Penn State Nittany Lions

How the Nittany Lions play under each referee

Every Nittany Lions game grouped by individual referee. Over this sample the Nittany Lions are 91-97 (48.4%); each ref win rate below is compared to that team average.

Updated Aug 22, 2026, 9:10 p.m.·2020-2026 (2020-11-28 – 2026-03-10)

Nittany Lions record: 91-97 (48.4%)

Officials with enough games overlap across crews; combined team-official games (373) exceed 188 unique team matches. Table lists refs with 8+ games.

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Lewis Garrison
+26.6 pts vs team-1.4
Edwin Young
+15.9 pts vs team+0.1
Brandon Cruz
+14.1 pts vs team+1.9
John Floyd
+14.1 pts vs team+0.3
Steve McJunkins
+11.6 pts vs team-0.6
Kelly Pfeifer
+3.5 pts vs team-0.6
D.J. Carstensen
+1.6 pts vs team+0.2
Brian Dorsey
+1.6 pts vs team+0.0
Courtney Green
+1.6 pts vs team+1.5
Andy O'Brien
+1.6 pts vs team-1.0
Earl Walton
+1.6 pts vs team-1.7
Chris Beaver
+1.6 pts vs team+0.3
Robert Riley
-0.6 pts vs team+0.3
Jeffrey Anderson
-1.3 pts vs team+0.3
Bill Ek
-2.9 pts vs team-0.5
Paul Szelc
-4.6 pts vs team+1.1
Tim Comer
-8.4 pts vs team+0.7
Larry Scirotto
-10.3 pts vs team-0.9
Michael Irving
-10.9 pts vs team-0.1
Randy Richardson
-10.9 pts vs team-2.2
Brooks Wells
-13.1 pts vs team+2.6
Rob Kueneman
-15.1 pts vs team+1.3
Donnie Eppley
-21.1 pts vs team+0.8
Keith Kimble
-26.2 pts vs team+2.1

Tight-game proxy

How Penn State Nittany Lions compares in tight final-margin games vs the full sample. Based on official box scores, not last-two-minute reports.

Close games (≤5 pt margin)

61 of 188 games match this window

Avg combined points
Tight-game avg
141.5
Season avg
144.9
Pressure impact
-3.4
Avg fouls
Tight-game avg
32.7
Season avg
32.9
Pressure impact
-0.2
Over rate
Tight-game avg
47.5%
Season avg
50.5%
Pressure impact
-3.0 pp

Over benchmark: 145.3 combined points · Seasons: 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 · 188 total games in sample

Pregame toss-ups (spread ≤5.5)

What am I looking at?

Individual refs: stats for one official across all Nittany Lions games they worked, even with different partners.
Team baseline: the Nittany Lions went 91-97 (48.4%) across this sample. Ref win rates show how they compare to that team average.
Whistle differential: who gets called more. A positive number means opponents are whistled more often than the Nittany Lions.

Scores, fouls, and referee crews from ESPN (9885 games across 80 tracked programs, 6047 with sportsbook totals). Coverage: 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26. Matrix: 4078/8349 ref×team pairs with 3+ games. 69 games skipped (no officials listed). 0 games skipped (outside live conference gate). Ref game counts rebuilt from DISTINCT game_id in game logs.