The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

[1] The Nittany Lions finished the season with an 11–2 record and won the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy award to the best team in the ECAC for the 28th time and the second consecutive year.

[2] In December, backup quarterback Pat Devlin decided to transfer from Penn State and would not play in the Rose Bowl.

[4] In the Rose Bowl, backup tailback Stephfon Green left the game after sustaining what appeared to be a sprained right ankle.

[6][7] In January, redshirt sophomore defensive end Aaron Maybin announced that he was skipping his final two seasons of eligibility and declared for the 2009 NFL draft.

[8] Junior defensive end Maurice Evans, despite losing his starting position and playing time to Maybin due to a three-game suspension for marijuana possession, also declared for the draft.

Also lost to graduation are the wide receiver trio of Derrick Williams, Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood, all four-year starters for the team.

[12][13] Roster Last update: November 20, 2009 The Penn State defense did not give up a first down to the Zips in the first half as the Nittany Lions won 31–7.

Backup linemen on both sides of the ball were slowly blended in during the second half while the key starters remained in until midway through the fourth quarter.

Graham Zug also caught a touchdown, and the Nittany Lions rolled to a 31–0 halftime lead and still won comfortably despite not scoring in the second half for the first time since a 13–3 loss at Wisconsin in 2006.

Backup quarterback Kevin Newsome played in the final series along with other reserves and led the Nittany Lions down to the Akron 4-yard line.

Safety Andrew Dailey snagged his first career interception, and senior linebacker Sean Lee made seven tackles including two for negative yardage in his first action in 18 months.

Junior linebacker NaVorro Bowman left the game early with an injury, and his replacement, sophomore Nate Stupar made 12 tackles with a sack.

Penn State nearly scored again early in the second quarter when faced with a 4th and 1, but Clark fumbled the snap to give Syracuse the ball near the goal line.

Penn State would score on their next drive to go up 14–0 from a 12-yard run from Evan Royster, which would hold at halftime as Syracuse missed a long field goal.

Penn State had a 7–3 lead after one quarter, but Temple recovered an onside kick, changing the momentum of the game momentarily.

Penn State drove down the field following a huge kickoff return for a game-tying touchdown, but in the red zone, Evan Royster fumbled.

By that time the Illini had only 16 yards and no first downs in the second half, but with the backups starting to be subbed in, Illinois was on the move, and scored a touchdown midway through the fourth.

Stephon Morris also snagged his first career interception at the end of the first half to prevent an Illini score, that was nearly run back for a touchdown.

It was 52–3 after the score, Newsome would lead Penn State into the red zone again, but this time the result was a failed 4th down conversion rather than the field goal attempt.

Penn State defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1996, currently holding a two-game winning streak over the Wolverines.

Daryll Clark threw for 230 yards and four touchdowns, three to wide receiver Graham Zug and a 61-yard pass to tight end Andrew Quarless.

Penn State scored two touchdowns (missing a two-point conversion the first time) in five minutes in the third quarter, then seemed to take their foot off the gas.

At one point, Michigan blocked a Jeremy Boone punt, but they were unable to cash in, as Penn State's defense forced a fumble and got the ball back.

A long drive, aided by a roughing the punter penalty, ended with Penn State's final points, a field goal.

In what was a defensive battle for most of the game, called "Rope-A-Dope" football by the announcers, Ohio State pulled away late to win thanks to special teams.

The teams were tied 7–7 at halftime before Penn State jumped to a 14–7 lead just over a minute into the second half with the help of a trick play: Wide receiver Curtis Drake threw a halfback option to Quarless for a 14-yard touchdown.

Bad footing and dropped passes were normal in the first half, and PSU fumbled the snap exchange twice though both were recovered by the offense.

[64] Following the Capital One Bowl, linebacker NaVorro Bowman announced he would skip his final season of eligibility and declared for the 2010 NFL draft.

[65] Four players were initially invited to the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine, held February 24 to March 2 in Indianapolis, Indiana: Jared Odrick, Sean Lee, Daryll Clark, and Andrew Quarless.