Penn State Football: The three biggest surprises from this season

Oct 22, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin celebrates with running back Nicholas Singleton (10) after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Minnesota 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

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Penn State Football will prepare for a New Year’s Six Bowl game after a 10-2 season

Penn State Football was rewarded with the No. 8 ranking in the latest College Football Playoff rankings after finishing the regular season 10-2.

Not many expected the Nittany Lions to make it to ten wins, especially Vegas, who had Penn State’s win total set at 8.5 before the season. The argument can be made that Penn State football exceeded expectations in 2022.

Critics will point to the brutal losses to Michigan and Ohio State as a counterpoint, and they’re not wrong. Penn State has second half leads in both games yet lost to Michigan by 24 and to Ohio State by 13.

Despite those two tough losses, there was plenty to be excited about for not only this season, but the next few as well. Multiple young players stepped up and played big roles for Penn State this season.

While the ten wins themselves may have been surprising to some, there were plenty of other surprises for the Nittany Lions this year that helped them get to double digit wins for the fourth time in seven years.

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