 78 yards and carried the ball 14 times for 52 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Lowry intercepted Ohio State QB Troy Smith and returned the ball to the 2-yard line, setting up Robinson's touchdown.

Ohio State, needing to score a game-tying touchdown, began their final possession on their own 11-yard line with under 4 minutes to play. After moving the ball into Penn State territory, Tamba Hali sacked Smith at midfield, forcing a fumble recovered by Scott Paxson and allowing the Nittany Lions to run out the clock. Led by Paul Posluszny who had 14 tackles and a sack in the game, the Penn State defense held the Buckeyes to only 230 total yards.^[26]

Posluszny was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week, the first time that a Big Ten player has been named in three consecutive weeks.^[27] The team was named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America.^[28]

The game was ESPN's second largest audience for a regular season college football game. That morning's ESPN's College Gameday, which broadcast from University Park for the first time since 1999, was the most-viewed edition of that program in its history.^[29][30]

The Wolverines defeated the Nittany Lions 27–25 on the game's final play to hand Penn State its first and only loss of the season. It would cap a wild fourth quarter where the two teams would combine for 39 points and four lead changes. Down 10–3 in the fourth, the Lions would quickly strike twice, the first would be a Michael Robinson two yard keeper set up by a Tony Hunt 61-yard run. On the Wolverines next drive, Alan Zemaitis would strip Michigan quarterback Chad Henne during the tackle and returned it 35 yards for the score. Kicker Kevin Kelly would put Penn State up 18–10 after a picking up a bad snap on the extra point and running it in for the two-point conversion.

Michigan would score on its next two drives to go up 21–18, but the defense would get the ball back to Robinson, who would put together an 81-yard drive, including a 4th down and 7 yard conversion, and score on a 3-yard keeper with :53 left to give the Lions a 25–21 lead.

However, the game would come down to seconds. Michigan's final drive, fueled by a Steve Breaston kick return to midfield, started with an apparent interception that was later reviewed to be out of bounds. The Wolverines called timeout after a Henne pass completion with the clock stopped at :28. Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr called the officials over, and after a protest by Carr and a long conference, the officials reset the game clock to 0:30. Those extra two seconds would turn out to impact the outcome of the game. Six plays later, with 0:01 on the clock, Michigan would score the game-winning touchdown on a Henne pass to Mario Manningham.^[31]

Derrick Williams was lost for the rest of the season when he broke his left arm when tackled on a kickoff return late in the game.^[32]

Penn State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions en route to a 63–10 rout of the Fighting Illini. The Illini scored an early field goal, but would never regain the lead. Michael Robinson led the charge with four touchdown passes on his first six completions, connecting with Ethan Kilmer, Patrick Hall, and twice with Deon Butler. Robinson would rush for two more in the second quarter before sitting out the rest of the game.

In the second half, Anthony Morelli quarterbacked a more conservative offense, attempting only two passes and constantly handing off to Austin Scott who had 57 rushing yards. Very late in the fourth quarter, the Illini scored their only touchdown of the game, to make the final score 63–11.

The defense did their share of scoring too. In the second quarter, Tim Shaw hit Illini quarterback Tim Brasic and forced a fumble, picked up by Dan Connor who ran it in 18 yards for the touchdown. In the third quarter, Nolan McCready, from Wyomissing, Pa, would return an interception 77 yards for the final Lions touchdown.^[33]

For his six touchdown performance, Robinson was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Robinson's six touchdowns ties a school record set in 1917, and his career-high four touchdown passes ties an 88-year-old school record. The Nittany Lions' 56 first-half points broke the school record of 55 set in 1947.^[34]

Special teams stood out as Penn State defeated the Boilermakers 33–15. Ethan Kilmer had six special teams tackles and a forced fumble that led to a field goal. Kevin Kelly was four for four on field goals. Rodney Kinlaw would return a kickoff 58 yards that set up a touchdown.

