Penn State Football: Studs and duds from the 2019 season

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 28: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with Cam Brown #6 of the Penn State Nittany Lions after the Nittany Lions beat the Memphis Tigers 53-39 at AT&T Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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Penn State football finished 11-2 this season with a victory in the Cotton Bowl. What players and games should be considered studs or duds?

Penn State football entered the 2019 season with several question marks at key positions.

The biggest question being who would succeed Trace McSorley at quarterback and would they be successful? Because of the question marks, many projected the Nittany Lions to finish with between seven and nine wins. The Lions exceeded expectations.

James Franklin has now completed six seasons in Happy Valley. Three of those seasons have ended with 11 victories. He has also guided the Lions to three New Year’s Six bowl appearances, winning two of them. Considering his first two seasons where the team was still dealing with the effects of the NCAA sanctions, it is quite impressive what Franklin has done so far.

With the successful season in the books, let’s hand out some superlatives for the 2019 season. Who were some of the players that were studs and who were the players that did not live up to expectations and should be considered duds? We will also look at the best and worst game of the season.

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