The 1912 Penn State Nittany Lions football team was an American football team that represented Pennsylvania State College as an independent during the 1912 college football season. In their third season under head coach Bill Hollenback, the team compiled an 8–0 record, shut out seven of eight opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 285 to 6.

William Marshall "Big Bill" Hollenback was an American football player and coach. He played football at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was selected as an All-American fullback three straight years, from 1906 to 1908. Hollenback served as the head football coach at Pennsylvania State University, the University of Missouri (1910), Pennsylvania Military College, now Widener University, and Syracuse University (1916), compiling a career college football record of 46–19–8. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1951.