Michael Robinson would finish 13 of 29 for 213 yards passing and rushed for 96 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Tony Hunt would gain 129 yards on 24 carries, his fourth 100-yard rushing game this season. Fullback BranDon Snow would score his first two career touchdowns on runs of 2 and 4 yards.^[35]

On senior day with the Big Ten title on the line in front of the season's second student White Out,^[36] Penn State cruised to a convincing 35–14 win over the Badgers behind the strong performance of both the offense and defense. The Lions struck first with a 43-yard pass from Michael Robinson to Deon Butler on the first drive. Butler would finish with five catches for 125 yards. Robinson finished 13 of 28 for 238 yards, two interceptions and two touchdowns, both to Butler, and also rush for 125 yards on 16 carries. Tony Hunt rushed for 151 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns.

Wisconsin tailback Brian Calhoun, a Heisman Trophy candidate, entered the game ranked fifth nationally in all-purpose yardage and rushing yardage and led the nation with 21 touchdowns. However, the defense limited Calhoun to only 38 yard rushing. The Lions defense was also constantly in the Badgers backfield, tallying nine sacks, four by Tamba Hali who also had nine tackles. Wisconsin's net rushing yardage was minus-11 yards. Alan Zemaitis and Calvin Lowry each intercepted the Badgers once.^[37]

Hali was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week^[38] and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.^[39] He was also named Player of the Week by Sporting News,^[40] Sports Illustrated^[40] and USA Today.^[41]

ESPN's College Gameday broadcast from East Lansing, covering a Penn State game for the second time this season.^[42]

The Lions captured the Big Ten title and a BCS bowl berth with a 31–22 win over the Spartans. Alan Zemaitis intercepted Spartans quarterback Drew Stanton three times and also tallied seven tackles. Nickelback Donnie Johnson also had an interception to preserve a 17–0 Lions lead at the half. Johnson's biggest play however may be a blocked punt earlier in the second quarter that was recovered by backup fullback Matt Hahn in the end zone, his first career touchdown.

Michael Robinson finished 10 of 20 for 105 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 90 yards on 13 carries, including a 33-yard touchdown run, the longest rushing touchdown of his career. Tony Hunt finished with 89 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown, pushing him past 1,000 yards rushing this season.^[43]

Zemaitis was named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week^[44] and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.^[45] Johnson was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week.^[45]

It was nearly 1:00 a.m. local time as Kevin Kelly kicked the game-winning field goal to end the triple overtime thriller 26–23 against the Seminoles. It was Kelly's third attempt to win the game, after missing at the end of regulation and in the first overtime. The teams traded touchdowns in the second overtime, and Florida State kicker Gary Cismesia missed in the first and third overtimes.

Austin Scott led the Penn State rushing attack, filling in for an injured Tony Hunt who left the game on the first possession. Scott finished with 26 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Robinson was 21 of 39 for 253 yards passing, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Kilmer, who made an acrobatic catch in the end zone over the back of a Seminoles defender at the end of the first half.

Penn State's receivers also posted a number of career highs. Kilmer set career highs with six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Norwood had career highs with six receptions for 110 yards, and Justin King made a career-high five receptions for 27 yards.^[46]

Paul Posluszny injured his knee in the fourth quarter while attempting to leap over a blocker, causing partial tears of his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL). The injury would not require surgery but needed six to eight weeks to rehabilitate.^[47]

• Joe Paterno

  AFCA Coach of the Year^[76]

  Associated Press Coach of the Year^[77]

  Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year^[78]

  Home Depot Coach of the Year^[71]

  Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year^[66]

  Walter Camp Coach of the Year^[79]

  George Munger Award winner^[79]

  Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of the Year^[63]

2005 Lambert Trophy winner^[80]

FWAA Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week (October 8)^[28]

Penn State finished the season ranked number 3 in both the final AP and Coaches college football polls, earning Penn State its 13th Top 5 finish under Joe Paterno.^[81]

The team's unexpected success helped Penn State finish in the top four in football attendance for the 15th consecutive year, averaging 104,859 for seven home games. Three crowds topped 109,000: 109,865 vs. Wisconsin, 109,839 vs. Ohio State, and 109,467 vs. Purdue, ranking two through four as the largest crowds ever at Beaver Stadium. Penn State finished the season with a sellout crowd of 77,773 at the FedEx Orange Bowl.^[82]

Instead of declaring early for the NFL draft, Levi Brown and Paul Posluszny both announced their intentions to return for their senior season.^[83]

Six seniors would go on and be drafted in the 2006 NFL Draft.