Man, 2024 was a weird one for Penn State. If you just look at the surface, you see a 13-3 record and a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Sounds great, right? But honestly, the penn state football stats 2024 tell a story that's way more complicated than just "they finally made it." It was a season of massive breakthroughs, like Tyler Warren basically turning into a cheat code, mixed with that same old frustration of hitting a wall against the absolute elite.
We spent years hearing that James Franklin couldn't win the "big one." Then 2024 happens. They beat SMU in the first round at Beaver Stadium (38-10) and took down Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl (31-14). But then you look at the losses—Ohio State, Oregon in the Big Ten title game, and Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl—and you realize the gap didn't necessarily close; the format just changed.
The Tyler Warren show and a new-look offense
Let's talk about Tyler Warren for a second because what he did was actually insane. Usually, a tight end is a safety valve. Not in 2024. Under Andy Kotelnicki, Warren was basically the entire offense’s Swiss Army knife. He finished the year with 104 catches for 1,233 yards. To put that in perspective, he more than tripled his production from the year before.
But it wasn't just the catching. The guy was lining up at quarterback, taking snaps in the "Wildcat," and even throwing passes. He had 218 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground, plus he even threw a touchdown pass. You've probably never seen a tight end used like that in Big Ten history. He was the reason Drew Allar looked so much more comfortable.
Allar himself took a massive step forward in efficiency. He finished second in school history for single-season completion percentage at 66.5%. He threw for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns against only 8 interceptions. People love to criticize Allar for not being "explosive" enough, but honestly, he did exactly what the staff asked him to do: protect the ball and find #44.
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A backfield that finally shared the load
For a while there, everyone was wondering if Nick Singleton or Kaytron Allen would ever truly separate themselves as the "alpha" back. In 2024, they basically decided to just do it together. They became the first duo in Penn State history to both rush for over 1,000 yards in the same season.
Kaytron Allen was the definition of a "chunk" runner. He finished with 1,108 yards on 220 carries. There was this wild stat floating around Reddit that at one point in the season, he had nearly 100 carries without a single negative yard. He’s just a bruiser.
Singleton, on the other hand, was a bit more "boom or bust." He ended up with 1,099 yards, but his yards per carry actually dipped to a career-low 3.9 at certain points late in the year. He struggled with vision sometimes, often running right into the back of his offensive linemen. But when he got into space, like in the West Virginia opener or that late-season Purdue game, he was still the fastest guy on the field.
Why the defense was actually better than you remember
Tom Allen took over the defense and didn't really miss a beat after Manny Diaz left. The Nittany Lions finished the season ranked 8th nationally in scoring defense, giving up only 16.5 points per game. That’s elite.
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Abdul Carter moving to defensive end was the big gamble that paid off. He was a unanimous All-American for a reason. The defense as a whole allowed only 101.9 rushing yards per game, which was 9th best in the country. They were a nightmare to run against, especially at home.
However, if you want to find the "hidden" reason they lost those three big games, look at the takeaways. They were surprisingly middle-of-the-road there. They averaged only 0.8 takeaways per game. When you play teams like Oregon or Notre Dame, you have to flip the field, and Penn State just didn't do that enough. They were "bend but don't break," but eventually, against the best in the country, things broke.
Breaking down the 2024 schedule and results
It's sorta funny looking back at the schedule now. The USC game was probably the turning point of the season.
- The USC Thriller: Winning 33-30 in overtime in L.A. gave this team the belief they could actually win a tight game on the road. Allar threw for 391 yards in that one, which was the most for a PSU quarterback in years.
- The Ohio State Letdown: A 20-13 loss at home. Same story, different year. The offense went stagnant in the red zone, and the fans at Beaver Stadium were rightfully frustrated.
- The Playoff Surge: They absolutely destroyed SMU and Boise State. Those games showed that Penn State is firmly in that "Top 10" tier, even if they aren't quite in the "Top 3" tier yet.
- The Heartbreak: Losing 27-24 to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl (the CFP Semifinal) was a tough pill to swallow. They had the lead in the fourth quarter, but the offense just couldn't find that one last drive.
What these stats tell us for the future
So, what do we actually do with all these penn state football stats 2024?
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First off, the "standard" has clearly shifted. Making the playoff isn't the goal anymore; it's the expectation. But to actually win a national title, the wide receiver room has to get better. Outside of Julian Fleming and Harrison Wallace III, there wasn't enough consistent threat on the outside. That’s why Tyler Warren had to catch 104 balls. It’s not sustainable.
If you're a fan or a bettor looking at 2025 and beyond, keep an eye on the turnover margin. Penn State was +0.1 per game in 2024. That’s essentially zero. Elite teams—the ones winning the trophies—are usually up in the +0.7 or +1.0 range.
Next Steps for Nittany Lion Fans:
- Check the final transfer portal rankings to see how they're addressing the lack of vertical threats at wide receiver.
- Monitor the health of the backfield; Singleton and Allen have a lot of "tread" off those tires after a 16-game season.
- Look into the defensive depth at linebacker, as replacing the production of guys like Abdul Carter (assuming NFL departure) will be the biggest hurdle for 2025.
The 2024 season was a massive success by almost any metric, but the stats show a team that is still one or two elite playmakers away from holding that gold trophy in January.