Biography

2000 Penn State Nittany Lions football
2000 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–7 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Joe Paterno (35th season);
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter (17th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Tom Bradley (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
	Seasons ← 1999 2001 →

2000 Big Ten Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 13 Purdue $+	6	–	2	8	–	4
Northwestern +	6	–	2	8	–	4
No. 11 Michigan +	6	–	2	9	–	3
Ohio State	5	–	3	8	–	4
No. 23 Wisconsin	4	–	4	9	–	4
Minnesota	4	–	4	6	–	6
Penn State	4	–	4	5	–	7
Iowa	3	–	5	3	–	9
Illinois	2	–	6	5	–	6
Michigan State	2	–	6	5	–	6
Indiana	2	–	6	3	–	8

$ – BCS representative as conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2000 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season.^[1] The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 27	2:30 p.m.	vs. No. 16 USC*	No. 17	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic)	ABC	L 5–29	78,902
September 2	12:00 p.m.	Toledo*		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN2	L 6–24	94,296
September 9	12:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN Plus	W 67–7	94,555	^[2]
September 16	3:30 p.m.	at Pittsburgh*		Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	CBS	L 0–12	61,221
September 23	12:00 p.m.	at No. 12 Ohio State		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	L 6–45	98,144
September 30	3:30 p.m.	No. 22 Purdue		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	W 22–20	96,023
October 7	12:00 p.m.	at Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN (Governor's Victory Bell)	ESPN2	L 16–25	44,439
October 21	12:00 p.m.	Illinois		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN2	W 39–25	96,475
October 28	7:00 p.m.	vs. Indiana		RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN	ESPN2	W 27–24	43,122
November 4	12:00 p.m.	Iowa		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN Plus	L 23–26 ^2OT	95,437
November 11	12:00 p.m.	at No. 21 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ESPN	L 11–33	110,803
November 18	12:00 p.m.	Michigan State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN Plus	W 42–23	96,070
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

2000 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
FB	`36`	Mike Cerimele	Sr
WR	`13`	Sam Crenshaw	Sr
WR	`20`	Eddie Drummond	Jr
RB	`34`	Omar Easy	Jr
TE	`85`	John Gilmore	Jr
G	`71`	Joe Hartings	Jr
WR	`24`	Bryant Johnson	So
RB	`5`	Larry Johnson	So
WR	`11`	Tony Johnson	Fr
TE	`88`	Matt Kranchick	Fr
FB	`82`	Sean McHugh	Fr
OT	`67`	Kareem McKenzie	Sr
QB	`12`	Rashard Casey	Sr
QB	`4`	Matt Senneca	So
C	`56`	Geoff Stryker	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`1`	Bruce Branch	Jr
CB	`6`	James Boyd	Sr
DT	`99`	Tim Falls	So
LB	`21`	Shamar Finney	Jr
CB	`25`	Rich Gardner	Fr
LB	`94`	Israel Paniagua	Sr
DE	`81`	Michael Haynes	So
DE	`96`	Bob Jones	Jr
CB	`10`	Bhawoh Jue	Sr
DE	`37`	Justin Kurpeikis	Sr
CB	`26`	Bryan Scott	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Four Nittany Lions were drafted in the 2001 NFL Draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
3rd	9	71	Bhawoh Jue	Free safety	Green Bay Packers
3rd	17	79	Kareem McKenzie	Offensive tackle	New York Jets
3rd	32	94	James Boyd	Strong safety	Jacksonville Jaguars
5th	16	147	Tony Stewart	Tight end	Philadelphia Eagles

^ "Penn State Yearly Results (2000-2004)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
^ "Nittany Lions lay it on Louisiana Tech, 67–7". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 10, 2000. Retrieved July 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

Penn State Nittany Lions football
Venues	Old Main lawn (until 1891) Beaver Field (1892–1908) New Beaver Field (1909–1959) Beaver Stadium (1960–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Maryland Michigan Michigan State Ohio State Old Ironsides Pittsburgh Syracuse West Virginia
Culture & lore	Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band Uplifting Athletes Joe Paterno statue Something for Joey 1982 Nebraska game Child sex abuse scandal 2016 Ohio State game Paterno White Out 2021 Illinois game
People	Head coaches All-Americans Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1881 1882–1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold