The team was led by fourth-year head coach James Franklin and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Penn State entered the season as defending Big Ten champions, and were ranked sixth in the preseason AP Poll.

The team won its first seven games by an average margin of victory of 30 points, including a 42–13 rout of No.

These would prove to be Penn State's only losses, as they finished the regular season tied for second in the East Division with a conference record of 7–2.

They were invited to the 2017 Fiesta Bowl, where they defeated Washington, and finished the season at 11–2 and ranked eighth in the final polls.

The team was led on offense by running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley.

[1] On defense, safety Marcus Allen was named first-team all-conference by the coaches.

Nittany Lions who were picked in the 2017 NFL Draft or signed undrafted free agent contracts:

Penn State started the season 7–0, which included a stunning buzzer-beater victory at Iowa, and a home blowout over No.