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

Penn State, coming off an 11–2, Fiesta Bowl-winning season in 2017, began the year at 10th in the preseason AP Poll.

They narrowly escaped an upset in their first game of the year by defeating Appalachian State in overtime.

The Nittany Lions finished the regular season in third in the Big Ten East with a conference record of 6–3.

[1] Junior running back Miles Sanders finished in second in the conference in rushing with 1,274 yards.

[2] On defense, cornerback Amani Oruwariye and lineman Yetur Gross-Matos were named first-team all-conference by the media.

[6] It was also announced that former Maryland offensive line coach Tyler Bowen was hired to coach tight ends and consultant Phil Galiano was hired to coordinate special teams and assist with the defensive line.

[7] Corley was hired as the 10th assistant coach because of a new rule change by the NCAA, that expanded staff sizes by one.

Seniors Trace McSorley and Nick Scott, and junior Blake Gillikin were elected by their teammates as captains.

[31] On August 4, 2018, Linebacker Manny Bowen returned to the program after being dismissed near the end of the 2017 season.